Amvets

Cheektowaga (Buffalo) store in Erie County in WNY

Amvets Thrift Store is unique as it supports our beloved veterans. They only have stores in Western New York, downstate and Tennessee right now, and I only went to the Rochester one so far. Here are where they can have outposts so we can help those who have fought for us.

North Syracuse - former Burlington/Media Play, Northern Lights; US 11 & S Bay Rd

Auburn - former Real Deals, NY 5

Syracuse (south side) - former Grants/kmart/flea market, US 11

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

Canastota - former Family Dollar, NY 5 & CR 25

Albany - former Price Chopper (part), Westgate Shopping Ctr, NY 5

Guilderland - former Rite Aid/Goodwill, US 20

Cortland - former flea market, Riverside Plaza, NY 13 or former Valu, NY 222

Ithaca - South Meadow Plaza, NY 13, 34 & 96

Oswego - former Gordmans/Peebles, NY 104

Binghamton - former Weis/Giant/Grand Union, US 11

Bethlehem Township, PA - former ALDI

Goodwill

Rocky Hill, CT store in the Connecticut Capital Region

Goodwill may seem too easy, but they too could use new stores. We have a couple near me already (I work at one of them as of 2026), and I went to a couple more further out in the state, and one out of state to boot. All would be run by the Rochester (Finger Lakes/former ABVI) office except Capital Region stores by the tri-state affiliate (not CT), which ran the old Albany County store (a former Rite Aid that has since become an Ace Hardware; they moved to another just recently, as well as Broome County down I-88). Seems like Rite Aids and other sizeable vacancies can be done up into Goodwill, although mine was built from scratch instead (I'd have to dig to see what was demolished, however). Just don't bring them rubbish! (new stores that were confirmed then opened have been deleted):

Whitesboro - former Rite Aid, NY 69 & CR 30

Rome - former Rite Aid or Grand Union/Tops/P&C, Freedom Plaza (pictured below); NY 46 & 49

Auburn - former Big Lots/kmart?, NY 5; former Walgreens, Genesee St; former Dollar Tree, Fingerlakes Crossing, NY 5 & US 20; or former Sears, Rex, Chappells, or JCPenney; Fingerlakes Mall

Canastota - former Family Dollar, NY 5 & 13 and CR 25

Oswego - former Rite Aid, NY 104

deWitt - former P&C/Tops, NY 92 (court case still pending in 2026; pictured below)

Watertown - former Rite Aid, NY 3

Massena- former Rite Aid, NY 37

Binghamton (east side) - former Rite Aid, NY 7*

Binghamton (Nimmondsburg) - former Grand Union/Weis/Giant, US 11*

Schenectady - former Grand Union/ALDI, NY 5 & 7*

Rensselaer - former ALDI, US 9 & 20*

Albany - former Price Chopper, Westgate Shopping Center, NY 5*

New Hartford - former Rite Aid, NY 5A & CR 26B

Fulton - former Rite Aid/Walgreens, NY 3

Oneida - former Big Lots or Rite Aid, Glenwood Shopping Plaza, NY 46

Liverpool - former Eckerd/Rite Aid/Family Dollar, Old Liverpool Rd & Electronics Pkwy (plaza vacancy across the street where the other place was is now too small because of new launderette)

*Would be run by Goodwill of Greater NY/NJ (not strictly Tri-State/downstate)

Past locations:

Albany - NY 5 & CR 156; previously Rite Aid; now Ace Hardware

Rochester - NY 252; vacant as of 6/11/26 with new store around the corner

AI of future deWitt store (do give it time)

Fantasy Rome store with off-kilter sign (will have AI fix)

Menards

Celina, OH location

Menards are a home improvement chain mainly in the Midwest, but since Runnings have a store in my area, maybe this could work its way east as it's too easy to go to Home Depot and Lowes.

