12 Recently Closed Upstate NY Restaurants That I Miss!

Over the last 25 years I have driven all over Upstate New York, back and forth several times, researching and writing my ten different regional travel guides. Along the way I have always enjoyed stopping at a local restaurant for a bite to eat. Many of these "rest stops" really became favorites of mine and I found myself stopping several times over the years. A couple of these places I have even gotten to know the owners.

Recently, I noticed a favorite of mine had closed up for good. And that got me thinking. I wonder if any of my other favorite eating places, some that I have written about in my book "A Taste of Upstate New York," have shut down? Sadly, I found several.

I would like to use this gallery to mention these 12 places. I have eaten at all of them over the years, and really enjoyed my meals. Some are big places and some are small. Some have been open for 20 or 30 years before closing forever. Others are firmly entrenched in the legendary category, having been around for 70, 80, 90 and even 100 plus years.

I will miss these places whenever I find myself driving close to where they once were. They go from the Hudson Valley to Western New York. Two in particular, in Albany, made me feel a little sentimental when I read that they were shuttering for good.

If you know another longtime restaurant in Upstate New York that has closed in the last five years or so, please give it a "farewell" shout out over on our Facebook page.

12 Upstate NY Recently Closed Restaurants I Have Loved

Over the last twenty five years or so, I have traveled tens of thousands of miles along the highways and backroads of Upstate New York researching and writing my ten regional travel books. Because I was on the road so long, I always was on the look out for a good place to eat. And there are many. It just dawned on my that some of these places that I so enjoyed a meal at are probably closed now. So I did some looking around. And I was right. Here are a dozen favorites of mine (I have eaten at all of them), that I only recently found out are closed. Some didn't survive the pandemic, others just closed having put in 50, 60, 70 and more years of service to their customers. I will miss stopping in at all of these places. Have you ever been to any of them?

Gallery Credit: Chuck DImperio

Stop! Don't Miss These 11 Incredible Upstate New York Roadside Sites!

As a travel guide writer, I am especially tuned-in to the many (countless) interesting roadside sites in our area that are fascinating and historic. I compiled a list of 100 of the best in my book Upstate Uncovered (Syracuse University Press). I will start periodically posting some of the best. Don't miss these!

From the grave of one of America's most beloved artists, to the world's largest pancake griddle, to New York's own Mount Rushmore, and to the oldest stage and theatre in the country, these Upstate New York sites are all worthy of a few minutes of your time.

And why did Clara Barton set up her very first Red Cross chapter in little Dansville, N.Y> anyway??

History is around every corner in our beautiful Upstate New York!

Gallery Credit: Chuck D'Imperio

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