Byrne Dairy 90th Anniversary

Former Liverpool store in 2007

 I've known Byrne Dairy my whole life and I'm a regular to this day. All but a few of their current locations have gas now. There are several in my lifetime that I know that are no more.  Ones that are long gone are too hard to find.  Older ones replaced by new stores like East Syracuse don't count.

Syracuse (Eastwood) 1 - NY 290 & 598; now Big Mikes

Syracuse (Eastwood) 2 - NY 290 & Forest Hill Dr; later Subway, now Luv Handlz

Syracuse (north side) - Grant Blvd & Butternut Dr; now Blueberry Market

Fayetteville/deWitt - NY 5 & 92; now a law firm

Liverpool - CR 57; now Tiny Bubbles Laundromat (pictured)

Geneva - NY 14; now indie gas station?

Chittenango - NY 5 & 13; now vacant

Syracuse (west side) - NY 5; now vacant

New York Mills - Henderson St; TBD

Elmira - Walnut St; TBD

Hornell (1) - Seneca & State Sts; previously Elmhurst Dairy, TBD

Hornell (2) - Center St; TBD

Oswego - NY 104; TBD

Newark - W Union St; TBD

Ithaca - NY 13, 34 & 96; TBD

Dollar General in Chittenango

The original Dollar General store on Tuscarora Road

 Dollar General has only been in CNY since the mid-to-late '90s, but they have been growing more by the day. In Chittenango, it appears they will be moving across town (even in a small town known for the creator of a classic franchise, that's possible) from its longtime home on Tuscarora Road in the village to NY 5 on the outskirts of town across from Tops and YBR Casino.  It should open in May or June.  Both the old and new stores are original standalones as opposed to taking over someone elses property.  This would make it less convenient for the few who may not have a vehicle (even in chiefly rural Madison County, as down NY 5 & 13 in Canastota, that has come up as they're in the middle of trying to get a pharmacy to replace Walgreens, or with Grand Union moving up NY 12B in Hamilton decades ago.  There are few buses around).  However, the county has always been a tight squeeze, and this building won't go cold too long.  Dollar Generals closest competitors, sister chains Dollar Tree or Family Dollar would be perfect, although they'd likely go through the estate agents first.  Even a bargain bin store, which I brought up just earlier, could work since an early version had been towards the west some years back, but didn't catch on then.  Salvation Army Family Store is already across the street, so the charity shop box is ticked.  Wouldn't rule out a phone store if it comes down to that, but that doesn't need as much space.  One last ditch effort would be a small grocery store.  The building still has legs, so I'm sure someone will get it in the next several months, even though others in bigger areas can sit empty for years, even in Chittenango (the former Pizza Hut only just became an indie recently).

Bargain bin stores

 

Black Friday Bins at Shop City

There's a new breed of retail that has emerged in the past couple years that's on the rise.  It's seems to be called a bargain bin store, carrying surplus, returned and clearance items from various retailers such as Walmart, Target, Kohls, amazon.com and others.  It only just came out of nowhere to CNY in the former Chappells/Thrifty Shopper Outlet/AJ Wright/CW Price/Fallas in Shop City (pictured) and took off straightaway.  I only just heard of the idea from the Southern Tier with Extreme Bargain Bins, located in a former kmart in Binghamton.  There are some downstate and around the country.  Had to dig like you would at these places to see what there is.  If you ask me, you may find a few things buried along with random junk!  Unlike the charity shop, everything is new or returned.  There are only a handful of others Upstate now.  An early precedent around here, I suppose, would be the short-lived concept Name Brand Deals on NY 5 from Oneida Indian Nation, which had been in Chittenango (former Ames/current YBR Casino) and Westvale (former Genesee Theatre and Pep Boys/current O'Reillys Auto Parts).  Makes the chaz look like Marks and Spencers. Not sure if I'll go again right now. There's a smaller, competing store across town from Shop City in Fairmount up West Genesee Street from Westvale, but it's even less exciting.

I found one chain called Retail Rebel, but they're only in Kansas City and Iowa right now. The few small chains are mainly in the South and Midwest at this time, with the rest being indies.  Montgomery County in the Capital Region has two, and that's not a big area, so maybe more could have their own.  It's still early days and the Wild West, if you like, so maybe just one more in Onondaga County, but have a pick of the litter, which is how it works when looking for a property when the market's good.

Canastota - former Family Dollar, NY 5 & CR 25

Nedrow - former Grants/kmart/flea market. Green Hills Plaza; US 11 & Southland Dr.

