The Return of Grand Union

Former Utica store back in the '60s!

 The merger of Tops and Price Chopper is a done deal, and things will look like they always have except for a dozen stores that have to be spun off. Grand Union will resurface after a decade of dormancy. A number of rural locations around the Catskills and Adirondacks were sold to Tops, while others like Hamilton closed just as Price Chopper opened nearby (it's a small college town). C&S still own the name and will be a franchise, but will run differently than Big M, which has individual deals across Upstate New York and Northeast Pennsylvania in outlying communities such as the Finger Lakes and Twin Tiers. As for Grand Union, some people in CNY think it died out four decades ago, and closer to Albany, two, as Corinth and West Coxsackie are more on the outskirts of the area.

GU Markets, LLC are registered in New Hartford (which is why I chose there to base the article), although there is currently no Tops there (Hannaford took over most of those locations since then), yet there is a Price Chopper that became one of the first with the Market 32 name outside the Capital Region/518 area code and New England. Across Oneida County, the Rome and Sherrill stores will become Grand Union, the first since the early '90s. Even the red dot I grew up with is coming back (not the kind kitty chases!). I went to Grand Union when visiting family in Albany County, then when I was going to school down the Hudson in Dutchess County. Now a new generation will come to know a brand whose legacy dates as far as back as the Victorian age in Lackawanna Valley and celebrates its sesqui-centennial (Price Chopper and Tops have their own milestone anniversaries in 2022). Now when I go to Rome and Cortland in the new year, I'll have to try and eke out a stop to go and see an old friend (the old Cortland store became P&C in 1990), although it means the loss of Tops in these and other smaller towns, while both Tops and Price Chopper remain in counties where they can be far enough apart (although they're both within a mile or two of each other in Clay on NY 31). Meanwhile, Grand Union is just one reboot that almost no one had ever expected.

There could still be more stores opened while staying a small chain compared to the others:

Syracuse (Westvale) - former P&C/Tops, NY 5 (pictured below)

Gloversville - former Price Chopper (as of 10/1/26), N Main St

Mattydale  - former kmart, US 11

Schenectady - former store, later ALDI, NY 5 & 7

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

Troy - former Lansingburgh Price Chopper, US 4

Palatine Bridge - former Ames, NY 5

Cortlandt Manor - US 9*

West Nyack - former Stop & Shop, NY 59

Albany - former Price Chopper, Westgate Shopping Ctr, NY 5

Stamford, CT - former Stop & Shop, US 1

Binghamton (Nimmonsburg) - former store/Giant (local chain, not Ahold Delhaize one)/Weis, US 11 (would also give UFCW Local #1 an outpost in Broome County)

Binghamton (Southside East) - former Weis/Giant (as of 3/3/24), NY 7

Greene - former BK5 Great American, old NY 12?

Sidney - former BK5 Great American, NY 23

Montague, NJ - NJ 23*

Wayne, NJ - CR 504* (tri-state town had Grand Unions former HQ)

Slingerlands - NY 85*

It'd be the first in Syracuse since the early '80s. A real one used to be near here.

*former ShopRite (last three in NY Capital Region which have closed late 2023 [chain left before in late '80s, which I didn't notice then, being loyal to Grand Union!])

Times Union Center

MVP Health Arena

 Here's a post from the sister blog since several retailers with ties to the Capital District are listed.

Tim Hortons: Come Back to CNY

Newer Franklin County (Columbus/Central Ohio Capital Region) location

 Canadas coffee and donut king Tim Hortons left CNY in 2015, likely due to stiff competition from Dunkin' Donuts and other factors. Delta Sonic in deWitt, Fairmount and North Syracuse have truncated versions of Tim Hortons, but it's just not the same or enough, of course. Tops even had the coffee self-serve for a period in Syracuse. Only in or near the border community and/or Monroe County can I have it full fledged, as well as northeast Pennsylvania, even if I use the app and have takeaway delivered just to save time. I've already listed what happened to the former locations several years ago, but it's been long enough since then, that the chain could be given another chance, as some here assume it's like fellow Canadian giant Loblaws, which left the US altogether decades ago staying home since as not everyone in the States goes there, even in normal times. Their main rival acquired several locations, and others got the rest, or no one touched a few. A new franchise owner could do what the last one may have gotten wrong.

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

Syracuse (east side) - former Jimmy Johns, Marshall St. (SU Hill)

East Syracuse - former Starbucks/Jimmy Johns, NY 298

Ithaca - former Burger King; NY 13/34/96

Cortland - former Rite Aid; NY 281 & 222

Auburn - NY 5 (past location)

Syracuse (downtown) - Marriott Syracuse Downtown [née Hotel Syracuse] (former Café Kubal/Hardees)

Fulton - NY 481 (former Nestlé site)

Oswego - NY 104 (former Ponderosa site)

Mattydale - US 11 (former Friendlys)

Oneida - NY 5 & 46 (former KFC?)

Manlius - NY 92 (former Kinney Drugs)

Cicero - E Circle Dr (former Jimmy Johns)

Syracuse (south side/downtown) - S Salina St (former Burger King)

Clay - NY 31, former Subway

Dollar stores

Westminster, BC store outside Vancouver.

