Best Neighborhods for Grocery Stores and Wine in Syracuse (New York: fit in, rental)
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I'm moving to Syracuse from the Andersonville district of Chicago this summer, and am considering where I should live. For the most part, my only concern is that I want to be in walking distance (within about a mile) of great grocery stores where I can find top-quality produce, fresh fish and meat, good olive oil, cheeses, and spices.
My partner and I don't watch television and rarely go out. Spending an evening making dinner together and enjoying a nice bottle of wine, perhaps with a few friends, is our idea of entertainment. Not concerned about crime, schools, nightlife, shopping, parking, traffic, drunk undergraduates, etcetera. Thanks in advanced for your help.
Last edited by stargazypie; 04-16-2013 at 10:37 PM..
I say that you could go with actually a bunch of different options that could be walkable or involve public transportation. To be honest, a good fit may be the village of Liverpool which has Nichols Grocery Store and a Liquor Store next to it. Onondaga Lake Park is right there and there are a few restaurants you can walk to as well. If you want to or can, there is a Wegmans right down Taft Road, if you want more variety in terms of grocery shopping.
I actually was looking at a video about the Andersonville neighborhood recently. While it doesn't have the Swedish cultural vibe, Eastwood and Westcott may be as close as it gets in Syracuse. Eastwood is a mix economically and it is a walkable area of the city that has been improving its business district. You could walk to a Tops in Shop City Plaza or take a bus to the Wegmans across Thompson Road in East Syracuse. Westcott is walkable, more diverse in more ways and is somewhat quirky. If you are in the far southern portion of the street/neighborhood, you can possibly walk to the Tops on Nottingham Road. Westcott is near Syracuse University as well.
Hawley-Green is a gritty neighborhood just northeast of Downtown that has seen fluctuated gentrification aided by some in the local LGBT community. It does have a small grocery store in Dominick's, which is known for having good meats. It is a diverse neighborhood as well and is pretty close to Syracuse University as well.
If you don't mind villages, Manlius and Fayetteville, among others, could also work. There are other suburban/urban areas that could work, but it will depend on other factors. I'll try to add some information later.
The Dewitt Wegman's is that store, with Liquor City beside it.
But that really cuts down where you can live... unless you're willing to drive a few miles. Try looking at zip codes 13214, 13224, 13104 and 13066. Were you planning to rent at first or buy?
(The rest of you can argue that the same stuff is available in any other Wegmans or Price Chopper or Tops but I won't change my mind. The Dewitt Wegman's is the only place where you don't notice a going-soft veggie/fruit smell in the produce section. I don't know what they do differently but the lack of that smell is, far and away, why I'm more likely to *want* to produce there, even if it does cost more than elsewhere. It's actually fresh.)
If walking distance is really what you want, I'd agree with CKH on Village of Liverpool. Nichols grocery store and liquor store are within walking distance from anywhere within the Village, although the grocery selections aren't as great as Wegmans. They typically have everything you want, but maybe only a few brands of things as opposed to 10 or more at Wegmans. It's a straight shot to the Regional Market, so you could easily take a bus down that way (the RM is adjacent to the Regional Transportation Center).
The best wine shop in town is probably not particularly convenient to your other particulars - Vinomania, on Pearl Street near downtown. Within walking distance of that is pretty much some downtown housing areas or the area around St. Joseph's hospital (the Prospect Hill area) which is (slowly) gentrifying a bit but still fairly rough.
Within that area there's not much for full service groceries - there's a Save-a-Lot on Butternut near Lodi, though from the sounds of what you're looking for in a grocery, Lombardi's Italian Imports next door to that (corner of Lodi) may be a gold mine for you (at least from the deli, cheese, and olive oils end - they carry a very limited amount of produce). Your comfort level may vary - parts of that area can be dicey for walking, though it's getting a lot better. A bit further from there are two Tops stores - probably a stretch to put all three in walking distance of anywhere worth living - on First North Street at Pond and in Shop City as ckh mentioned. Otherwise the Prospect Hill/downtown area isn't really served by any full service supermarkets, mostly smaller ones.
