sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Cheeseburger Day!
Hamburgers are pretty satisfying, but they are just a little bit better when they are topped with cheese and turned into cheeseburgers. Celebrated today, cheeseburgers can be made with many types of cheese—as long as it has good meltability. Fast food restaurants often use processed cheese, such as American, but cheddar, pepper jack, Swiss, mozzarella, and blue cheese are often used to make cheeseburgers as well. Cheese slices are usually placed on top of burgers right before they are done cooking so that the cheese begins to melt over them. Multiple patties and multiple pieces of cheese may be used in each cheeseburger. Some cheeseburgers even have the cheese inside of the burger, often being called a Juicy Lucy. Just as with hamburgers, many other toppings are often added to cheeseburgers as well, such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, pickles, onions, lettuce, tomato, sauteed mushrooms, avocado, and bacon.
Adding cheese to burgers gained popularity late-1920s to mid-1930s. There are various stories to as how the cheeseburger came to be, and multiple people have claimed to have invented it. The most common story says that Lionel Sternberger invented the cheeseburger sometime between 1924 and 1926 while working at his father's restaurant, The Rite Spot, in Pasadena, California. One version of the story says he came up with the idea to drop cheese on a burger by himself, while another says a homeless person suggested to Sternberger to do so. Eventually, his burger was added to the menu as a "cheese hamburger." One reason some do not give Sternberger credit for inventing the cheeseburger is because his burger was not technically called a cheeseburger.
SU News
Clemson-Syracuse with impressive TV ratings (tigernet.com)
ESPN and ABC combined for more than 7.1 million viewers in primetime, as the two networks led all telecasts – sports and non-sports — in primetime viewers on Saturday night. ABC’s Saturday Night Football between Clemson and Syracuse (7:30 p.m.) delivered 3,618,000 viewers and ESPN’s Florida at Kentucky (7 p.m.) averaged 3,137,000 viewers. Breaking the audience down further, both networks ranked first or second among all viewers and key male, female and adult demos (18-34, 18-49, 25-54).
Three Week Four Syracuse Goals – Orange Fizz – Free Syracuse Recruiting News (orangefizz.net; Hoppe)
You can make the case Saturday’s game against Western Michigan is the most important game on SU’s remaining schedule. Two wins over the next two weeks puts the Orange at 3-2 before a mid-October trip to NC State. Let’s be honest, Syracuse isn’t losing to FCS Holy Cross.
There are a number of things we’d like to see from the Orange this week. A strong string of games could salvage what was once projected to be a double-digit win season.
- Strong Offensive Line Play: I get it, the unit was pretty much awful against Clemson. Let’s keep in mind that the Tigers regularly brought the house: the perfect strategy against a young offensive line with an inexperienced quarterback. Can they turn it around against Western Michigan? Step one would be getting Sam Heckel back at center. From there, Airon Servais can move back to tackle and give SU more experience on the outside of the line. This unit is young and it’s clear they’re going to need time to gel. With full-time ACC play looming, that clock is ticking.
- Consistent defense: After an awful showing against Maryland in week two, the Orange’s defense responded with a respectable showing agains the No. 1 team in the country. Syracuse intercepted all-world quarterback Trevor Lawrence twice. Frankly, the tackling was much better than many expected it to be. Outside of Amari Rodger’s sideline blast, there weren’t many egregious defensive mistakes. Dino Babers needs that trend to continue over the next few weeks.
- Keep the guys lose: There was so much hype surrounding this team going into the year. After a lackluster start, much of that hype has gone away. Let’s make one thing clear: the season is far from over. Sure, the Maryland loss was deflating, but there are plenty of chances to rebound. If the Orange can rally behind their effort last week, the remaining schedule could allow them to come close to achieving many pre-season goals.
