Tully’s Tenders to go: Restaurant proposes fast-food / drive-thru at a busy intersection in Clay

Tully's Tenders, Clay NY

A rendering of a proposed Tully's Tenders to be located on Route 31 in Clay, just west of the intersection with Route 57. The design is subject to change. Rendering by Schopfer Architects of Syracuse.Schopfer Architects

Clay, N.Y. — A “fast-food” version of Central New York-based Tully’s Good Times restaurants, complete with its tenders to go, is planning a location on Route 31 in Clay.

It’s called Tully’s Tenders, and would be the second fast-food Tully’s. The first one opened at 192 W. Bridge St. in Oswego in 2022.

The new Tully’s Tenders would take the space formerly occupied by Workouts Health Club at 3547 Route 31. That’s between the Niagara Car Wash and the Mauer Funeral Home, just west of the intersection with Oswego Road (Route 57).

A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for March 18 before the Clay town board. Because the plan includes a drive-thru window, it would likely need a special permit from the town, Supervisor Damian Ulatowski said.

The restaurant would offer the signature chicken tenders in the original, Asian and Buffalo flavors, plus a variety of sandwiches, salads and rice bowls, and shakes and other drinks and treats. In addition to drive-thru, there would be an inside service counter and some seating. See the Oswego Tully’s Tenders menu.

Tully's Tenders

Tully's TendersSYR

Tully’s Tenders is owned by the Giamartino family, who operate about 20 business locations in Upstate New York and Pennsylvania. The company headquarters in East Syracuse.

The Giamartinos last month closed their Good Buddy’s Pub in Camillus, but are “actively looking” for more outlets for the fast-food Tully’s Tenders, said family member / co-owner Daniel Giamartino.

“It’s a concept that we think can grow,” Giamartino said. “It has been very popular in Oswego.”

The rest of Giamartino business portfolio includes 14 Tully’s Good Times restaurants. Five those are in the Syracuse suburbs, with others as far away as Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown and Scranton, Pa. There are also three CopperTop Restaurant, in Cicero and Camillus near Syracuse, with a third in Vestal near Binghamton.

In addition, the family recently finished remodeling the former Louie’s Tavern at 3372 Milton Avenue, adjacent to the CopperTop there. It is now the CopperTop Event House and is available for booking.

Tully’s also operates two stands at the New York State Fair.

Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.

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