The best wine shop in town is probably not particularly convenient to your other particulars - Vinomania, on Pearl Street near downtown. Within walking distance of that is pretty much some downtown housing areas or the area around St. Joseph's hospital (the Prospect Hill area) which is (slowly) gentrifying a bit but still fairly rough.
Within that area there's not much for full service groceries - there's a Save-a-Lot on Butternut near Lodi, though from the sounds of what you're looking for in a grocery, Lombardi's Italian Imports next door to that (corner of Lodi) may be a gold mine for you (at least from the deli, cheese, and olive oils end - they carry a very limited amount of produce). Your comfort level may vary - parts of that area can be dicey for walking, though it's getting a lot better. A bit further from there are two Tops stores - probably a stretch to put all three in walking distance of anywhere worth living - on First North Street at Pond and in Shop City as ckh mentioned. Otherwise the Prospect Hill/downtown area isn't really served by any full service supermarkets, mostly smaller ones.
I thought about that area too. There's also Thanos Import Market and Columbus Bakery close by in that part of the North Side. Plenty of smaller Asian and other ethnic markets too. Besides that, acknight is spot on.
Another area I thought about is the area where Tipp Hill, the West End, Westvale and Solvay meet. That would put them close to Westvale Plaza, which also has a Tops and a Fish Market/store, as well as a Liquor store across Charles Street. Solvay also has low electric/energy costs due to having its own power company. There's also a cleaners, Planet Fitness, some restaurants and it is on a bus line. You could go further west into Fairmount, which has big box shopping as well or go east down West Genesee Street into Downtown. Fairmount also has a big Wegmans for major grocery shopping as well. There is another Wegmans not too far from that area as well on Onondaga Boulevard and a Price Chopper across the street in Western Lights Plaza.
You will not find everything you are looking for in a single neighborhood here and Syracuse is not as walkable as you are used to.
For a walkable neighborhood, you would probably like Armory Square. There are a few specialty stores and a farmers market in the summer. but nothing year round.
For a gayborhood, Hawley Green.
For the stores, you can try Route 11 in North Syracuse or along Erie Blvd, North of 690.
While it isn't in the immediate area, but in the region, a city that may ironically fit in terms of most things is Auburn. It has the Wegmans in the middle of Downtown Auburn and there are all kinds for stores, shops, a couple of museums, a YMCA, a men's clothing store(the Liberty Store), restaurants and more along and near Genesee Street. Welcome to Auburn Downtown
I guess if they can find a rental home in the Dewittshire/Orvilton area of DeWitt(around East Genesee Street/Jamesville Road), that may work, but walking to the Wegmans may be a pain. Taking a bus may be the way to go.
Thank you so much, ckhthankgod! So many wonderful resources. I'm going to miss Andersonville very much (I've been here for seven years), but I'm excited about the change of pace in SYR. Thanks again for your help.
I guess if they can find a rental home in the Dewittshire/Orvilton area of DeWitt(around East Genesee Street/Jamesville Road), that may work, but walking to the Wegmans may be a pain. Taking a bus may be the way to go.
No. The bus system has changed and is riDICulous. Walking would be faster and isn't bad at all, especially now that they've put in good sidewalks and crosswalks for pedestrians... probably because it's faster to walk from the Shoppingtown transfer to Wegman's than wait for the next bus to it.
It's an easy walk of about a mile and change, each way, and carrying a load of groceries would be easily remedied by a cart. Good exercise but certainly not a pain if you like to go for walks anyway.
A tip: Living on or close to East Genesee St, west of Erie Blvd., will drastically increase the ease with which you can use the Centro bus system. Several lines pass there and Shoppingtown's transfer is close as well, so it would be much, MUCH easier to rely on the bus.
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