These Elmira area businesses closed in 2024, including one that made a quick comeback

While Elmira and Chemung County saw a surge in new business openings in 2024, some area businesses unfortunately closed their doors.

The good news is one of those businesses quickly reopened under new management.

Here are a few businesses that went dark in the past year:

Anthony’s Restaurant

Anthony’s Restaurant was a fixture for two decades in the Elmira Holiday Inn (now the Clarion Inn) at 760 E. Water St., but owner Allen Fusco decided it was time to retire and spend more time with family. Fusco’s father, Anthony, built the Holiday Inn in 1974, and Fusco opened the restaurant, which focused on an informal setting and family atmosphere, in 2004. The restaurant quickly reopened with new management and a new name — “East Water Bar and Grille.”

LL Flooring

Formerly known as Lumber Liquidators, LL Flooring went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy and planned to close 94 stores in more than 30 states, leaving another 300 sites — including outlets in Chemung and Broome counties — open. After failing to find a buyer, though, the company said all of its locations would close their doors. That included the LL Flooring location at 830 County Road 64 in the Town of Big Flats and Harry L Drive in the Johnson City area.

7-Eleven

In October, the convenience store chain 7-11 announced it would close more than 400 of its 13,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada deemed by the company as underperforming. That list included a 7-Eleven store at 709 W. Gray St. in Elmira, which closed for good in early November. Several other 7-Eleven locations remain in the Elmira area, including North Main Street, Davis Street, Pennsylvania Avenue in Southport, and Oakwood Avenue in Elmira Heights.

Rite-Aid

The national pharmacy chain Rite-Aid filed for bankruptcy in 2023, and since then closed dozens of stores. That list included the Rite-Aid location at the corner of North Main and Second streets in Elmira, which closed for good in February. There are still multiple Rite-Aid locations in the Elmira area, including 1000 Pennsylvania Ave. and 209 Mount Zoar St.

Big Lots, Party City may join list of closings

Two national chains with locations in the Elmira area may join the 2024 closures early in 2025. Store closing sales are underway at the Big Lots location at 801 Lake St. along with the store in nearby Painted Post, although the company reached a last-minute deal to keep some yet-to-be-announced locations open. Similarly, the Party City in Big Flats Consumer Square on County Road 64 is also slated to close due to financial issues at that company.

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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Elmira area and Chemung County businesses that closed in 2024