Cortland - former Fays or flea market, Riverside Plaza; NY 13

Central Square - US 11

Amherst - former Best Buy, NY 78

Utica - former Fays/Eckerd/Rite Aid, Genesee St

Herkimer - former kmart

Ithaca - former Hobby Lobby; NY 13, 34 & 96

Henrietta - former Savers; NY 252

Colonie - former Barnes & Noble, Wolf Rd

Schenectady - former ALDI/Grand Union; NY 5 & 7

Geneva - former Tops/RealEats/CherriBundi, NY 14A

Albany - former Fays/Save-a-Lot; US 9W & NY 443

Watertown - former Fays/Eckerd/Rite Aid; NY 3

Chittenango - former Dollar General, Tuscarora Rd (as of May 2023)

New Hartford - former Herb Phillipsons, New Hartford Shopping Center

Liverpool - former Carls/Fays/Thrifty Shopper; Old Liverpool Rd & Electronics Pkwy

Chappells

Shoppingtown store in deWitt (later the Bon Ton)

 Chappells were a department store chain from my area dating back to the late Victorian age that were around for nearly a century, but were bought out by the Bon Ton in 1995, only for that to go under several years ago (I could cover them later on).  I'll do some from memory before going to Wikipedia, which is too easy, even though it's rare for them to have a place only known to a smaller region like this as opposed to, say, Belk or Marks and Spencers for that matter.  Many included New Domain, a store within a store.

Syracuse (Lyncourt) - Shop City Mall (was partially enclosed in those days); closed 1992, later AJ Wright, CW Price, Fallas, and Thrifty Shopper Outlet.  Now Black Friday Deals.

Syracuse (Westvale) - Western Lights Plaza; now Price Chopper (moved over from other side of plaza)

North Syracuse - Northern Lights Plaza, US 11; former flagship, has been various anchors such as Burlington and Media Play.  Closed by mid-to-late '80s.  Now vacant.

deWitt - Shoppingtown Mall, NY 5; later the Bon-Ton, now vacant and set for demolition to be replaced by District East, pending court action.

Camillus - Camillus Mall; later the Bon-Ton (was last surviving building of old mall when it became Camillus Commons), partially St Josephs Health, otherwise vacant.

Clay - Great Northern Mall, NY 31 & 481; later the Bon-Ton, now vacant

Cicero - Penn-Can Mall; closed after 1988, now Roger Burdicks Drivers Village

Syracuse (downtown) - original store; now Salina Place

Liverpool - Seneca Mall, CR 57; now U-Haul

Watertown - Salmon Run Mall, NY 3; later the Bon-Ton, now vacant

Auburn - Fingerlakes Mall, NY 5 & US 20; moved to Camillus Mall in November 1993; now Bass Pro Shops or vacant (to the right of former kmart/Rex) 

Syracuse (north side) - Carousel Center (now Destiny USA); later the Bon-Ton, now vacant

KFC in CNY

Hartford County location

 Kentucky Fried Chicken sounds too easy to do, but it turns out, there are a few spots where KFC used to be in CNY, including at one that was open when Col Sanders was still alive!  Here's where his secret herbs and spices used to be trusted:

Syracuse (north side) - Park & Butternut Sts; now vacant

North Syracuse - US 11; now Popeyes (the Colonel would spin in his grave!)

Oneida - NY 5; now vacant

Fulton - NY 481; now vacant

Ithaca - NY 13, 34 & 96; old location TBD, reopened on NY 13

Syracuse (Eastwood) - NY 290; later Swanson Dry Cleaners and Chases Cigar Store, now Eastwood Discount Liquor (what led to this post)

deWitt - NY 5; different location than current store (I only vaguely remember), TBD

Eckerd in CNY et al

Eastwood store in 2008 that I took myself

 I may have heard of Eckerd in passing prior to 1996, then JCPenney bought them and Eckerd absorbed their Thrift Drug division. Then, Eckerd would acquire Fays Drugs.  By 1997, the latter would be no more.  Many older locations were kept, while others were sold after new standalone stores were built from scratch, including some of the first drive-thru pharmacies in the northeast.  Canadian chain Pharmacie Jean Coutu, which previously owned Brooks and sold NYS locations to Revco (which CVS bought in 1997) would later take over.  Rite Aid bought out the chain in 2010, except for Florida locations, which went to CVS/pharmacy instead. Eckerd is now a corporate subsidiary of Rite Aid, even though many of these locations were sold to Walgreens in 2019.  A number of them closed then that overlapped or later on.  Back in CNY, here's a select list of what I can memorise:

Syracuse (Eastwood) - NY 290; former Loblaws/Peters IGA/Foodland/Carls/Fays, now Family Dollar (pictured)

Syracuse (Lyncourt) - Shop City; former Fays; moved to former Ames after ceiling collapse; old space now Valu

Syracuse (south side) - NY 175 & 80; now vacant

Syracuse (north side) - Lodi & Butternut Sts; now Dollar General (Rite Aid already across street)

