Businesses opened, closed, moved in 2021
By Erik Pekar, Town Historian
The year 2021 will soon come to a close, and like the previous one, it was an unusual year, although more normalcy returned mid-way through the year. Let’s look back at some of the business changes and events which occurred during 2021.
Middle Granville gained another new business. Cider Valley Donuts opened on Jan. 28 at 1275 County Route 24. The business is owned by Dan Hyatt and sells cider donuts, maple cotton candy and other cider and maple-related products.
Muddy Trail Jerky moved to Greenwich. Formerly located at 85 Quaker St. in Granville, the announcement of the impending move was made in late January. Their last day of business in Granville was on Feb. 3. They reopened on Feb. 20 at 531 State Route 29 in Greenwich.
Morse’s Diner and Pizzeria went out of business in early March. A sign noting “Closed – Out of Business” appeared on March 17. Owner Bill Morse bought the former Scotties building and adjacent vacant lot in November 2019 and over the next three months put much hard work and effort and hundreds of thousands of dollars towards renovating the building into his own business.
Morse continued making improvements to the business after it opened in February 2020, including an air conditioning system, leveling the adjacent vacant lot to create an outdoor dining area and the replacement of a panel glass in the vestibule with a wall including a new, smaller window. Morse’s efforts with Morse’s Diner and Pizzeria breathed new life into the building and, during the time it was open, Granville’s Main Street.
NYVTmedia, the former Manchester Newspapers, moved from 14 East Main Street to Quaker Street in late March. Their new home is in the Big Lots Plaza, 79 Quaker St., Suite 10, the first store on the left. Manchester Newspapers had been located on East Main Street since moving from North Street in November 1995. The move to the strip mall location was made primarily because the former location was too large and no longer a good fit for the business.
The arrival of spring meant the opening of the town’s two drive-in eateries. MacDaddy’s Car Hop in Granville village opened March 18. Middle Granville’s car hop, Jen’s Pit Stop, opened in April.
What’s Up Dawg’s closed on April 30. This eatery on Quaker Street was opened by Vinnie and Julie Covino in October 2012, with a specialty of hot dogs. The major standout of their hot dogs was the special secret meat sauce. The business became renowned in the area for its hot dogs, although it also had other fare, such as burgers, wings and quesadillas. A well-recognized feature of What’s Up Dawg’s was the collection of Coca-Cola memorabilia that decorated the walls and shelving of the business.
A new garden shop opened this spring. Liebig’s Riverside Farms opened on May 8 at 9015 State Route 22 on the Granville bypass. Owned by Lindsey Liebig, the business sold flowers and vegetables for gardens, as well as compost, mulch and woodchips. Blueberries and raspberries were also sold during the summer.
The 6 Main St. building was sold by Compu-Tech USA to Chris Kostyun, as 6-10 Main LLC. Kostyun later bought the vacant lots between the 6 Main property and the Morse building in October.
The return of “some normalcy” occurred in June. Vermont was first in dropping practically all pandemic-related restrictions as a result of reaching their vaccination goal. New York followed with a similar announcement of reaching their goal on the matter and also dropped nearly all of its restrictions. Of the easing of restrictions, the two most important changes were the resumption of 100% capacity for dining establishments, eateries and bars, and the end of the mask mandate for vaccinated individuals.
Granville gained a new eatery with the opening of the Granville Family Diner on July 5. The new diner, owned by Matt and Candy Baker, opened at the 70 Quaker Street building. The diner serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, available any time of the day during business hours, as well as daily specials.
The 38 Main St. building, after years of inactivity, sold on Aug. 2 to 38 Main Street LLC. Tommy Festa announced in early October that he plans to open a new eatery in the building, to be called Tommy’s Place.
The Town of Granville bought the 14 East Main St. building on Sept. 9. The town board had worked since June to do due diligence on the building and to prepare for purchasing the building from its former owner, John Manchester. The town has since been renovating the building for use as town offices. As of December, the town board anticipates moving into the building around March.
With the change of seasons and start of school, the car hops reduced their businesses to their fall hours and eventually closed for the season. Jen’s Pit Stop in Middle Granville closed on Sept. 26. MacDaddy’s in the village closed on Oct. 17.
An era of business came to an end in Middle Granville this October. Chapman’s General Store was sold by Gary and Marti Jurnak on Oct. 27 to Kam and Neil Patel. The Patels agreed to keep the store the same feel as before and have plans for improvements, including new gas pumps and an overhead canopy.
The Granville Family Diner moved to the Big Lots strip mall at the start of December. Their last day at the old location was Nov. 29. The first day at the new location was Dec. 2. The move was made because the former location was too small.
So 2021 was a different year for everyone. Granville saw businesses open, some change, and others close. As 2021 ends, 2022 will start. Happy New Year to all and best wishes to everyone. May the Granville area prosper in 2022 and in the years ahead.
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