Charney's

The only remaining store in deWitt

 Charney's Menswear & Tuxedoes in Syracuse is not just another mens big and tall store. They've been in business for over 70 years time. They have had several locations around town (a total of fourteen, according to co-founder Phyllis Charneys obituary in 2016). I haven't been in a couple years myself, since I can't afford much there anymore and it's not as convenient, yet like any local and/or small business, they would offer service and selection that few large stores ever would.

Syracuse (Eastwood) - NY 290, original store and flagship; demolished by 2006 for Walgreens

Syracuse (SU Hill) - 149 Marshall St; now Mannys

deWitt (1) - NY 5, Shoppingtown Mall; closed by 2010s and moved to current location

deWitt (2) - NY 5, Empire Plaza, former Wheels Auto Supply?; present-day store (pictured)

Clay - NY 31 & 481 - Great Northern Mall; closed by 2009 and moved up the road

Syracuse (Fairmount) - Fairmount Fair Mall; closed by 1980s and moved back to Camillus Mall

Camillus - Camillus Plaza/Mall; first store moved to Fairmount; second one closed by 2003

Cicero - Penn Can Mall (now Drivers Village); closed by 1994 and moved to Great Northern Mall

Syracuse (north side) - Carousel Center (later Destiny USA); now Green Mountain Sports

Liverpool - NY 31, COR Center; closed in 2017 and became a Spectrum store in 2021

Syracuse (Westvale) - NY 5, Westvale Plaza (possibly closed in the '70s and moved to Fairmount; you can get good tips on Facebook)

Dollar stores

Another Flickr grab.

Dollar stores are this generation's five and dimes. Who knows? A nickel or dime in Edwardian times is said to be worth just over a dollar in today's money when adjusted for inflation and the GDP. This ain't The Wall Street Journal, so I won't bore you with that! Dollar Tree are the Walmart of dollar stores in the States. Almost every market has at least one. Family Dollar and Dollar General aren't dollar stores per se. They're more in league with Woolworth USA and McCrory from the days of yore, but not quite as legendary! All for a Dollar and Everything's $1.00, my first dollar stores, as well as Owego-based Dollar Depot and Dollar Bazaar closed years ago. I'm trying to get Yankee One Dollar and/or Just a Buck into these locations: Shoppingtown Mall, DeWitt Great Northern Mall, Clay Fingerlakes Mall, Auburn Fairmount Fair, Syracuse Northern Lights Plaza, North Syracuse Homer Ave., Cortland Hyde Park Mall Former CVS, Delmar Former Coconut's in Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany Colonie Center, Albany Commercial Drive, New Hartford Former Rite Aid, Baldwinsville Waterloo Premium Outlets, Junius Former Smith's, Brewerton Former Smith's Plaza, Cicero Former Eckerd, Westvale Former ShopRite, Poughkeepsie Former Hackett's or Grand Union, Hamilton Former Caldor, Flushing I'm open to suggestions. When I have the money, I could open a JAB franchise, as they have that option. YOD don't even have a website.

One Dollar Zone!

Fantasy location in Cortlandville

 While looking up information on a store closing in Berks County, PA on Philadelphia indie station WFMZ 69, I found another in Easton of a chain called The Dollar Zone! (it's spelled that way). It seems like three chains (two co-owned) have a monopoly across the country, and I had to create a new tag since I have enough posts of this sort now. The real dollar store I grew up with is not dead and gone. It's the modern version of the five and dime of the early twentieth century like McCrorys and Ben Franklins. The closest one to me is downstate since the chain started in the Tri-State and is likely still based there and have stores across the Northeast. For this post, I simply copied the list from 99 Cents Only Store from the West Coast to save time, yet One Dollar Zone! from the East Coast is remotely more likely to expand inland.

Utica - Genesee St, former Eckerd/Rite Aid

Canastota - NY 5 & CR 25, former Family Dollar

Syracuse - NY 80 & 175, former Walgreens/Rite Aid

Auburn - NY 5, former Real Deals

Baldwinsville - Downer St, former Real Deals

Mattydale - US 11, former Fays/Dollar Tree

Cortlandville - NY 281, next to Grand Union (pictured) to extreme right

New Hartford - New Hartford Shopping Center, former Tuesday Morning

Albany - Wolf Rd, former Barnes & Noble

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

Cicero - NY 31, former Green Planet Grocery

Chittenango - Tuscarora Rd, former Dollar General (later in 2024)

Various - Closing Dollar Tree or Family Dollar stores

99 Cents Only Store

MacArthur Park store in LA before dark, sweet green savings, prices going down!

Clotee Pridgen Alloc…, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 With the dollar store market dominated by three chains, there is another primarily in the Southwest based in LA County called 99 Cents Only Store. With inflation, you'd think it'd be impossible for everything there to be that anymore, let alone from pricey California, when Dollar Tree has their base price at $1.25 (apart from select locations with Dollar Tree Plus or Family Dollar combos).  Back on this end of the country, regional chain Real Deals Dollar Store just went out of business as a result, so some of those could be available now (North Syracuse became Dollar General, however).

Canastota - NY 5 & CR 25, former Family Dollar

Auburn - NY 5, former Real Deals

Baldwinsville - Downer St, former Real Deals

Mattydale - US 11, former Fays/Dollar Tree

Cortlandville - NY 281, next to Grand Union

New Hartford - New Hartford Shopping Center, former Tuesday Morning

Albany - Wolf Rd, former Barnes & Noble

Cicero - NY 31, former Green Planet Grocery

Chittenango - Tuscarora Rd, former Dollar General

Palmer Township, PA (Easton) - 785 S 25th St; former One Dollar Zone! (only non-NY one I can think of, and the next post sorted)

UPDATE: This post is cancelled because the chain are closing (shock, horror!). Since their biggest competitor couldn't do it the old way anymore, 99 Cents Only couldn't either, and the rising crime rate rate and post-COVID economy are to blame.

PayMore

Fantasy location in North Syracuse

 While trying to find a place to sell if not give away my spare TV without having to do it online waiting around for someone to buy it or having to bring it to them when they do if they can't come to me, or even resorting to a pawnbroker, which may not have the best reputation, I came across a chain called PayMore. The closest ones are downstate where they're from, so I now have to come up with ideas for ones Upstate (mostly CNY as usual). With the economy right now, there's somewhere people can go to take things they don't need for cash that they do. PayMore only need small properties, which is a challenge compared to larger ones.

North Syracuse - US 11 & S Bay Rd, Northern Lights (pictured)

Syracuse (Lyncourt) - Shop City Plaza, former Cricket (even though Pawn King are there)

Westvale - NY 5, Westvale Plaza

Cortland - NY 13, Riverside Plaza or NY 281 next to Grand Union

Syracuse (downtown) - former Rite Aid/Woolworths (next to current DGX)

Auburn - NY 5 & US 20, Fingerlakes Mall

Canastota - NY 5 & CR 25, former Family Dollar

New Hartford - New Hartford Shopping Center, former Tuesday Morning

Chittenango - Tuscarora Rd, former Dollar General

Oneida - NY 5, former KFC? (less red tape than another restaurant)

Liverpool - NY 31, COR Plaza, former Charneys

Rochester - NY 96, former Subway

Syracuse/Nedrow - US 11, Green Hills Plaza