Babers Says Team is "Just Fine" as Focus Shifts Towards Western Michigan (spectrum.com; Larson)
The SU football bandwagon seems to have a few more empty seats this week than it had earlier this season after the Orange 1-2 start. But if you listen to Dino Babers speak, there is still plenty of reason to be optimistic in 2019 with nine games left on the schedule.
Nine games Babers says his team will have an opportunity to win. But not if things don’t start improving dramatically on offense, where the Orange have totaled 50 points in three games after averaging more than 40 per game last season.
So what gives?
Babers is blaming the non-production on inconsistency borne from too many bumps and bruises. The coach said Monday he didn’t want to “throw anyone under the bus,” but the amount of injuries sustained by an undisclosed group (Wide receiver? Offensive line?) has hampered the offensive unit’s ability to build chemistry in the early part of the season.
Babers says it may be time to start addressing the team’s training methods in order to fix the issue. But that’s only part of it.
Sophomore QB Tommy DeVito continues to display a tendency to throw the ball into coverage after extending the play, and it has cost the Orange interceptions in each of the first three games. DeVito has now started three games in his career and failed to throw a TD pass in two of them. But he’s thrown at least one interception in each of the three, and three of his four INTs have occurred inside the red zone. The most recent example of this came in Saturday’s blowout loss to Clemson, and even more frustrating than that it happened on the first play after Syracuse had gained possession on an interception of its own.
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Roth: SU's Babers not throwing DeVito under bus, but he'd like to throw him a lifeline D&C; Roth)
You know a football team isn’t off to a good start when it’s only Week 4 and the coach is fielding questions regarding the play of his quarterback.
“It’s disappointing but he’s still my guy,’’ said Syracuse coach Dino Babers after addressing a particularly damaging interception thrown by redshirt sophomore Tommy DeVito in last Saturday’s 41-6 loss to No. 1-ranked Clemson at the Carrier Dome.
That interception came on first-and-goal at the Clemson 9-yard line following an interception by Orange cornerback Christopher Fredrick.
We’ll never know what cutting Clemson’s lead to 17-14 (with a touchdown and 2-point conversion) would’ve meant at that point in the third quarter.
But we do know that Clemson scored three plays later on an 87-yard pass play, a 1-2 counterpunch by the defending national champions that let 50,248 fans, the third-largest football crowd in dome history, know there would be no upset special in store like in 2017.
Oftentimes, a vote of confidence by a coach to his quarterback is the kiss of death, but DeVito isn’t going anywhere.
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Clemson vs Syracuse 2nd Quarter Review (shakinthesouthland.ciom; Priester)
for gbo
After jumping out to a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Tiger offense struggled for much of the remainder of the first half. The second quarter begins with the Orange in the middle of a 10 play 48 yard drive that would eventually result in a FG. The rest of the quarter saw the two teams combine for six 3 & outs, with a couple of FGs mixed in, one by each team.
Since there wasn’t a whole lot of action in the quarter, we are going to do a more abbreviated version. No need to go through each and every play of a bunch of 3 & outs.
Clemson 14 Syracuse 0
Syracuse Ball, 1st & 10 CU 29, 15:00
Syracuse ran the ball 5 consecutive times to start the quarter, picking up 18 yards and driving to the Tiger 11. There they faced a 3rd & 3, and Mario Goodrich, breaks up the pass intended for Taj Harris.
Syracuse would have to settle for a 29-yard FG from Andre Szmyt.
Clemson 14 Syracuse 3
Clemson Ball, 1st & 10 CU 25, 12:11
The Tigers get a pass interference call on the first play of the series giving them a 1st down at the CU 40. Travis Etienne picked up 2 on an IZ on 1st down, but two straight incompletions would follow, and the Tigers punted. Trevor Lawrence tried to hit Frank Ladson on 2nd down and Justyn Ross on 3rd. Both were shots down the field. Will Spiers punt goes for just 32 yards.
