By Matthew Watling
OSWEGO – On Tuesday, April 13, Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow announced that Tully’s Good Times Family Restaurant and Bar will open in Oswego, as it purchased the old Friendly’s location on West Bridge Street.
Tully’s is expected to work on an “accelerated schedule,” according to Barlow, with a desired opening by early-to-mid Fall.
“It is really early in the process,” Barlow said. “They purchased the building, we worked with the county [Industrial Development Agency (IDA)] to set up a tax agreement to make the project make sense financially. They are going to go before the zoning board – I believe – in the next month or so to get the approvals they need there and then they’ll start construction. I think tentatively, they plan to start construction late June, early July.”
Barlow said Tully’s was attracted to the Oswego market in the summer of 2020 but wanted to test the market via its food truck.
“I think once the food truck was here, they saw the excitement of the Oswego community and saw a market that was untapped,” Barlow said. “We have a lot of different demographics in the city that would support a restaurant like Tully’s.”
While Tully’s showed the primary interest in the market, Barlow had a few jobs in bringing Tully’s to Oswego. The primary role was to educate the people at Tully’s about the Oswego community and then connecting them to other resources like the IDA and the building and permit office, as Barlow described.
“[I brought] to the table the so-called players that it takes to get a project to happen,” Barlow said. “Once everybody talks and the project seems realistic and practical, we pull the trigger.”
Tully’s as a restaurant is marketable to a wide variety of demographics among the Oswego community. In a prime location that is walking distance to the college, college students will have access to another meal option and a type of food that Barlow sees as extremely popular among students given its “affordable [and] high quality” price.
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages to the community is the opportunity for fundraising. Tully’s is a company that often provides fundraisers for various athletic teams and other organizations, providing 10% of all purchases to the organizer. Clubs and teams can organize a fundraiser online, submitting an application at least two weeks before the selected date.
“Tully’s is a very charitable company, if you look at some of the things they have done in terms of sports teams and work they do in other communities in which they exist,” Barlow said. “I see a lot of opportunities for sports teams to have fundraising events … and a relationship with local sports organizations.”
The former Friendly’s property at 196 W. Bridge St. has sat empty since it suddenly closed its doors two years ago.
Barlow said he believes many different demographics would support a restaurant like Tully’s, such as the community sports teams and little leagues as the restaurant does have a sports theme. Also, in a prime location that is within walking distance to the SUNY Oswego campus, college students will have access to another meal option and a type of food that Barlow sees as extremely popular among students given its “affordable [and] high quality” price.
Beyond the college market, Barlow sees many other markets patronizing Tully’s from families to various little league organizations and even the “tens of thousands” of travelers driving along the Route 104 corridor.
Barlow sees the addition of the restaurant to city as more than just a place to eat, but as another example of the private sector investing in the city of Oswego.
“The private sector is investing in our community, and we are seeing these projects come online, particularly in downtown but throughout the community,” Barlow said. “You have some outside business people and investors well-known in the private sector who have Oswego on their radar, and they are investing and putting their money where their mouth is because they believe in this community.”
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