deWitt - former Sears, District East (née Shoppingtown Mall), NY 5

Syracuse (north side) - former JCPenney, Destiny USA

Auburn - former P&C or Fingerlakes Mall

Syracuse (south side) - former P&C/Tops/A&P or kmart/Grants/flea market, US 11

Liverpool - former Price Chopper/Big Lots, Shops at Seneca Mall, CR 57

Geneva - former Tops/RealEats/Cherribundi, Pyramid Plaza, NY 14A

Henrietta - former Tops, NY 252

Greece - former Bed, Bath & Beyond; The Mall at Greece Ridge, NY 104

Cheektowaga - Walden Galleria, former Lord & Taylor

New Hartford - former Macys, Sangertown Square, NY 5 & 5A

Cortland - Riverside Mall, NY 13

Lansing - former Sears, Shops at Ithaca Mall, NY 34

I ❤️ Mac 'n Cheese

AI mockup complete with empty pram sat outside

I just heard of I Mac 'n Cheese from a sponsored Facebook post and it looks like a place I can relate to.  A similar place used to be in deWitt.  The closest locations are downstate and in Marion County in the Indiana Capital Region.  Just when you think you've heard it all.

Syracuse (north side) - former Cantina Loredo or Margaritaville; Destiny USA

Liverpool, COR Plaza, NY 31

Auburn - Fingerlakes Commons, NY 5 & US 20 and Clark St Rd

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

New Hartford - Sangertown Square or former Boil Shack, NY 5 & 5A

Colonie - Colonie Centre, NY 5

Henrietta - former Calios, NY 252

Syracuse (west side) - former Subway, Onondaga Blvd.

Hartford (CT Capital Region) - former Pizza Hut

Camillus - former Firehouse Subs, W Genesee St

Needed a real image of my own to edit

Kinney Drugs in the Capital Region + 4 in CNY + 1 in WNY + 1 in VT

Syracuse north side location

Kinney Drugs cover roughly a third of Upstate New York, but have yet to enter the Capital Region. After hearing of the closing of two Walgreens stores in Albany County, and even some CVS ones, it got me thinking. Kinney are unknown east of the Mohawk Valley, while CVS stores are few and far between until you get through the Finger Lakes. The Albany paper says that the two that just closed are inner city and it would be inconvenient for seniors, the disabled, those without cars and who rely on CDTA. The acquisition of many Rite Aids by Walgreens caused some overlapping and less profitable stores to close. Kinney was formerly a franchise of Rexall, which is still a chain across the St Lawrence in Canada, while the brand is only at Dollar General in the US. Kinney is the last chain based Upstate after Carls, Fays and Freddys were absorbed by large chains. Kinney will never go the way of their competitors, staying here in the Northeast. Also threw in Vermont to boot, being the only other state to have Kinney to date. Rochester isn't on since Kinney won't go west of the wine belt at this time (I know they're in Skaneateles, albeit right next door to CVS [ex-Brooks/Revco] [small town]).

Albany (downtown) - 17 N Pearl St (NY 32)

Albany (Pine Hills) - US 20 (former CVS as of September 2023)

Albany (near UAlbany) - US 20 (same as above as of November 2024)

Albany (NY 5) - 153 Central Ave (former CVS as of January 2023)

Menands - 444 N Broadway (NY 32)

Cohoes - 308 Ontario St (NY 470 & 9R) (pictured below)

Albany (south end) - S Pearl St (NY 32)

Halfmoon - US 9

Colonie - former Barnes & Noble, Wolf Road

Albany (Beverwyck) - 581 Central Ave (NY 5) (pictured below)

Schenectady - 1044 State St. (NY 5)

Schenectady - 2009 Broadway (former CVS)

Guilderland - Crossgates Mall or Western Ave., US 20 (former CVS or Rite Aid/Goodwill)

Latham - 711 Troy-Schenectady Road (NY 7)

Manlius - former store (NY 92) (nobody touched it since it closed; as it just needs better promotion)

Canastota - former Rite Aid/Walgreens (NY 5 & 13) (pictured below)

Utica - former Rite Aid, Genesee St (former NY 5/8/12)

Syracuse - former Rite Aid/Walgreens (W Onondaga St.)