Syracuse Ball, 1st & 10 Cuse 26, 11:05
Orange QB Tommy Devito was sacked by Tanner Muse 1st down, loss of 7. Tyler Davis was there too. Venables is bringing the heat from everywhere. On 2nd down, it is James Skalski and KJ Henry combining to sack DeVito, loss of 7. The Orange don’t come close to converting the 3rd & 24, and punt.
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WMU football press conference, week 4: Broncos travel east for showdown with Syracuse (westernherald.com; Patterson)
The Broncos are heading on the road to face Syracuse in New York on Saturday at noon. This will be the second meeting between the two programs with the first being back in 2018 at Waldo Stadium with the Broncos losing 55-42.
While Syracuse is coming off two devastating losses in a row to Maryland and Clemson, the Broncos are coming off of a big win against Georgia State which should boost their confidence.
Today at the weekly press conference at the Radisson in downtown Kalamazoo, head coach Tim Lester touched on what they need to do to beat Syracuse. The heat and the fact that Syracuse’s football stadium is a dome brings up some concerns for Lester.
“It’s like a greenhouse, it’s hot. We’ve talked to our team, we have a hydration plan, if we’re hydrated it will be fine,” Lester said.
"Carrier is a heating and cooling company but they didn’t put any cooling in the Dome.”
The dome will also present some issues for the Broncos as far as communication goes and that was part of why they lost big to Michigan State a couple weeks back.
“It’s loud and there’s nowhere for the noise to go,” Lester said. “There could be just 20,000 people and it will be deafening.”
Lester also touched upon some of the athletes who have shown real drive and talent through the first three games of the season.
One in particular was Skyy Moore, who has been named as a starting receiver against Syracuse.
“[Moore is] a guy who can play any position, and he’s getting much better at receiver just because he’s playing it more,” Lester said. “One thing about him is he’s a competitor, he is a tough sucker and competes, I’ve never seen him take a play off.”
One thing that Syracuse has been thriving on this season is forcing teams to turn the ball over. The Broncos will need to protect the ball and rack up the time of possession in order to compete with Syracuse.
“When we are effective on offense and not turning the ball over, we’ll be tough to beat,” Lester said. “We got to make sure we hold on to [the ball].”
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Submit your questions for Orange Nation Interactive (localsyr.com; Infanti)
Steve Infanti and Darius Joshua will take your questions about the SU football team on Orange Nation Interactive, which airs live on Wednesday at 3 p.m.! You can leave your question below.
Clemson Football: Studs and Duds in victory over Syracuse (rubbingtherock.com; Spencer)
for gbo
What were the high points of the Clemson football team’s victory over Syracuse? What about the low points? Here’s a look at studs and duds from the weekend.
The Clemson football team came away with an impressive 41-6 victory over the Syracuse Orange Saturday evening in the Carrier Dome.
The Tigers improved to 3-0 and remain ranked No. 1 in the nation in both major polls heading into a match up with the Charlotte 49ers. Clemson will host Charlotte at 7:30 p.m. in Death Valley live on the ACC Network.
Each week on Rubbing the Rock, we give you ‘studs’ and ‘duds’ from the Clemson football game.
Before we turn the page over to the Charlotte game, let’s take a look back at the Syracuse match up.
Studs
Amari Rodgers
Amari Rodgers wasn’t originally supposed to be back on a football field until late this season as he recovered from a torn ACL. However, Rodgers made a lightning-quick recovery and was a major impact player against Syracuse.
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What happened to the ACC? We’ve got four explanations (tampabay.com; Knight)
These are hardly the salad days of ACC football.
If you’re going with a gastronomic theme, omelette days may serve as a more apt description, considering the eggs some of its teams have laid so far in 2019.
Boston College gets shellacked by Kansas ― Kansas ― on national TV. Willie Taggart lives to smile another day as FSU survives Louisiana-Monroe in overtime. Georgia Tech falls to The Citadel in Atlanta. Virginia Tech needs a second-half rally to slip past Furman.
