An advertisement for the Luncheonette at the THRUWAY PLAZA Neisner's. Note that a "Home Style Meat Loaf Dinner" cost just 55 cents. I wonder if a beverage was included.
Graphic and advert from Neisner Brothers, Incorporated
A promotion for the PLAZA Woolworth's included mention of the store's Pet Shop. Back in the day, the typical 5 & dime always had a department that sold live animals. These included monkeys, canaries, parakeets, turtles, white mice and (even) baby alligators.
Graphic and advert from the F.W. Woolworth Company
Our first THRUWAY plan depicts the complex of 1957. The original strip center is shown in black. Additions to the Penney's, Neisner's, Lerner Shops, Woolworth's, A.S. Beck and Bergner's stores have just been completed and are shown in medium gray. A recent mall-making addition also appears in medium gray. With these improvements, THRUWAY PLAZA contains fifty-five stores and services. An expanded parking area accommodates 5,500 autos.
THRUWAY PLAZA TENANTS 1957:
J.C. PENNEY / A & P supermarket / NU-WAY supermarket / F.W. WOOLWORTH 5 & 10 (with luncheonette) / NEISNER's 5 & 10 (with luncheonette and beauty salon) / W.T. GRANT (with luncheonette) / A.S. Beck Shoes / Alcon Lock & Key Shop / Burns Barber & Beauty Salon / Cavage's Records & Cards / Colonial House restaurant / Dick Fisher Athletic Goods / Endicott-Johnson Shoes / Fanny Farmer Candies / Firestone retail store / Glickstein's Jewelers / Goldin's ladies' wear / Harvey & Carey Drugs (with luncheonette) / Household Finance Corporation / Household Outfitting / Howard Clothes / Janie's Youth Center children's wear / Jacobi Brothers men's wear / Jay-Bee Pastry Shop / Kiddie Ranch / Kleinhans men's wear / L.L. Berger ladies' wear / Lerner Shops ladies' wear / Little Colony / Loft Candies / Manufacturers & Traders Trust Bank (outparcel) / Martin, Limited men's wear / Master-Simon Hardware / My Maternity Shops / National Shoe Service Repair / Niagara Cotton Shop ladies' wear / Oppenheim-Collins ladies' wear (with Andre Beauty Salon and Simon Restaurant) / Record Rack / Russell Jay ladies' wear / Sattler's youthware / Schiff Shoes / Sears Catalogue & Appliance / Seeburg's men's wear / Singer Sewing Center / Susan Ives ladies' wear / Suzy Millinery / Thom McAn Shoes / Thruway Card & Camera / Thruway Liquor / Ulbricht's Books & Office Supplies / US Post Office / Victor's Home Furnishings / Wahl Shoes / Wayne Optical / Woodrow
The strip plaza became an open-air mall with the aforementioned mid-50s expansion. A December 1958 snapshot shows the center section of the shopping concourse. Going from right-to-left, the stores are W.T. Grant, Howard Clothes, Russell Jay ladies' wear and Martin, Limited men's wear.
Photo from Jerome Pinson
Another view of the open-air mall was taken on its north end. On the left are Victor's Home Furnishings, Kleinhans men's wear and the center's first Adam, Meldrum & Anderson ("AM&A's") store. Over its 43 years in business, the mall would house two.
Photo from http://www.tocny.org / Town of Cheektowaga, New York
