Bus to Turning Stone

The Vegas of CNY!

For people who take the bus to Turning Stone Casino from Syracuse, a new company took over that run.  Rome-based Birnie Bus have done it for a long time, but unceremoniously stopped and a competitor, Hale Transportation in Clinton across Oneida County, have taken over.  Neither of their sites note any changes, yet the schedule is the same, picking up twice a day at Shop City, downtown Syracuse and Shop City (the casinos site has it now).  Birnies commuter service from Syracuse to Herkimer County, which uses back roads like the late Charles Kuralt, will continue to stop at the casino, but has always been separate from the casino bus with incentives.  Turning Stones site doesn't list bus partners like other places do, yet non-CNY companies like Wade Tours and Yankee Trails also travel to the facility, as well as private groups and local town councils'  parks and recreation departments (even within CNY), which cater largely to seniors, a huge component of the gaming industry.
I usually go during the festive season, but also when there's a show, but no one I like came this year.  It's also the only casino I go to not convenient by bus or on foot to local shops off campus, as small towns don't always seem like it.  You pay cash on the fly to get on the bus as opposed to other trips you plan in advance.  With pensioners being a big part of this, they don't have to travel out of town on their own.  If I had my own vehicle, I wonder if I would still do this anymore.

Live Local USA | A Voice for Small Business: Why Is It Too Hard To Keep Our Independent Busines...

An example from the Raleigh-Durham area in NC's Capital Region.  Classic case.



Live Local USA | A Voice for Small Business: Why Is It Too Hard To Keep Our Independent Busines...: This is hard to post. Last night it was tough enough to read and digest the article "As one decades-old school supply store shuts down...

Blink Fitness

Unknown location

Blink Fitness are part of Equinox, a downstate company with a number of other brands.  They have locations in North Syracuse and Westvale, but have yet to expand more Upstate.

New Hartford - former liquor store/pharmacy or Sangertown Square, NY 5 & 5A
Auburn - former P&C
Canastota - former Family Dollar, NY 5 & 13
Colonie - former Barnes & Noble
Fulton - former kmart, NY 481

Watertown - former Planet Fitness, NY 3

Maytag Laundromats

Langs Laurdrette in Manitowoc, WI

Maytag Laundromats may be the closest thing to a national chain of laundrettes.  I've seen them in Albany and Niagara Falls, NY.  In CNY, it's either Colonial or indies.  There are spots here and there where they can compete with both.  All were laundromats in the past and I've been to some of these:

Liverpool - Old Liverpool Road and Electronics Pkwy or Long Branch Road and CR 57

North Syracuse - Church St

East Syracuse - NY 290 and N Center St or E Manlius and McCool Sts

Syracuse (north side) - US 11 or NY 298

Syracuse (east side) - Westcott St

Utica - Leland Ave
Cortland - US 11/NY 41 & 222
Whitesboro - NY 69
deWitt - NY 5 & 92

D.P. Dough/Calios merger

Centre County location

I only just learned that the countries two premiere calzone chains are becoming one.  D.P. Dough from the Ohio Capital Region and Calios in Cortland County, founded by an ex-D.P. employee have announced the latter buying the former.  I learned this as I was preparing for another trip to Rochester, where both chains are on NY 252 in a part of town not easy to get to without a car.  On that note, Ithaca also had them both and it's a small town, so the one I used to go to and a short-lived new location are closed as the Collegetown Calios across town absorbs DP blocks from Cornell and a mile or so from IC.  Calios have two in Syracuse, so having two DPs can be done in larger markets if there's enough space.  The old Cortland DP closed several years ago and the flagship Calios up the block along with the Delaware store (which brings DP back to the mid-Atlantic after the old one closed and is about 30 miles from the Philly store) and a few others have already converted to DP and the rest shall follow by next semester, given the college crowd who are the main market for the combined company.  This also means I won't really have to go to the Albany one anymore either, so I'll just have to get lunch or dinner somewhere else in addition to local-only Mr Subb.  This is a game changer for me and calzone fans across the nation.  Now there will be no other calzone chains as it's a niche market and calzones are otherwise at many Italian and pizza restaurants anyway.  At least there'll be less running around and it saves me time and money on the road.
The former flagship Calios in Cortland closed and DP Dough opened next door.  The old space will become a sports bar and restaurant and the original area DP down the block is now a Latino goods shop.

Speedway

Longtime location in Kalamazoo suburb of Parchment, MI

Speedway may seem like another cinch, but there are still a few spots they could open that were neither Hess nor Express Mart, given that they only opened outside the mid-West in recent years:

Chittenango - former Sunrise, NY 5 & 13
Fulton - former Wilson Farms/Gulf, NY 3 and/or former Strupplers Big M Valero/Tops, NY 48
Oswego - TBD, NY 104
North Syracuse - former Mobil, US 11 & Bear Road (although ones are up and down the street)

Perkins

Twin Cities location

With the recent closure of Friendlys across the region, Perkins could make a comeback in CNY.  I go by the Cortland and Niagara Falls, ONT locations sometimes.  They had been in deWitt and other locations in the past.  They could also go where other restaurants had been.