Consequently, the metrics ― advanced or otherwise ― paint a grim portrait. According to nationally renowned stat geek Jeff Sagarin’s conference rankings, the ACC has two of the worst four divisions in the Power Five, ahead of only the Pac-12 South and Big Ten West.
Only two of its teams ― Clemson (No. 1) and Virgina (No. 21) ― appear in the latest Associated Press top 25. At this rate, the shiny new ACC Network might consider pre-empting games with repeated airings of The Class That Saved Coach K.
So what happened? How did a supposedly upward-trending conference that boasted four top-20 teams and the national champ only three seasons ago stumble so profoundly? Could be a combination of factors.
We’ve come up with four possible reasons for the regression.
1. Profusion of new QBs
Counting Louisville, which for now has been forced to replace Jawon Pass (foot injury), exactly half of the ACC’s 14 teams have unveiled new starting quarterbacks this season. That type of turnover, at the game’s most significant spot, screams for a grace period. Face it, the rookies can’t all be Trevor Lawrences, brandishing Heisman potential right out of the gate.
2. Turnover at the top
Louisville coach Scott Satterfield talks to his team as players leave the field on Sept. 7. [TIMOTHY D. EASLEY | AP]
Four schools changed coaches in the offseason, tied with the Big 12 for most of any Power Five league. The transition, however, doesn’t end there: Eight schools have first-year offensive coordinators, and six have new defensive coordinators (seven if Jim Leavitt ultimately takes command of FSU’s defense). Those new voices arrive with new philosophies, and presumably new systems. The subsequent transitions have ranged from encouraging (North Carolina, Louisville) to bumpy (Miami) to reallly bumpy (Georgia Tech).
3. Recruiting dropoff
If history has taught us anything, it’s that recruiting rankings remain a highly flawed process. Nonetheless, the ACC’s current malaise does coincide with a perceived dropoff in recruiting prowess.
In 2018, the ACC boasted three of the nation’s top 10 signing classes (Miami, Clemson, FSU) and five of the top 25, according to Rivals. In 2019, it had only one top-10 class (No. 9 Clemson) and three in the top 25 (No. 18 FSU, No. 25 Virginia Tech).
FSU, which had the nation’s No. 2 and 5 classes in 2016 and 2017, respectively, has dropped noticeably (10th and 18th) the last two years. Miami had the No. 6 class (per Rivals) in 2018, but fell to No. 36 the following year.
Louisville, which had the 29th-ranked class in 2017, plummeted (31st and 77th) the following two years. Again, we’re not convinced these recent rankings are the cause of the ACC’s current funk, but they’ll garner more merit if the swoon stretches into 2020.
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Links - Notre Dame edition (RX; HM)
Links - Notre Dame edition
I hear there's a pretty big game that kicks off Saturday night at 8:00 PM on CBS...
From CBS: College football odds, lines, schedule for Week 4: Georgia opens as big favorite over Notre Dame
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Want tickets? It'll cost you...
From ESPN: Notre Dame-UGA ticket prices soar ahead of Sat.
Is this a Notre Dame thing? Not necessarily...
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Syracuse football is getting lucky in 2019 with Western Michigan matchup (itlh; Esden Jr)
The Syracuse football vs Western Michigan matchup is going to be a lot easier in 2019. Here are all the details and how the Orange got lucky.
On Saturday at noon, Syracuse football will face off against Western Michigan for only the second time in history.
In 2018 things were going according to plan in Week 1. The Orange held a dominant 34-7 lead at halftime and everything was under control.
Then the Orange defense was introduced to Western Michigan wide receiver D’Wayne Eskridge.
After only catching two passes for 42 yards, Eskridge had a second half for the ages.
The Broncos scored an incredible 28 points in the third quarter alone. D’Wayne caught six more passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns. His longest of the day went for 84-yards. So in totality Eskridge finished with eight receptions for 240 yards and two touchdowns.
