Fingerlakes Mall

Bass Pro Shops, the last thing going at Fingerlakes Mall

 Fingerlakes Mall on NY 5 & US 20 in Auburn is a classic textbook example of a small town dead mall. The easternmost city of a wine-growing region which the city itself is best known for a prison, Harriet Tubman and John Walsh. The mall opened in 1980 and once had JCPenney, kmart, Sears, Radio Shack (one of the very last was across town, but that's for another day), CVS/pharmacy, Rex, Friendlys, Great Outdoors RV, FYE, TCBY and Chappells. Bass Pro Shops came in 2003 and was thought to be the catch of the day, but it is the one holdout as one of the few in Upstate NY; the one other in CNY being in Utica around the former Montgomery Ward in Riverside Mall in Deerfield off NY 8 & 12 in proximity to the Mohawk Valley, Adirondacks and Catskills. I used to go to the Auburn one now and again, but not in a few years since they had less of what I needed and is less convenient for me today.

In recent years, local events are held at the mall, but being the de facto event center for Cayuga County is not enough. It could be a real mall again. It could have Target, Ross Dress for Less, Barnes & Noble and Hobby Lobby. FYE could come back, and there could be a combination of local and national smaller stores in the hallway. Not everyone can go all the way to Syracuse or Rochester. The potential is right there in front of them, even with inflation and online shopping looming over all of us. Auburn isn't as tight a squeeze as other smaller communities. The sister plaza across the street could also have spots left. Auburn is not just another Rust Belt former factory town. Fingerlakes Mall is ready for a renaissance like their competitors in the next county.

BiLo Foods/Riverside Markets

Former Butler County store; was also kmart (montage)

    
    BiLo Foods, no relation to BI-LO in the mid-Atlantic (Tops' former sister chain, which we covered already), an Australian chain or anything else with the same name, were P&Cs sister chain in Pennsylvania (except the Northwest in the Erie and Bradford areas where Penn Traffic had Quality from WNY, or P&C in Sayre). Some are closer to Pittsburgh, while others were across the Keystone State in the Northeast, mainly in Twin Tiers. Three former locations probably became Tops, the Renovo store is now Lingles (previously A&P, Super Duper and Weis), and Kens BiLo in Northern Cambria and Patton just retired their use of the BiLo name. A few other BiLos don't have their own sites, nor is their one for all of them. There is also a BiLo in Iberia Parish in Louisiana unrelated to either chain. One former store in Centre Country is now an Ollies Bargain Outlet. Numerous examples are scattered around and it can take all day to list them all since I'm not as familiar with this chain or state myself, and it's only because of the former parent company's ties to my area that this counts here, as well as the events of the 2010s tying the two BiLos together somewhat with the Tops purchase or the Ahold Delhaize merger in the Benelux and US East Coast (the Carolinas one lives on through ALDI as BI-LOs later sister stores Winn-Dixie and Harveys merged with them). Riverside were founded in 1932 and by the '80s, the BiLo name outnumbered the other. Both survive today as independently owned and operated businesses, just trying to get on in this economy.

    The Pennsylvania BiLo are chiefly in small towns and are affiliated with Best Yet/C&S. I know I saw one off I-81 in Susquehanna Valley in Hallstead like the one I had a photo of in Canton with the '50s/'60s architecture. Maybe it was the one I saw. Anyway, BiLo/Riverside and P&C are the last surviving remnants of Penn Traffic (not counting the Atlanta Big Bear or Krogers QFC for Quality). It's also another case of two or more things having the same name before the Internet was around to check (I just learned that bilo is a type of Filipino dish, and no I won't use that stupid catchphrase). I did manage to copy a dozen past locations from my previous post on P&C. Some operated as Riverside or other franchises (some are still with us today). I think I have half the Commonwealth listed! I had to dig deep, and like the chains back in New York, there's always more to add since there's no one site today.

