Snapshots of Utica: Bargain Grocery

Our next post takes us to a discount grocery store in the city of Utica, NY. The photo below was taken on July 29, 2021.

Bargain Grocery opened this 13,000 square-foot building in December 2018 as a means for food accessibility in the West Utica area. Merchandise is sourced from major companies (i.e. Walmart), with the best being sold at low prices. Their merchandising and marketing also "emphasize(s) quality and nutrition, with consideration given to eating trends and the dietary needs of underserved customers".

From the Archives: Inside Big M: Sherburne, NY

Our next post takes us to another small-town Big M-branded grocery store in Upstate NY. All photos were taken on September 12, 2019.

This store was previously a Great American store, though it appears there may have been an additional tenant in the building on the right side. The Sunoco gas station and parking lot lights are from when Big M opened here.

Despite opening after 2008 and prior to 2011, the store has pre-2007 Technibilt shopping carts, manufactured c. 2006.

The right half of the store, which houses fresh foods appears to have been another unspecified business given how different it appears compared to the main part of the store.

The rest of the store houses general grocery items and the registers.

[FLASHBACK] Inside a Valu Home Center: Western Lights Plaza in Syracuse

 

Today on FLASH BACK, we go back to March 23, 2018 to examine a converted discount store in the city of Syracuse.

This Valu Home Center store was part of Kmart #4143, which operated from 1966 to 1996. Valu is affiliated with and supplied by Do It Best, and their color scheme reflects their Do It Best affiliation.

Ceiling fan display. Notice the white hugger ceiling fan at left, which has pointed-tip blades like the Patriot Lighting™ Eros II, though the fan they sell, the Home Impressions 42 In. White Ceiling Fan with Light Kit has flat-edged blades.

For some odd reason, toilets were displayed in the lighting section instead of the plumbing section.

Some of the shopping carts were archaic wire Kmart carts; these ones being United Steel & Wire model 395, manufactured in March 1984. Hard to say if they came from this former Kmart location, but likely not. Very rarely does a succeeding tenant acquire merchandise or fixtures from the previous tenant.

5 Years of Blogging at NYCRR!

Today marks the fifth year blogging here on Blogspot! I must say, it has been a wild ride covering the diverse range of retail establishments throughout the Mohawk Valley and Capital Region of New York. 

The past five years on this merry-go-round have included the demise of all the area's Kmart stores, an outdated Wal-Mart well outside the main coverage area, the revival of Grand Union in the northeast, a trip through a part of western Vermont, a concert trip in Massachusetts, and a bin store.

Technically 2018 was not my first year documenting retail, that actually began in 2015, though all the early photos from 2015 to early 2017 (except the shopping carts) are now lost to time. Some questionable decisions have been made with regards to what I archived around that time.

To conclude this 5 year anniversary post, we will take a look back at some of the most viewed posts from each year.

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2018: A Lonely Valentine's Day: The Bricks in the Wall of the Herkimer Kmart (aired February 14, 2018)

2019: Dead Plaza: Elmridge Shopping Center - Greece, NY (aired May 22, 2019; also the most popular post on the entire blog)

2020: Express Lanes, Scars, and Rust: Tops of Corinth, NY (aired March 21, 2020)

2021: FLASHBACK: Gates Big M Market (aired March 20, 2021)

2022: Cortland Contradictions (aired April 8, 2022)

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These 5 years have certainly been a merry-go-round, and the music is too loud. It would be real interesting to see what the retail landscape will look in 10 years. That would make an interesting 10 years...

While this may be a risky bet, I invite other retail enthuasiasts to ask questions in the comment section below and I will answer them the best I can. What were some of your favorite moments?

To another 5 years!

- Retail Regents