Tompkins County IDA awards funding in child-care grant program

Get our email updates

Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.

ITHACA, N.Y. — The Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (TCIDA) on Nov. 11 awarded grant funding to four child-care organizations to assist their operations during

Possible virus exposure reported at bar/restaurant in Endwell

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Health Care, Nonprofits, Regional News, Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism

ENDWELL, N.Y. — The Broome County Health Department announced Sunday that a person who was at the Brickyard Endwell — located at 800 Hooper Road

Saranac Waterfront Lodge opens in the Adirondacks

Regional News, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

SARANAC LAKE — The new boutique hotel, the Saranac Waterfront Lodge, opened this month on Lake Flower in the village of Saranac Lake. The hotel has 93 guest rooms, a pub/restaurant called Boathouse, and event space for weddings, meetings, and social events. Saranac Waterfront Lodge is operating under a soft opening during the winter months,

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

ConMed to pay 4th quarter dividend of 20 cents a share in early January

Manufacturing & Engineering, Regional News, Subscriber Only

UTICA — ConMed Corp. (NYSE: CNMD), a Utica–based surgical-device maker, recently announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 20 cents a share for the fourth quarter. The dividend is payable on Jan. 5 to all shareholders of record as of Dec. 15. ConMed provides surgical devices and equipment for

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

St. Lawrence alum donates $5M for second phase of Appleton Arena expansion project

Health Care, Subscriber Only

CANTON — A donation from a graduate will help St. Lawrence University in Canton pay for the second phase of a renovation and expansion project at the school’s Appleton Arena. The $5 million gift will support an expansion of the Michael “Buddy” Cornacchia ‘74 Strength and Conditioning Center, along with locker room and team facilities

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

CANTON — A donation from a graduate will help St. Lawrence University in Canton pay for the second phase of a renovation and expansion project at the school’s Appleton Arena.

The $5 million gift will support an expansion of the Michael “Buddy” Cornacchia ‘74 Strength and Conditioning Center, along with locker room and team facilities for the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, field hockey, softball, and men and women’s rowing teams.

George Karpus, who graduated from the St. Lawrence County school in 1968, donated the funding, the university said in a Tuesday news release. It’ll be known as the George W. Karpus ‘68 Athletic Center at Appleton Arena.

Appleton Arena — which is also home to the Saints’ NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey programs — was recently renovated. St. Lawrence dedicated the new facilities earlier this year on Feb. 8, the school said.

St. Lawrence University has worked with HOK, a St. Louis, Missouri–based design firm, during the past three years. Plans and construction drawings were completed in 2018 and the school is updating project costs. Fundraising will continue, and once completed, crews will begin construction with a target date of spring 2022.

The completion of the George W. Karpus ‘68 Athletic Center at Appleton Arena will also “positively impact the entire campus community,” the school contends. St. Lawrence also plans to revamp the current strength and conditioning space for student athletes in the Stafford Fitness Center, “allowing students, faculty, and staff access to a larger area,” the school said.

Karpus in 1986 founded Karpus Investment Management, an investment advisory firm with offices near Rochester and in Florida. He has been a “generous” donor to the St. Lawrence Fund and in 2006, established the George W. Karpus ‘68 Expendable Scholarship Fund, the school said.

The Appleton Arena project is supported by the Campaign for Every Laurentian, which the school describes as the “largest comprehensive fundraising initiative” in the more than 160-year history of St. Lawrence University.

Pathfinder Bancorp posts 15 percent profit increase in Q3

Banks & Credit Unions, Subscriber Only

OSWEGO — Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBHC), the holding company for Pathfinder Bank, announced that its net income rose about 15 percent to $1.5 million in the third quarter from $1.3 million in the year-ago quarter. The Oswego–based banking company generated earnings per share of 25 cents in the third quarter, up nearly 14 percent

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

The Oswego–based banking company generated earnings per share of 25 cents in the third quarter, up nearly 14 percent from 22 cents in the third quarter of 2019.

Revenue growth, led by an increase in loans, combined with expense control, largely led to the profit increase.

“We continued the upwardly trending financial performance of the first half of 2020 into the third quarter, with strong revenue growth, a stable net interest margin, an improving funding mix and effective noninterest expense management,” Tom Schneider, president of Pathfinder Bancorp, said in the earnings report, which was issued on Nov. 10. “We believe that our ability to generate favorable results in a very challenging and uncertain business environment is, in large measure, a reflection of our operating strategy that is focused on quality commercial lending, the management of funding costs, enhancement of fee-based income, and controlling operating expenses.”

Pathfinder reported third-quarter revenue (net interest income plus total noninterest income) of $9.8 million, up more than 15 percent from $8.5 million in the year-ago earnings period.

The banking company’s net interest income also improved 15 percent to $8.3 million from $7.2 million for the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, Pathfinder held the line on noninterest expenses in the third quarter, generating a decline of $52,000 compared with the corresponding period in 2019.

Third-quarter noninterest income of $1.5 million was up almost 16 percent from $1.3 million for the year-ago quarter.

Pathfinder had total loans of $820 million as of Sept. 30, up 13 percent from a year prior. The banking company had total assets of $1.2 billion as of Sept. 30, up 14 percent from a year earlier.