Tyrone - now closed

Brockway - PA 28; now Martinos

Johnstown (1) - Riverside; previously Quaker Super Market; Osborne St Market and Gee Bee; now Randys BiLo (last one in area, which was originally home to Riverside apparently)

Johnstown (2) - Riverside; previously A&P, Thorofare, and Ideal

Johnstown (3) - previously Acme and Gee Bee; Riverside address changed

Johnstown (4) - Riverside; previously Thorofore; later Ideal

Johnstown (5) - Riverside (merged with Penn Traffic in 1962 and founded BiLo in 1974, which opened next door)

Johnstown (5) - Riverside; previously Thorofare and Shop 'n Save

Johnstown (6) - Riverside; previously Gee Bee; later Cloverleaf and Ideal

Johnstown (7) - Riverside; previously Quaker, Osborne, and Gee Bee; later Ideal

Muncy - outgoing Big Lots

West Pittston - US 11; Insalacos Shopping Center; previously Insalacos; now Gerritys

Clarion - US 322; now KFC

Wyoming - US 11; Midway Shopping Center; previously Insalacos; now Price Chopper

North Apollo - now Shop 'n Save

Cadiz, OH - Coffys BiLo; now Sanders (one of at least two outside PA)

Claysburg - now Claysburg Hometown Market

Jefferson - Thornes BiLo; now Belko

Benton - now Country Fresh Market and Hardware

Duncansville - US 22; now Martins?

Vowinckel - PA 66; now closed

Dagus Mines - PA 255; now closed

Portage - TBD; now closed

Pittston - US 11; previously Insalacos; now Redners

Flourtown - CR 2018; now Acme (wild guess because the façade has been done up since, and Giant up the road seemed too big, and I just can't do every single city, borough [village] and township because it's too much, even small towns don't always have information available, and I just don't have the time).

Commodore - TBD; now closed

East Brady - PA 38; now closed

Grove City - PA 58; now County Market

Huntingdon - US 22; US 22 Plaza

Sipesville - PA 985; now closed

Limestone - PA 66; now closed

Punxsutawney - later Mikes; now ALDI (first started writing this on Groundhog Day!)

Blairsville - now Bayada (health care non-profit)

Natrona Heights - Highlands Mall; now closed

McConnellsburg - PA 16; now Save-a-Lot

Morgantown, WV - now Crossfit Ridgeline

Greenville - Greenville Plaza; closed 2002

Mt Union - US 522; now closed

Lansford - US 209; now Boyers

Tannersville - PA 611; now Weis

Honesdale - US 6; now Weis

Shenandoah - PA 54; now Boyers

West Hazleton - PA 93; previously Insalacos; outgoing Big Lots

Kingston Township - Back Mountain Shopping Center; now closed

East Stroudsburg - Eagle Valley Corners; TBD

Hollidaysburg - Riverside; previously A&P; now Hometown Market

Martinsburg, WV - now closed

duBois - Riverside; also where office and distribution center once was, so I based this post there

Brookville - Riverside; original store opened during the Depression

Altoona (1)  - PA 764; Riverside only; previously A&P; now Family Dollar

Altoona (2)  - Riverside and BiLo; previously A&P; now Rite Aid

Altoona (3)  - Riverside only; previously A&P; now Thompson Pharmacy

Altoona (4)  - Riverside only; now demolished

Altoona (5)  - PA 764; Toms Riverside only; previously A&P and Food Rite; now Fefis

Altoona (6)  - BiLo only; Orchard Plaza; outgoing Big Lots

Altoona (7)  - Riverside only; Business US 220; now closed

East Comenaugh - Riverside; previously Food Rite; now closed

St Marys - PA 255; now closed

Sykesville - Riverside;now closed

Hallstead - US 11 & PA 171 (the borough at least was finally confirmed through archive.org) - previously Acme; now Robs Market (formerly ShurSave)

Montrose - later Big M; TBD

Renovo - previously Super Duper, A&P and Weis; now Lingles

Reynoldsville - US 322; BiLo and Riverside; now Mikes

Indiana - Riverside; now Valeskis 4th St BiLo

Harmony/Zelienople - now Northgate BiLo

Knox - PA 338; Riverside; now Toms Riverside Quality Foods

Northern Cambria - now Kens Foods

Patton - now just Kens (not that Ken!)

Canton - PA 50 & 414; now Tops (there should be a couple more)

Windber - now Randys BiLo

Hermitage - Shenango Valley Mall

Jersey Shore - previously Super Duper; now Lingles

Ridgway - Riverside; now Elk County Foods

State College - now Ollies Bargain Outlet

Somerset - now vacant

Troy - US 6; now Tops

Tunkhannock - PA 29; now Weis

Meadville - US 19; now Tops

Lock Haven - Clinton Plaza; now Save-a-Lot

Homer City - now Ideal

Scranton - previously Insalacos and Riccardos; now Schiffs

Berwick - previously Insalacos; now Boyers

Tamaqua - US 209; previously Insalacos; now Boyers

Jim Thorpe - previously Insalacos; now Jim Thorpe Market

Carbondale - now Weis

Mt Pocono - PA 940; now Weis

Peckville/Blakely - now Quinns

Clarks Summit - US 11; now Gerritys

Old Forge - previously Insalacos; later Rossis and Rays ShurSave; now closed

Edwardsville - now closed

Cranberry Township - PA 19; now closed (guess what's opening around the corner!)