It was a career-year overall: 38 receptions for 776 yards and three touchdowns. Eskridge also averaged over 20 yards per reception.
Syracuse ended up winning the game thanks to some late Eric Dungey heroics: 55-42.
So why are the Orange lucky in 2019?
D’Wayne Eskridge is no longer playing wide receiver exclusively for the Western Michigan Broncos.
*A collective sigh of relief from Syracuse football fans and Orange defensive backs everywhere.*
Despite returning as the highest-graded wide receiver in the MAC conference, the team thought Eskridge had better odds of making the pros at defensive back.
D'Wayne Eskridge returns to Western Michigan as the highest-graded wide receiver in the MAC.
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Best new college football uniforms for the 2019 season | NCAA.com (ncaa.com; Cavadi)
The 2019 FBS season is off an running, and with it, some of college football's best new uniforms are on display.
The 2019 season marks the 150th year of college football, so we will see a lot of teams sporting the '150' patch as a new element to their football uniforms.
Take a peek at the Miami Hurricanes new addition.
Rockin’ the @CFB150 patch all year long.
— Canes Football (@CanesFootball) July 10, 2019
Several other teams have reworked their older uniforms or flat out revamped them. Let's take a look at some that we'll see in the FBS this season.
Cincinnati
The Bearcats teamed up with Under Armor for a fresh new look but more importantly feature a bunch of new performance innovations in the hope of helping the Bearcats feel more comfortable in their new threads.
Durable, lightweight and virtually impossible to grab. Take another look at Cincinnati’s new jerseys.#Bearcats | @UnderArmour | #ArmourGrid
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) July 10, 2019
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Pittsburgh
The Panthers' 2019 uniforms are a new color scheme, shifting from the darker blue and gold to a bright blue and yellow much more familiar to the city of Pittsburgh, featured on the uniforms of the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins. The numbers have a unique definition to them, coming to a point and making them appear like a brand new computer font.
New thread alert Uniforms have arrived. We are honored to play a part representing 150 years of college football. #CFB150 #H2P
— PITT Football Equip (@PITTequipment) June 21, 2019
Vanderbilt
Anchor down. That's exactly what you'll get by the boatload on the Commodores new uniforms, with plenty of anchors adorning the numbers on the jersey.
A new look for Commodore football.
#AnchorDown — Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) June 12, 2019
“Rivets are the strength of the ship. 82 rivets for our strength and our rock Turner Cockrell, who was always battle ready."#RTI | #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/XmJGNwJbsa
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) August 11, 2019
Syracuse
You won't have any problem knowing that Cuse is the Orange with its new uniform combinations, 18 to be precise. Gone are the blue helmets as Syracuse will only don orange and white, and new features include stripes on the sleeves and "For the Glory" embroidered on the neckline.
New Syracuse football uniforms revealed; here’s your first look (photos): New Syracuse football uniforms revealed; here’s your first look (photos)
— Syracuse Football (@syrfootball) June 22, 2019
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Dabo Swinney turns Georgia Tech’s loss to The Citadel into swipe at Alabama, South Carolina, SEC (nbcsports.com; Barnett)
The Citadel beat Georgia Tech on Saturday. It’s not great for the ACC, and particularly not great if you’re a College Football Playoff contender with the Yellow Jackets on your schedule, as Clemson is.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was asked about that game on Tuesday, and he deftly pivoted from a black mark on the ACC’s resume into a swipe at the entire SEC.
“That’s college football,” Swinney told 247Sports. “I mean heck, The Citadel was probably Alabama’s toughest game last year until Georgia. I mean I’m just telling the truth. The Citadel beat South Carolina somewhere here in the not-too-long-ago (past). That’s not a shocker. Georgia State went over and beat Tennessee. I mean that’s college football. Anything can happen, especially early, especially early in the season. Because nobody knows anything about anybody at this point.”
The Citadel played Alabama to a 10-10 halftime score last November… before the Tide pulled away for a 50-17 win, and the military academy did beat South Carolina in 2015.
