Eyemart Express

AI fantasy version because still no free image

Now to switch gears, Eyemart Express I only just heard of the other week in Rochester with a couple new locations in the suburbs.  One in the DFW is where this chain are based and there will always be a market for eyewear.  Here's where they should look into so to speak:

deWitt - NY 5, former Pearle Vision or Shoppingtown
Syracuse (Eastwood/Lyncourt) - former Blockbuster Video (even though rival Visionworks are already nearby)
Clay - NY 31, Great Northern Mall
Fairmount - Fairmount Fair
Oswego - NY 104
Fulton - NY 481, former Fay's Drugs
Cortland - NY 13, Riverside Plaza or NY 281, Cortlandville
Syracuse (north side) - Destiny USA
Auburn - former Walgreens
Syracuse (west side) - NY 5, Genesee Plaza, former Sam Dell Dodge site

Former Tops locations

East Aurora location

    Tops, like any longtime chain, have had stores come and go. While it'd take all week to list them all (Groceteria will have the ones that were in the more sizeable areas), here's what I could get on my own. Some had closed in 2018 when the chain was under Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

Syracuse (Eastwood) - Burnet Ave near NY 635; original Tops stores left Onondaga County in 1986; later P&C until 2004 and is now Bill Rapp Nissan
Syracuse (south side) - 4141 S Salina St (US 11, Valley Plaza; previously P&C twice, Acme, and A&P); will become Super Imperial Market in 2026
Mattydale - US 11; later P&C until 1994 and Big Lots until 2025

deWitt - NY 92; previously P&C; closed as of 25/4/25 (below). Tops Xpress on NY 5 & 92 remains. Becoming Goodwill in Spring/Summer 2026.
New Hartford (CR 24, Kellogg Mall in Washington Mills and NY 5A [Commercial Drive], Tehan Plaza) - both now Hannaford
Utica (east side) - now Hannaford
Whitehall - Grand Union became Tops in 2001, then closed; now Dollar General
Oneida - NY 5; now Price Chopper
Geneva - NY 14A, Pyramid Plaza; later Cherribundi and RealEats, now vacant
Oswego - NY 104; now Price Chopper
Bolton Landing, Elizabethtown, Corinth, West Coxsackie, Hoosick Falls et al (mainly Adirondack Park) - NY 9N, US 9, NY 81 & US 9W, NY 22 respectively; were GU at first, then Tops, then back to GU and Tops once again (see earlier GU post for more details)
Fulton - NY 48 & CR 3; now Price Chopper; with Tops later in former Strupplers Big M/Shurfine down NY 48; now River View Pediatrics
Hamilton - NY 12A; was Grand Union, then Tops, then back to GU, but is now Hacketts
Cleveland, OH area - were briefly in Cuyahoga County after absorbing then-sister chain Finast (First National Stores) under Ahold; Erie, PA have the closest ones to them now
Buffalo area - Tops' backyard; given the nature of the business, many have come and gone over the decades. The current count is over 140, yet they count almost 400 total, as they include all past locations for tax purposes, as one of the smaller stores ultimately absorbed into Tops told me when they still existed (another blog called Buffalo Stories has some original Tops, HyTop Pharmacy, and B-Kwik stores from the '60s and '70s).
North Syracuse - US 11 in village; later Salvation Army; now an estate agent
Henrietta - NY 252/Jefferson Road, now At Home (moved around the corner)

Lyons - NY 31, now vacant

Rochester - N Winton Rd; now ALDI and TBD; Tops Xpress remains

Warrensburg - US 9, later Grand Union again; closing in 2026

Sherrill - NY 5, now Grand Union

Rome - NY 46 & 49, Freedom Plaza; later Grand Union (closing in March 2026); previously P&C for several years

Irondequoit - NY 104

Cortland (1) - NY 281 & 222, now Grand Union

Cortland (2) - NY 222, now vacant; closed by 1994 when new store opened around the corner

Watertown (Pamelia) - US 11, now Piggly Wiggly

Watertown (Seaway/south) - US 11, later Grand Union; closing in 2026

Rutland, VT - US 4 & 7, now Grand Union again

Cooperstown - NY 28, later Grand Union; closing in 2026

Peru - US 9, now Grand Union again

Saranac Lake (1) - NY 3, now Grand Union yet again

Dansville

Elmira - becoming Rural King in Summer 2026

Saranac Lake (2) - now closed

Owego (1) - NY 17C; now Price Chopper

Owego (2) - NY 17C, previously P&C; later Grand Union; now closed

Norwich - NY 990L, later Grand Union; now closed

Wilson Farms, B-Kwik and Sugarcreek Stores were a division of Tops until they spun off into a separate company and were later sold to 7-Eleven (I discussed them before and some Wilson Farms became other things). Tops returned to Syracuse in 2010 when they purchased the lions share of Penn Traffic after their third and final administration (bankruptcy!).

deWitt store a few weeks before closing

Arthur Treachers

Newer Washington, DC location.

    I meant to put Arthur Treachers here earlier but it must have been the one that got away! They were formerly in Liverpool (Bayberry and Galeville) and Syracuse (east side). Monroe County have the closest ones to me right now, but I want to change all that:

Oswego - former Arbys (NY 104)

Fulton - former Jreck Subs (downtown)

Cortland - former Naples Italian Eatery (NY 13)

Auburn - former Tim Hortons (NY 5 and/or Genesee St)

Cicero - former Jimmy Johns (E Circle Dr) or Buffalo Wild Wings  (US 11)

Utica - former Tim Hortons (Genesee St)

Rome - TBD (NY 46 or 49)

Canastota - former Jreck Subs (NY 5 & 13)

Syracuse (east side) - former Jimmy Johns
New Hartford - same as above, Sangertown Square (NY 5 & 5A)
Wappinger Falls - former Sonic Drive-In (US 9)
Canandaigua - former Ponderosa, NY 5/US 20
New Hartford - former Dennys (NY 5)

For towns with more than one vacancy LJS can get the other.