Johnsonburg - PA 219

Wellsboro - previously Acme; now closed

Wilkes-Barre (1) - S Main St; previously Acme and Insalacos; later Volunteers if America (went here a couple times); now Prime Bins

Wilkes-Barre (2) - Stanton St; previously Insalacos; now demolished

Houtzdale - now Howards; PA 53

Hazleton/Mountain Top - PA 309; previously Insalacos; now Weis?

New Bethlehem - PA 28; Riverside; now Toms Riverside Quality Foods

New Bloomfield - now Karns

Oil City - US 62; now Giant Eagle

Mt Carmel - previously Acme; TJ Barts and Super Saver; now Boyers

Phillipsburg - Riverside; later Fezells County Market; now closed

Bellefonte - now Rite Aid

Ashland - PA 54; now Boyers

Brookville - PA 36; now Giant Eagle

Sandy Township - Riverside (office)

Mahanoy City - previously Acme; later P&R; now demolished

Butler - Friedmans; later kmart; now closed (pictured)

White - CR 1009; TBD

Seneca/Franklin? - US 62; now Giant Eagle

Pottsville - PA 61 & 183; previously Acme; now Giant

Williamsport - PA 2014; now IMC (business management)

Shermansdale - PA 34; now Dollar General

Mansfield - Business US 15; previously Super Duper; later Hurleys, IGA, and Sears Hometown Store; now closed

Petrolia - Taylors Riverside; now closed

Fisher - CR 1001

Milton - now closed

Venus - PA 157

Wellsboro - previously Super Duper

Dallas Township - Country Club Shopping Center; now Gerritys

Watsontown - Riverside; now Lingles

Ford City - now Hankeys Riverside

East Vandergrift - now closed

Seward - PA 711

Sligo - PA 58 & 68

Starford - CR 1012

Defiance - PA 1036

Coraopolis - TBD

Warrendale - now closed

Tylersburg - now closed

Titusville - PA 89 & 27; Riverside; now Titusville Market Square

Rimersburg - PA 68; Riverside; now Toms Riverside Quality Foods

Ebensburg - now ALDI?

Saxonsburg - Friedmans; now Sprankles

Montoursville -  - now closed

Renfrew - now closed

Homestead - now closed

Selinsgrove - later Weis; now Hobby Lobby

Russellton - now closed

Jerome - PA 56?; now closed

Glen Hope - now closed

Pitcairn - now closed

Clearfield - Riverside; Old Town Rd and Clearfield Mall; now closed

Lewisburg - US 15; previously Acme; later Save-a-Lot and Big Lots

AI Riverside. Courtesy Toms (logo) and Craiyon.

Charney's

The only remaining store in deWitt until 2025

 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 hadn'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 penultimate location

deWitt (2) - NY 5, Empire Plaza, former Wheels Auto Supply?; longtime store until 1 November 2025 when they move across Erie Blvd E to deWitt Town Center into smaller space in the former Pellas Windows & Doors (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); later Eastern Mountain Sports; now University Sports Shop

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

Syracuse (Westvale) - NY 5, Westvale Plaza (possibly closed by the '70s and moved up W Genesee St to Fairmount; you can get good tips on Facebook from the over-60s)

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 above and below)

Syracuse (Lyncourt) - Teall Ave & Grant Blvd, Shop City Plaza; former Ames/Eckerd/Rite Aid (even though Pawn King are there)

Syracuse (north side) - Butternut & Lodi Sts; former Fays/Dollar Tree

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 & 13 and CR 25, former Family Dollar

New Hartford - Genesee St, New Hartford Shopping Center; former Tuesday Morning

Rome - NY 46 & 49, former Eckerd/Rite Aid or Freedom Plaza, former rue21

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

Liverpool (Clay) - NY 31, COR Plaza, former Charneys

Liverpool (Bayberry) - CR 57, Glenn Crossing Plaza, TBD

Rochester - NY 96, former Subway

Syracuse (Fairmount) - W Genesee St, Fairmount Fair (instead of Westvale)

Syracuse/Nedrow - US 11, Green Hills Plaza

Same plaza, different location, more detail if not room