Syracuse (west side) - Avery Ave & Onondaga Blvd; now Walgreens

Fairmount - former flagship Fays; now Dollar Tree

Camillus - Camillus Plaza; former Carls and Fays; now Rite Aid

Auburn - NY 5; now Rite Aid

Norwich - NY 12; closed after merger due to existing Rite Aid across street, TBD

New Hartford - NY 5A; now Rite Aid

Rome - NY 46 & 49; now Rite Aid

North Syracuse - US 11 & W Taft Rd, Sweetheart Corners; now Rite Aid

Mattydale - US 11; now Walgreens

Liverpool (Galeville) - Old Liverpool Rd; now Family Dollar

Liverpool (Bayberry) - CR 57; now Walgreens

Norwich - NY 12; now Walgreens

Baldwinsville (village) - NY 31 & 370; now Dollar Tree (confirmed by the chain themselves)

Cortland - US 11 & NY 41; now Walgreens

Cortlandville - NY 281 & 222; now Rite Aid

Nedrow - US 11; now Walgreens (one of the first standalones in CNY built to replace Fays)

Canastota - NY 5 & 13; now Dollar General

Cicero (US 11); now Walgreens

Cicero (NY 31 & Thompson Rd); now Rite Aid

East Syracuse - formerly Church Leader Drug/Fays; now Walgreens

Manlius - NY 92 - formerly Harveys Pharmacy; now Unplugged Gaming

Fayetteville - formerly Fays; now Walgreens

Syracuse (east side) - formerly Drumlins Pharmacy/Fays; now Walgreens

Hannibal - NY 3; formerly Fays, now Walgreens

Watertown - NY 3; formerly Fays/liquor store; now vacant

Oswego (city) - NY 104; formerly Fays; now demolished

Baldwinsville (Moyers Corners) - NY 31 & CR 57, Kimbrook Plaza; formerly Fays, now Planet Fitness

Pittsford - NY 31; later Rite Aid, now closed

Oswego - NY 104; now Walgreens

Fulton - NY 481; formerly Fays; now Taco Bell

Scotchtown - NY 211; now Rite Aid (actually downstate, but I was researching Fays, trying to find out about the Middletown store)

Poughkeepsie - US 9 (North Rd); now Rite Aid (I used to live up the road, and I remember it opening)

Carl's Drugs (1939-91)

Collage of James St store in 1990 and as Rite Aid in 2019

 After posting on Fay's, thought I'd cover Carl's Drugs.  The founders of both were related, which led to one buying the other in 1991.  Even though Carl's Drugs (not to be confused with Carl's Furniture City of New Hartford, which recently opened in Syracuse) were from the Mohawk Valley, I only remember stores in Onondaga County, but I can look up their native Oneida County since it was from a small town anyway.  I even came across photos developed at the original Eastwood store at my late grandmothers house (my grandparents moved to the suburbs by the time I was born, and I was cleaning out that house these past couple months).  It is also unrelated to a Carl's Drug Store in the PA Capital Region or any other Carls from outside New York State for that matter.  Victory Markets even had them from 1988 until the Fays acquisition. Here's what I can gather from younger days from my end.

Syracuse (Eastwood) - NY 290 (1), Eastwood Plaza; later Sacred Melody, now Dollar General

Syracuse (Eastwood) - NY 290 (2); previously Loblaws, Peters IGA and Foodland, later Fays, Eckerd and Rite Aid; now Family Dollar (pictured)

Syracuse (west side) - S Geddes St; later Fays, Eckerd and Save-a-Lot; now Wilson Dental

Syracuse (south side) - NY 175 & 80; later Fays, now Dollar Tree

Syracuse (east side) - Nottingham Plaza, near future sister chain; closed by the '80s; plaza redone

Liverpool - Electronics Pkwy & Old Liverpool Rd; later Fays and Thrifty Shopper, now Palm Market

Fayetteville - NY 5 & N Burdick St; Fayetteville Mall; later Fays, demolished by 2000s, replaced by P&C (now Tops) and Target in Towne Center

Camillus - Camillus Plaza; later Fays and Eckerd, now Rite Aid (only Syracuse area one still operating as a pharmacy today)

Baldwinsville - NY 31 & 370; later Fays and Eckerd, now Dollar Tree (confirmed by chain as former Eckerd, but now has original standalone in place of old building)

Rome - NY 46, Black River Shopping Center (flagship?)

Rome - NY 26 (Turin Rd)

Rome - NY 46 & 49 (Erie Blvd W), Freedom Plaza or current Rite Aid?

Oneonta - NY 7, Oneonta Plaza

deWitt - NY 5, Shoppingtown; demolished by 1974 when converted to enclosed mall (which itself is about to meet the same fate pending legal issues)