But it wasn’t Alabama’s closest pre-Georgia game, but arguing facts when you’re in a troll-esque argument proves you’ve already lost, doesn’t it?
Random Thoughts From Around the Country: The ACC and PAC are Whack! (rollbamaroll.com; CB969)
On a weekend in which there were no matchups of ranked teams, college football fans were graced with another wild and wacky weekend of thunderstorms, head-scratching coaching decisions, ridiculous penalties and some mind-blowing upsets. It’s never a dull moment around here.
Both the ACC and PAC-12 had rough weekends. The powers of the SEC and Big Ten stayed the course. The Big XII continues to look like a one-team league.
SEC
With only two conference games, it was another cupcake Saturday for most teams. Only Missy State failed the SEC.
Alabama 47 South Carolina 23 - Steve Sarkisian opened up the playbook against the Gamecocks, allowing Tua Tagovailoa to rack up a five touchdown passes and a personal best 444 yards on 28 of 36 passing. Tua and Mac Jones (3-3, 51 yds) tallied 495 combined passing yards. DeVonta Smith (8-136, 2 TD) and Henry Ruggs 6-122, TD) were the biggest benefactors, although Najee Harris (5-87, 2 TD) made the highlight clips. The only possessions that did not result is a score were a punt, missed field goal and a kneel down at the end of the game. On the negative side, the Crimson Tide finished with only 76 yards rushing, and committed 11 penalties for 92 yards. Bama’s sole punt netted all of 14 yards by Skyler DeShortLong. Will Reichard missed 37 yard field goal and an extra point, though connected from 23 and 21. SSDD.
South Carolina amassed 459 yards behind Ryan Hilinski (36-57, 324 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT) and Rico Dowdle (12 car, 102 yds). The Tide yielded an alarming 31 first downs. However, the longest Gamecock play was a 33-yard run by Dowdle. There is still a bit of a learning curve for the young Bama middle linebackers.
SC scored a garbage time touchdown with their first-stringers against the Tide reserves aided by a charitable targeting call (i.e. BS call) that negated a stop on 4th down. More on that later.
Florida 29 Kentucky 21 - Addition by subtraction. The best thing that could’ve happened to the Gators was godawful Feleipe Franks getting knocked out of the game. Good Karma for junior QB Kyle Trask for sticking it out and not transferring because he got his shot and won the game. Franks was carted off with a right leg injury late in the third quarter with his team trailing 21-10. All Trask did was manufacture three fourth quarter touchdown drives. It’s not just me, right? Franks is awful.
The Wildcats handed their reins over to a back-up as well. Troy grad-transfer Sawyer Smith, playing in place of injured Terry Wilson, accounted for all three Kentucky touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions including one late in the game that led to the UF go-ahead score. UK had one last chance to win but missed a 35-yard field goal. The ‘Cats had two targeting calls against them (see below) with one highly questionable call that really hurt their chances for victory. A sack of Trask that would’ve been 3 and 15 at the UF 44 was turned into a first down at the UK 36 and the eventual winning touchdown drive. UF scored a fluke busted-defense TD at the end to make the game look less closer that it was.
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The Fenway Bowl will Kick Off in 2020 (theacc.com)
Fenway Sports Management and ESPN Events Officially Introduce “The Fenway Bowl,” an Annual Bowl Game Featuring the AAC and ACC That Will Kick-Off at Fenway Park Beginning in 2020
Multi-year partnership between Fenway Sports Management and ESPN Events ushers in new tradition for college football at the iconic home of the Boston Red Sox
BOSTON, MA (September 17, 2019) – Fenway Sports Management (FSM), ESPN Events and the City of Boston today officially introduced the “The Fenway Bowl,” an annual college football bowl game at Fenway Park featuring a matchup between two of the game’s top conferences. The new addition to the NCAA bowl lineup will feature teams from the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and is set to kick-off at the home of the Boston Red Sox beginning in 2020. Part of a multi-year partnership between ESPN Events and FSM, the sales, marketing and special events arm for Fenway Sports Group’s elite portfolio of sports properties, “The Fenway Bowl” will mark the first time that a college football bowl game will be played in front of the “Green Monster,” ushering in a new football tradition at Fenway Park.
