Ten Tasty Restaurants That Opened Their Doors in Central New York in 2024

Before we step into 2025, let's take a moment to celebrate all the new restaurants that opened up shop in Central New York.

The pandemic rattled our local restaurant scene, but it appears to be growing stronger than ever with several new additions opening up shop in 2024.

Here's who came to Central New York over the past year.

While it's great to see so many unique restaurants opening their doors in the local area, 2024 has also been very rough on area businesses.

More than two dozen companies shut down entirely over the past year.

While some closures were seen coming from miles away, others caused shock and outrage because they were so unexpected.

However, several caused massive heartbreak.

In all, this year will likely go down as one of the strangest in history.  Central New York saw many ups and downs, with barely time to breathe in between.

Among some of the best experiences of the year include the once-in-a-lifetime treats like a total solar eclipse, the rare "parade of planets", and a blitz or auroral activity.

However, one of the best moments of the year was when a local singer won a national singing competition.

Read More: Utica's Own Sofronio Vasquez Wins 'The Voice' Season 26

On the other end of things, Utica saw an egregious uptick in youth gun violence and lost a beloved elementary school principal to a heinous crime.

Extreme weather also devastated parts of Central New York, like the EF-2 tornado in Rome. In fact, New York saw over 30 tornadoes touch down for the first time in single year - breaking the previous state record set in 1992

Flooding also devastated parts of Central New York over the summer, followed by a statewide drought that caused wildfires to erupt across the state.

New York also had to deal with pesky Canadian wildfire smoke periodically during the summer.

There was also some downright weird incidents this year, like people across the state reporting a fair share of UFO sightings or a whole mastodon jaw that was dug up in a random backyard.

Also, who could forget the national fiasco known as P'nut the squirrel?

Read More: Here's Why the World Is Outraged over a New York Pet Squirrel

In all, 2024 was an extreme year that really defined who saw the glass as half empty or half full.

Here's hoping 2025 doesn't act like a toddler acting out for attention.

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