Bus or bust

I'd bring them back for day trips downstate and to casinos and such!

The travel industry is certainly retail so it fits here.  There doesn't always seem to be enough buses to where I wanna go from my area.  The Chinatown bus going downstate only leaves at all hours from Galeville (part of Liverpool) just a mile from the bus and railway station.  The infamous Fung Wah went the way of Syracuse & Oswego Bus just last year.  If only I could just get founder Pei Lin Liang to revive the company and get back in good graces with Albany and Boston for an operating licence.  For casino runs that mainly attract pensioners I'd have him go to Gananoque, ONT and Niagara Falls, NY/ONT in the border community, both Mohegan Sun casinos, Sands in the Allentown-Bethlehem, PA area, Vernon Downs, Point Place (coming soon), and Yellow Brick Road in the Central Leatherstocking (he could go to the latter two casinos' Oneida First Nation sister flagship Turning Stone from communities that Birnie, Yankee Trails, Wade and others won't service).  In the summer months, I'd have runs to Sylvan and Verona Beaches on NY 13, Southwick Beach and Sacketts Harbour in the North Country, and Green Lakes in Fayetteville.  Meanwhile, I'd get Liang to go to NYC in broad daylight without eating into Greyhounds runs too much but they always get long queues and only occasionally do they provide an extra bus for people just going to Cortland and Binghamton which have less demand by comparison.  The bus could go down NY 13 to Ithaca and up NY 14 to Geneva as direct service from CNY is sparse or even non-existent. Not everyone can have access to a private vehicle or in the case of seniors can't handle the long drive on the road anymore so there's a market to tap into.  I'd have Fung Wah or somebody leave from in the city like they do in Albany so it's not out of the way.  I'd also make sure they avoid all the problems that have plagued this type of service.  This is why these things have to be regulated to protect people from getting hurt.  There should be value for money without cutting corners or cars off on the road.  They could even start over in Canada and provide bus service in Haldimand County, ONT to get people to Toronto, Hamilton, Niagara Falls (both) and Buffalo.  I see similar buses like Safeway Tours (no relation to the supermarket chain) in Niagara Falls US & Canada which are more for tourism purposes with primarily Asian customers each time I'm in town.
If Fung Wah could just change their focus a bit, they could maybe rebuild their tepid reputation.

RadioShack

Waterbury, CT store.  Not your fathers RadioShack!

Yes, RadioShack are alive and well but alas fewer and more far between by the day.  Mostly a Sprint dealer with some vestiges of the old guard.  Auburn, Herkimer and Rochester (now closed) have the closest ones to Syracuse nowadays when a generation or two ago, they were all over, even in Cazenovia (via a dealer however).  Since mobile phone shops are on almost every corner these days anyway, they may as well open these here (it may have to wait now as they have re-entered administration):

deWitt (NY 5) - Shoppingtown*

Cortland (NY 13) - Riverside Plaza

Clay (NY 31 & 481) - Great Northern Mall*
Liverpool (NY 31) - former Verizon Wireless

Syracuse (north side) - Destiny USA*

Westvale (NY 5) - former Verizon dealer or building with Family Dollar

Oswego - vacancy on NY 104

Fulton - former Eckerd on NY 481

New Hartford - Sangertown Square (NY 5A)

Oneida (NY 5) - former Tim Hortons (it's a small town and there's less red tape)

Fayetteville - former Epic (NY 5)

North Syracuse - Northern Lights (US 11)

Cicero - former Cicis Pizza

Syracuse (Eastwood/Lyncourt) - Shop City, former Blockbuster Video (* across the street)

Bridgeport - former Kinney Drugs (NY 31)

Chittenango - same if CVS aren't interested (NY 5 & 13)

*was here in the past

BJ's Brewhouse

Colorado Springs, CO location

This SoCal chain have opened in Colonie in the Capital Region, so here are other possible locations:

East Syracuse - former Camilla's Café, Bridge St
Oswego - NY 104
North Syracuse - US 11 & W Taft Rds
Cicero - along E Circle Dr or former Buffalo Wild Wings
New Hartford - New Hartford Shopping Ctr or former Zebbs or Dennys
Syracuse (Destiny USA) - former Cantina Loredo
Irondequoit - Skyview on the Ridge (formerly Medley Ctr) or former Keenans
Auburn - Dennys, NY 5
Canandaigua - former Ponderosa, NY 5/US 20
Watertown - former Tilted Kilt, NY 3
Cortland - Riverside Plaza, NY 13

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

No relation to BJs Wholesale Club.

Bottle return

This is in Michigan. I would've used a bin bag first, though.

In New York, Maine, California, Michigan and several other states, people pay a deposit on fizzies, drink and in some states water.  You'd think places to recycle them would be within easy reach but that is not always the case however.  Where one was in Eastwood before could be one again as many people there can't drive and the bus or walking isn't always convenient.  Only name brands can be brought to the chain stores there.  Not only can one make a quick buck one can channel their inner Ed Begley Jnr and save the environment.  Some more far flung communities could use one two.  Even some on NY 5 have these.  Not quite sure how these places make revenue yet many have come and gone over the years.  Once I'm rich I'll just have the money go to charity as it'd be a drop in the bucket for me by then!  One place I know could have it help cats and dogs but they won't take all the ones I bring in but you can't win them all!