Pittsford - former Fays/Eckerd/Rite Aid (NY 31)

Burlington, VT - 158 Cherry St (previously Grand Union and Eckerd)

All former Walgreens and/or Rite Aid unless indicated.  Last five are in CNY, WNY, or VT.

Cohoes location (wrong shape for highway sign)

Canastota location (empty car park and pavement)

Albany location (not that ICE)

Albany location, second design

Price Chopper - Tops Merger

 

Syracuse east side location

I never expected Price Chopper and Market 32 to join forces with Tops.  While it would bring one chain to an area where the other isn't, in others they can overlap, including Central New York and the North Country.  The other concern is the union as Tops are under UFCW while Price Chopper aren't.  Both chains have points programs for saving money on gas and bus passes (Tops in Syracuse for Centro; Price Chopper in Albany for CDTA).  This could also be a gamechanger for common competitor Wegmans finally coming to the Capital Region if they ever do.  New management may put an end to the Golub and Wegmans families' agreement to not enter each others backyards.

Next year, both chains are supposed to have milestone anniversaries.  Price Chopper (founded as Central Market in 1932 in Schenectady) is thirty years older than Tops, native to Western New York.

Price Chopper stores in Oneida (Tops is down NY 5 in Sherrill), Oswego, and Fulton are former Tops stores.  Tops stores in and around the Adirondacks and Catskills were Grand Union in the past as I've posted here years before.  The Hoosick Falls, Corinth and West Coxsackie stores are some of the closest to Albany.  Down the river in the mid-Hudson Valley, former sister chain Stop and Shop sold some stores to Tops and have customers save on gift cards for four gas chains to save Tops bringing their own across the state (no Tops there or back in Syracuse when I lived down that way).

If in some communities both are too close to one another such as in Watertown, one might close (although are no plans to), so it could go to a competitor like Lidl or ShopRite in the Tri-State as they closed some stores since I moved but they're union as well.

I just hope I'll still be able to save thousands like I have been doing the past several years at Tops and that the bus pass discount will continue for those of use who don't have access to a car.

From the onset, things will still look the same to everyone. Wakeferns sister chains ShopRite and PriceRite operate differently, one union and other other not respectively. Tops and Price Choppers programmes might not be interchangeable and will continue to be managed from their sides of the state as before while the main office will be at the eastern end of the I-90 Thruway corridor.

Destiny USA

 

Carousel entrance

The pandemic has affected malls across the country and Destiny USA (née Carousel Centre) is no exception. JCPenney, Michaels, and Lord & Taylor have just left and Best Buy are next. Smaller stores have also closed. It may be some time before anyone takes a gamble on opening here as more people were shopping online even before last year. It would be nice to have these come in someday:

von Maur

Bloomingdales (sister to Macys)

Boscovs (in sister mall Sangertown Square in former Sears in New Hartford)

Zara (thanks to a tip on Facebook)

Ultimate Athletics (even though there's Dicks in the Canyon section)

IKEA (confirmed for fall 2025 in former AtHome/Ames/Hills)

Amazon 4-Star (Amazon Fresh was considered, but pulled out)

Altar'd

Åland

California Pizza Kitchen

I Heart Mac & Cheese

Ross Dress for Less (although Burlington are already down cellar and TJMaxx upstairs)

Shoe Carnival

Long John Silvers

Primark (Irish chains international name that I heard of from the UK)*

Whealthy (healthalicious chain new to the Northeast)*

*Recently opened in or coming soon to sister mall Crossgates Mall on US 20 in Guilderland in Albany County according to ABC 10/Fox 23.  Will go further with each at a later time.

Dedicated to the memory of Robert Congel.