kmart

Ohio Capital Region closing

Attention kmart shoppers: kmart along with their sister chain Sears have been in decline in recent years unable to compete with Walmart, Target, and amazon as other rivals like Caldor, Ames, Jamesway, Woolco and Hills have shut their doors.  kmart had several stores in CNY (Cortland, Liverpool and Mattydale remain for the time being) and beyond that lost their blue light:


deWitt - NY 5; now Dicks
Nedrow - US 11; later a flea market
Syracuse - Western Lights; later Herb Phillipsons
New Hartford - NY 5A; soon to be At Home Superstore
Greece - NY 104, same as above
Fulton - NY 481
Auburn - NY 5; now Vineyard Church et al
Liverpool - CR 57 (on the way out)
Oswego - NY 104 (TBA)
Syracuse - downtown; later CVS; now a beauty supply
Colonie - NY 5
Reynoldsburg, OH (pictured)
Geneva - NY 5/US 20 (it's a small town and I saw a vacancy that would make sense)
Kingston - NY 32 and US 9W
Ithaca - NY 13/34/96
Watertown - NY 3 and Pioneer Plaza
Herkimer - NY 5 and S Washington St

All vacant or unknown unless otherwise indicated.

E85 in CNY

E85 at a pump in Wescoville, PA (Lehigh ValleyAllentown/Bethlehem area)

E85 (ethanol) fuel has been elusive for those with FlexFuel vehicles in CNY (mainly GM and Chrysler).  The last place to have it was Fastrac on NY 3 & 481 in Fulton until a few years ago when they switched to the opposite (Ethanol Free 91) for boats, older and luxury cars.  Most regular fuel in North America now has 10% ethanol but it's not the same.  Sunoco (shown here) turned part of the old Miller plant a couple miles away into an ethanol plant yet there isn't an E85 pump like you see here in Lehigh Valley near Syracuse.  Rochester has the closest ones if not somewhere on the way on the Thruway.  A Mobil in Albany on US 20 has it too.  A place in Homer in Cortland County may have as well but even in a small town, I can't find much to go on.  Tops and ShopRite (also in the Capital Region) should offer this.  Existing Speedways in the Midwest do and should add it when they open original stores (as opposed to ex-Hess ones).  I'll do a post on just that later.  E85 also tends to cost less than normal 87 octane.  It varies across the country.  It only makes sense to get it out of town if you're staying there a period or need to fill up or there's no point.  There's also E10 and E15 in some areas and states, but E85 is the one that I know.  Wood chips and ag waste is also used to make E-fuels.  You can't even get leaded gas in the US anymore (vintage cars now use lead substitute here).
The corn crop is limited here as it is with the difficult spring having an effect on the harvest.  Maize is more of a priority for food than motorcars yet there must be fields that are only used by Big Oil.

Travelodge

Bay Area location

This one will be a change of pace.  Travelodge are part of the Wyndham conglomerate, but currently have no locations in CNY like some of their sister chains do.  The only place I can think of for them now is the former Hampton Inn & Suites (owned by rivals Hilton) on 7th North Street in Liverpool as they moved around the corner to Buckley and Elwood Davis Roads where another competitor Ramada Inn used to be.  It's a bit of a challenge as to where else they could open coming up with ideas like I can for other things.  I do see closed and abandoned motels, but they're usually in spots that don't get the same kind of traffic anymore as these low-rent roadside inns have declined in the past few generations since the motorways were built, and we all know the adage of location, location, location.  The spot I know of is just that as it's right near the major crossroads of I-81 and I-90 (NYS Thruway) as well as close to the airport, Destiny USA, SU, downtown and the city.  It'd be good to have another place for people to stay, especially during peak periods such as major holidays and special events as they can fill up as just as much as they can in major areas like downstate and San Antonio, TX for that matter.  I've only seen it in Gananoque, ONT myself if not Farmington, NY but maybe somewhere else.
Travelodge however were in Syracuse in the past at 920 James Street (NY 290 at US 11) between downtown and Eastwood.  The building no longer exists having been demolished decades ago yet a competitor down the street remains to this day for those seeking something affordable near downtown.  Seeing a couple vintage postcards of other past locations had reminded me, so maybe now Travelodge can come full circle in CNY.  Little Falls in Herkimer County is the closest one at this time (small town).
UPDATE: The franchise owners of the Hampton will bring its sister brand Tru by Hilton to the old site (another one Tapestry will be at Hotel Skyler on SU Hill).  Maybe a Travelodge could be built across Buckley Road from the Hampton instead where indie motel United Inn was demolished several years ago.  Carnegie who run Maplewood Inn around the block (a former Days Inn) and bought out Pier 57 on Ct Rt 57 in Bayberry could convert Maplewood into a Travelodge.  I just know it has to be a part of town where there is the traffic and demand are enough to accommodate someone new to the area looking for a place for the night at short notice either on the fly or close to a peak period.  Even Northern Lights on US 11 in North Syracuse, which has little going on these days, could be torn down, except for where business still exists, of course, to build Travelodge since it's right near the airport and Thruway.  Could require certain zoning if I'm not mistaken.
UPDATE II: The former leMoyne Manor on Old Liverpool Road in Galeville would also work.

UPDATE III: The former Comfort Inn on Buckley Road in Liverpool (pictured) would make more sense as they moved around the corner to the old Clarion on 7th North Street.

UPDATE IV: There's also a vacancy right at the airport.

Fantasy location in Liverpool.

South Beach Tanning

As fake as a fake tan!

Now here's a post that George Hamilton can relate to! The closure of Zoom Tan and Total Tan in deWitt due to a merger opens the idea of a rival chain South Beach Tanning coming to CNY.  The franchise in Webster just outside Rochester is the closest one right now.  Good to try something new as far as a business possibility:


Oswego - former Tanning Bed, NY 104 (even though Planet Fitness in the same plaza have beds)
deWitt (Erie Blvd E) - former Total Tan, Marshalls Plaza, NY 5
Fayetteville - former Electric Beach tanning salon, NY 5 & 92 (Lyndon Corners)
deWitt (Nottingham Rd) - former Zoom Tan
Liverpool - former Verizon Wireless, NY 31
Auburn - Fingerlakes Mall, NY 5 & US 20
New Hartford - Sangertown Square, NY 5 & 5A
Cortland - Riverside Plaza, NY 13
Syracuse - Destiny USA
North Syracuse - Northern Lights, US 11
Albany - Colonie Centre, NY 5