Syracuse (north side) - Destiny USA (former Cantina Loredo)
Whitesboro - former Zebbs, NY 5A
Syracuse (east side) - former Firudo, NY 5
Auburn - Fingerlakes Mall, US 20 & NY 5 or former Dennys, NY 5
Fulton - former Nestlé site, NY 481
Geneva - former Friendlys, US 20 & NY 5
North Syracuse - former Ponderosa, US 11
New Hartford - former Dennys, NY 5

Amherst - former TBD, NY 78

Syracuse (Fairmount) - former Big Boy/IHOP/Good Buddys Pub, West Genesee St

Syracuse (east side) - NY 5; former Red Lobster

Friendly's in CNY, WNY and the Capital Region

Courtesy Mike Mozart

Friendly's are a chain that I grew up with.  Sadly, many have closed over the years due to bankruptcy, rises, inflation, the economy and competition.  Only the Liverpool one is left that's closest to me, but I can't get over there anymore.  Four in my area just recently* made me conjure up the ones that I can remember in CNY, WNY+, the Finger Lakes and the Capital Region++:

Syracuse (Eastwood) - NY 290* (now American Legion Post 1276)

deWitt - NY 5 and Bridge Street* (may become Shake Shack; was supposed to be Rachels Mediterranean Grill, but it never materialised)

Fairmount - Fairmount Fair Mall (now plaza)

Oswego - NY 104* (now Tullys)

Camillus - W Genesee Street (now Rio Grande)

Auburn - Fingerlakes Mall, NY 5 & US 20

Oneida - NY 5 (now WellNow Urgent Care)

Delmar - NY 443 (now Tea House Asian Bistro)

New Hartford - Sangertown Square, NY 5 & 5A

Utica - N Genesee St (now demolished)

Clay - Great Northern Mall, NY 31 & 481*

Fulton - NY 481 (now a federal credit union)

Mattydale - US 11 (now demolished)

Colonie - Colonie Ctr, NY 5 and Wolf Road++
Geneva - US 20 & NY 5 (Now Canandaigua National Bank & Trust)

East Greenbush - US 4 (later P. Brillos; now closed)
Rochester - NY 15 (now Duffs)+

Fayetteville - NY 5 & 257 (now Dunkin')

Williamsville - NY 78 (now King Crab)

Amherst - Sweet Home & Maple Rds. (now UBuffalo Student Health Services)

All vacant or TBD unless indicated.

A Tale of Two Pharmacies

This has since become a Family Dollar.

The transition of numerous Rite Aids into Walgreens is beginning to happen in CNY.  Right now, it's the two on the South Side of Syracuse on S Salina St (US 11), and on the west side near Western Lights.  Walgreens have only begun to have a presence in the area in recent years, after a four decade absence.  A number of overlapping stores are now closed, but those would make more sense as CVS/pharmacy as the number of full-fledged stores in the region I can count on one hand.  CVS run the pharmacy department at Target just as Walgreen do at select Rite Aid locations that will eventually be converted.  The one where Syracuse segues into Nedrow was one of the first free-standing drugstores with a drive thru in town when it was originally built as Eckerd, this one a successor to the former Fays across the street in Green Hills Plaza where I think Planet Fitness is now (it's been over two decades since).  Many former Fays still exist as Rite Aid while others are vacant like the one pictured up the block from my old place in Eastwood (previously Carls, which Fays bought in 1991, and Loblaws, who only operate in Canada now).  This store had also been Peters IGA and Foodland (which is also alive and well, so those who grew up in CNY and don't keep up or get about won't assume that also is no more [it's the same with Acme, but this will lead to another post later on]).
Walgreens tried to buy all of Rite Aid in the past, but the FTC likely felt it would be too big, so this time, they only got some of the chain.  In the Chicago area, Walgreens are home and Rite Aid have no stores at all.  Back here, I'm more into Wegmans, but at least there's more choice for people now.

Smashburger

Neptune Township, NJ location

I've been meaning to do this one for several months.  Smashburger are a upscale burger chain owned by Filipino chain Jollibee.  I've gone in Henrietta and the closest one now is in Tyre.  Rivals Five Guys already have a few locations in the region, so perhaps, this could work here too:

Syracuse (north side) - Destiny USA

Syracuse (east side) - former Firudo, NY 5

Manlius - former Kinney Drugs, NY 92

Cortland - former Naples Italian Eastery, NY 13

North Syracuse - former Salt City Dogs/Hofmann Hot Haus, US 11

Nedrow/Syracuse (south side) - former kmart/Grants/flea market, US 11 and Southland Dr

New Hartford - former Zebbs, NY 5A or Dennys, NY 5

Auburn - Fingerlakes Mall, NY 5 & US 20 or former Dennys, NY 5

Canastota - former Family Dollar, NY 5 & 13

Syracuse (Fairmount) - former Big Boy/IHOP/Good Buddys Pub, West Genesee St

Camillus - former Firehouse Subs, W Genesee St (instead of Fairmount)

Books-a-Million!

Store in historic Williamsburg, VA

After having little to work with for a period, I finally stumble upon something new to write about.
Since the departure of Borders in 2011, Barnes & Noble is the only bookstore chain around.  Books-a-Million have a store in Northeast Pennsylvania and could now work their way up I-81:

Colonie - former Barnes & Noble or Bed Bath and Beyond/ShopRite, Wolf Road
Syracuse - former Bon-Ton, Destiny USA
Westvale - former Tops/P&C, NY 5
Rochester - former Tops or Macys, NY 252
Auburn - former JCPenney, Fingerlakes Mall, NY 5 & US 20
New Hartford - former Macys, Sangertown Square, NY 5A
Liverpool - former Price Chopper, CR 57
Fulton - former kmart, NY 481 & CR 57
Cicero - former Burlington Coat Factory, Drivers Village (ex-Penn Can Mall)

Mattydale - former kmart, US 11

North Syracuse - former Media Play, Northern Lights, US 11 (if above two aren't picked)

Oswego - former Gordmans/Peebles, NY 104

Poughkeepsie - former JCPenney, US 9

Ithaca - former Hobby Lobby, NY 34/13/96