“We’re proud to announce that Fenway Park will host this prominent new addition to the NCAA bowl lineup that will provide New England sports fans with the opportunity to experience first-hand all the excitement, glory, pageantry and top-flight competition that embodies the college football bowl season,” said Red Sox President & CEO Sam Kennedy. “Producing dynamic events of this caliber is precisely what our ownership group envisioned when they made the commitment to reestablish the ballpark as a year-round venue that showcases the very best in competitive sports and entertainment. We look forward to working with the American Athletic and Atlantic Coast Conferences, ESPN Events and Mayor Walsh and his team to ensure these games are a memorable experience for the student-athletes, the coaches, and our fans.”
Team selections for the bowl will take into account a number of factors, including regular season win-loss record and geographic proximity, as well as previous appearances and matchups. The game will be jointly produced by FSM and ESPN Events, and will be televised by ESPN.
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Other
You know how it feels. You’re traveling. You stroll through a store from a chain you’ve admired from a distance or maybe never even heard of.
“Why can’t we get one of these in Syracuse?” you grumble to yourself, your Central New York inferiority complex intensifying by the second.
Store envy is real. We may as well indulge it. So, here’s a look at some of the major names in retail that haven’t landed in Central New York. Yet.
These have largely been drawn from the National Retail Federation’s lists of the nation’s biggest and fastest-growing retailers, with some other largely speculative musings tossed in for fun. Feel free to tell me what I missed in the comments.
Ikea
Let’s get this one out of the way first. The Swedish home furnishings giant has no presence in Upstate New York whatsoever. You need to head to a much bigger market (or Canada) to enjoy your Swedish meatballs while futon shopping.
And if you’re a longtime reader here, you’ll know that an Ikea executive once told syracuse.com there’s pretty much no chance the chain would ever open here. Its signature stores are vast — as in several hundred thousand square feet — and require a much bigger population base to support them.
But things change. In recent years, Ikea has been developing smaller store footprints. It just recently opened one in Manhattan and is planning more smaller stores in big cities across the country, according to CNN.
The new Manhattan store is known as a planning studio and is meant to serve as a spot for shoppers to pick out items they want delivered to their homes, according to CNBC. It offers lower-priced shipping and delivery, assembly services, financing help and a buy online, pick up in store option.
There are also computer stations customers can use for design sessions that can be booked by appointment.
Ikea is naturally going to look at bigger markets for these small stores first, but there was a time when getting a Costco in Central New York seemed like science fiction too. Fair warning though: The smaller stores don't have Ikea's famed food court or meatballs (sad trombone).
Whole Foods
Like Ikea, this is another name Central New Yorkers can't seem to get enough of debating.
"Whole Foods? Try Whole Paycheck!"
"Wegmans would be so scared if they ever come here!"
"They'll never take down Wegmans!"
But unlike Ikea, I think there’s a much better chance of seeing a Whole Foods here at some point. The company has said it’s interested in Syracuse in the past. And rumors have popped up occasionally over the years that the chain is eyeing some location or another around the region.
Whole Foods is already open in the Buffalo and Albany markets and one is in the works for the Rochester area too. The Rochester project in particular has featured some Wegmans-related drama.
Primark
Primark is an Irish fast fashion retailer and most of its 350 stores are in Europe. Its nine U.S. locations are mainly in the New York City, Boston and Philadelphia markets.
But the company ranked seventh on NRF's Hot 100 list of fastest-growing retailers for 2019 and a number of its U.S. stores are in big malls.
I hear there's a rather large shopping center in Syracuse.
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