 For over three decades, dollar stores have been todays five and dimes.  While it's too easy now to go to Family Dollar, Dollar Tree and Dollar General, there have been others in CNY and beyond.  In the early '90s, there was All for a Dollar and Everything's $1.00.  When I moved to Dutchess County, I encountered Just a Buck.  Up the Hudson River in the Capital Region, there used to be Yankee One Dollar.  There's still Real Deals around CNY (the only indie to have the one price left) and in Syracuse we have 99¢ City (once with two stores and now just the one) and Dollar Wise which are just low priced variety stores.  Many have closeout and surplus store brand items from large chains based out of town and state.  I just worry if the expiry date is reached when the item should be binned.

In Fulton, Dollar General replaced the last surviving Woolworths in the region when it closed in 1997.  Only $1 was absorbed by Dollar Tree.  That recently merged with Family Dollar.  The pandemic economy has caused people to have to buy more at these chains, which also move in on food deserts, which have been kept in check in places such as Harris County (Houston).

With the cost of many goods going up by the day, fewer places will have it all for that little, even at the one chain as I go there and can't always find what I want when I'm on a budget.  At least there's still one kind of store that will give those looking for a bargain on everyday needs.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

West Coast location

 Wyndham Hotels and Resorts are one of the largest hotel companies in the world.  In CNY, they only have a handful of brands currently franchised (Ramada, Super 8, Days Inn, Collegian and Microtel).  I've seen and stayed at some of these and other chains of theirs (mainly in WNY as well as the tri-state and DC/VA areas).  I've done a post on Travelodge before, and how there's a former Comfort Inn/Holiday Inn in Liverpool close to the airport that could easily be filled by one of the divisions (see below), as well as a closed Best Western right near the terminal.  There's also a vacant lot down Buckley Road where an indie motel used to be.  We used to have Howard Johnson in classic form, but it closed and the abandoned property became an eyesore on Carrier Circle for years until finally demolished, where many of the other Syracuse hotels are in proximity to Hancock right off the Thruway.  Another HoJo opened on Thompson Road around the corner, but it became a local place recently.  The new Ramada in Liverpool was previously Holiday Inn, Sheraton and Randolph House.  The old one on Buckley Road a mile away was torn down as it was cramped and dated and replaced by Hiltons Hampton Inn and Suites.  Changes to I-81 would affect business, but that's for another day.  The Wyndham Garden in Buffalo near Roswell Park was formerly a DoubleTree by Hilton (normal to switch teams in the hospitality business).  The Hawthorn Suites across town was Staybridge Suites (IHG) and Springhill Suites (Marriott). UPDATE: Electronics Pkwy location sold and franchise TBA.

The Wyndham chains that should come to the region are:

Travelodge

Wyndham Garden

Hawthorn Suites (the latest one I stayed in; my first trip in over three years time)

la Quinta

AmericInn

Howard Johnson (would work for smaller plots.  No longer the chain with fried clams! [apart from a spun-off location in Warren County])

Also did this with the sister chain.

The Paper Store

Fantasy location due to lack of free image

 I heard of The Paper Store through another sponsored Facebook post, and it seemed like the next idea for the blog. The closest one is in Buffalo, and the Tri-state a close second. This is more like Hallmark stores and they used to be in CNY (one remains). There's also The Paper Source (which could get overlapping locations not chosen by their competitor). Both chains have entered administration because of Pandemicoras Box (a blog post all its own). We used to have The Paper Cutter (see later post), which was sort of close, but that also had office and school supplies before OfficeMax and Staples moved on in. The Paper Store would work in Upstate NY east of WNY.

North Syracuse - Northern Lights, US 11 (pictured)

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

Westvale - former Tops/P&C, NY 5

deWitt - former Bed Bath and Beyond; Marshalls Homegoods Plaza, NY 5 (UPDATE; 13/9/25: Sister chain Uncharted are now open in the former Party City, as well as Long Island downstate, so we'll see where this all leads) or former Charneys/Wheels; Empire Plaza (as of 1/11/25)

Auburn - Fingerlakes Mall, NY 5 & US 20

Irondequoit - Medley Center, NY 104

Henrietta - South Town Plaza, NY 252

Cortland - former flea market, Riverside Plaza, NY 13

Oswego - former Peebles/Gordmans, NY 104

New Hartford - former JoAnn Fabrics, New Hartford Shopping Center, Genesee St

Colonie - former Barnes & Noble, Wolf Rd

Williamsville - former Best Buy, NY 78 (far enough from existing locations of both chains on US 62)

Muscle Maker Grill

Red Bank, NJ location

 Muscle Maker Grill appeared on a rerun of Undercover Boss.  When I saw that it was another franchised chain, I knew what to do.  You know the drill.

North Syracuse - former Hoffmans Hot Haus/Salt City Dogs, Northern Lights, US 11

Henrietta - former Calios or Mighty Taco, NY 252

Auburn - former Tim Hortons, NY 5

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

Syracuse - former Subway, Onondaga Blvd.