Pathfinder Bank is a New York State chartered commercial bank with 10 full-service branches located in its market areas of Oswego and Onondaga counties, as well as one limited-purpose office in Oneida County. Through its subsidiary, Pathfinder Risk Management Company, Inc., the bank owns a 51 percent interest in the FitzGibbons Agency, LLC.

Annual Economic Champions event virtually honors nearly 300 businesses

Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — CenterState CEO on Nov. 19 hosted a virtual event recognizing nearly 300 local companies as 2020 Economic Champions. The event acknowledged the local firms for “driving the region’s economy forward” through job creation, business expansions, and investments in operations. The virtual ceremony also recognized organizations that have demonstrated “resilience and innovation” during the

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

New York egg production jumps nearly 10 percent in September

Subscriber Only

New York farms produced 145.8 million eggs in September, up 9.9 percent from 132.4 million eggs in the year-prior period, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently reported. The number of layers in the Empire State averaged 5.78 million in September, up 5.7 percent from 5.47 million layers a year ago. September egg production per

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

New York corn production edges up this year, USDA forecasts

Subscriber Only

New York farms are estimated to have produced 86.3 million bushels of corn this year, up 0.2 percent from 86.1 million bushels in 2019, according to a USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service forecast issued on Nov. 10. The estimate was down from a month ago when the agency forecast 86.8 million bushels of corn were

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

Carrols posts profit in Q3 amid pandemic

Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TAST) — the largest Burger King franchisee in the U.S. — reported net income of $3.5 million, or 6 cents a share, in the third quarter that ended Sept. 27. The figures are an improvement from a net loss of $6.8 million, or 15 cents a share, during

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

The figures are an improvement from a net loss of $6.8 million, or 15 cents a share, during the same quarter in 2019, the company said in its Nov. 5 earnings report.

Net income in this year’s third quarter included $2.9 million of impairment and other lease charges. The net loss in the third quarter of 2019 included $500,000 of impairment charges and other lease charges.

Carrols generated total restaurant sales of $407 million in the third quarter, an increase of 2.2 percent from $398.4 million in the prior-year quarter.

Comparable restaurant sales for the company’s Burger King restaurants increased 0.8 percent. Comparable restaurant sales for the company’s Popeyes restaurants, a much smaller part of its business, jumped 5.5 percent.

Adjusted EBITDA increased to

$34.1 million from $25.7 million in the year-ago quarter. EBITDA is short for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Adjusted restaurant-level EBITDA increased to $52.8 million from $43 million in the prior-year quarter, Carrols said.

Syracuse–based Carrols Restaurant Group is one of the largest restaurant franchisees in the U.S. and currently operates about 1,088 restaurants. It has 1,023 Burger King restaurants and 65 Popeyes restaurants. Carrols has operated Burger King restaurants since 1976.

CEO comments

“The sequential quarterly improvement in comparable restaurant sales of 720 basis points at our Burger King restaurants is demonstrative of Carrols’ resiliency in the face of the unprecedented current environment. We believe our business model is well-suited to meet the needs of customers seeking great value and convenience and we have been able to serve them effectively and efficiently through our drive-thru, at-the-counter for take-out, and delivery channels,” Daniel Accordino, chairman and CEO of Carrols Restaurant Group, said in the report. “Over the past two months, we have seen modest softening in comparable sales at our Burger King restaurants driven primarily, we believe, by a strain on consumer spending due to a weakening ‘Main Street’ economy. Despite this year’s challenges, we have been extremely adept in managing food costs, optimizing labor hours despite higher wage rates, and controlling other restaurant-level and corporate-overhead expenses. Third-quarter results reflect the strength of our positioning and operational acuity as we once again delivered improved restaurant-level profitability and increased adjusted EBITDA compared to the prior year period.”

The Carrols CEO noted that “more importantly, looking further into the future,” the company is poised to re-engage in “strong but balanced” organic and non-organic growth strategies beginning later in 2021 while “keeping our leverage in check.”

“In terms of organic growth, we are in the process of negotiating a restructuring of our Burger King area development agreement with our franchisor. The remodel and new restaurant build commitments that required elevated levels of capital spending on our part under the current agreement are expected to be significantly reduced under the new agreement. Also, we anticipate that we would give up our right-of-first-refusal provision which we believe has diminished value in the current QSR [quick service restaurant] business environment,” said Accordino. “Under this new arrangement, we believe we will have added flexibility to grow our business as we believe best optimizes our profit growth potential while generating consistent and enhanced free cash flow. It is important to note that while we believe such new agreement will be entered into, it is still being negotiated and there is no assurance that such new agreement will be entered into on such terms or at all.”

Accordino went on to say that although Carrols is still “firming up specific new” construction and remodel plans for 2021 and beyond, the company is “committed to executing on our message last quarter” of spending $40 million to $50 million annually in capital expenditures over the next three years.

Get our email updates

Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.

Get our email updates

What's New

Upcoming Events

Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce 2025 Annual Company Clambake

INSPYRE Innovation Hub Open House & Orientation

Microelectronics Forum

CNYBJ Job Board

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get our email updates