7 Towns In The Finger Lakes With Thriving Local Businesses
The Finger Lakes comprise about a dozen finger-shaped water bodies in Western New York State. Though relatively remote by New York standards, the Finger Lakes Region is awash with vibrant businesses. Many are independent, locally-owned establishments with global inspiration, meaning that you can relish friendly local vibes and delicious local ingredients inside Italian-style wineries or Charles Dickens festivals or a Japanese-inspired kombucha shop. Visit these and many other regional/international hybrids in Seneca Falls, Naples, Canandaigua, Penn Yan, Skaneateles, Watkins Glen, and Geneva.
Seneca Falls
You can have a wonderful life in Seneca Falls. That is not because it supposedly inspired It's a Wonderful Life, but because it is enlivened by wonderful businesses. After crossing the Cayuga-Seneca Canal on the "It's a Wonderful Life Bridge," stop for snacks at Café 19 and souvenirs at WomanMade Products. Those and many other establishments honor the town's strong feminine past. Seneca Falls hosted America's first women's rights convention in 1848 and started the first nonprofit organization and museum dedicated to American women in 1969. You should thus expand your scope at the National Women's Hall of Fame before refocusing on local goods and vibes at Sackett's Table & Market. It sells everything from farm-to-table meals to take-home provisions.
Naples
Naples is no misnomer. This tiny New York town is entangled in vineyards like its Italian namesake. In fact, its name allegedly comes from a European visitor who noted the scenic similarities. Modern visitors can sample the lesser-known Naples' wine at Inspire Moore Winery, Arbor Hill Winery, and Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards, the last of which has been in the same family for seven generations. If they take their wine tour in September, they can cap it off with the Naples Grape Festival, a multiday viticultural celebration culminating in the "World's Greatest Grape Pie Contest." Many grape products are supplied by Joseph’s Wayside Market, which attracts people outside the festival period with its outside grape stand. If all graped out and wine-ing for variety, tourists can chug craft beer at the Naples Brewing Company or specialty kombucha from Komorebi Kombucha & Herbs.
Canandaigua
Straddling its namesake lake, Canandaigua is hard to spell but easy to enjoy. After swimming, boating, and/or fishing the lake, dry off at such iconic in-town haunts as Casa Italiana, a deli/grocery/pizzeria "straight from the hills of Italy" serving delicacies like traditional made-from-scratch Sicilian-style pizza; The Dalai Java, a café that roasts its coffee in-house and hand-crafts its espresso drinks, frappés, and smoothies; and New York Kitchen, a restaurant/tasting room/event venue/nonprofit organization highlighting the culinary diversity of New York State. Being as fertile as Naples, Canandaigua also boasts wineries—so many, in fact, that they are combined with Naples-area vineyards as part of the Canandaigua Lake Wine Trail. Get the Wine Tasting Passport for deals at all contributing businesses, including Acquilano Wine Cellars and the Heron Hill Tasting Room on Canandaigua Lake. Can you dig Canandaigua?
Penn Yan
Another uniquely named Finger Lakes hub, Penn Yan is said to be a portmanteau of "Pennsylvania" and "Yankee." It is also a portmanteau of natural and commercial fun. From the eastern head of Keuka Lake, Penn Yankees enjoy aquatic sightseeing and recreation in between patronizing myriad mom-and-pop shops. Chief among them are the 1988-established gift shop called The Nest Egg, a 1969-established family-run bookstore called Longs’ Cards & Books, and a 2018-established specialty café/bakery called Amity Coffee Co. Arguably the best Penn Yan spot is the Spotted Duck Creamery, which technically sits just east of town near the village of Dresden. Established by second-generation organic farmers, this parlor lets you eat ice cream right where it is made. And you will not be eating any old ice cream. True to its name, Spotted Duck makes its cream with Ancona duck eggs laid directly behind the shop. Moreover, its fillings and toppings—strawberries, mint, cherries, etc.—are grown on-site or at nearby farms. Over 95% of Spotted Duck's ingredients are certified organic or grown to organic specifications.
Skaneateles
An Iroquois approximation of "long lake," Skaneateles shares its name with a long, adjoining lake that provides endless entertainment. Beyond trying to spell it, you can swim it, boat it, fish it, and even plunge into its icy waters during the Skaneateles Polar Plunge. Winter is perhaps the liveliest season in Skaneateles thanks not only to the Polar Plunge but to Winterfest and a Dickens Christmas. The former is a late-January celebration of snow and ice, while the latter is a November-December celebration of Charles Dickens that transports the town into A Christmas Carol. Sponsored by local businesses, the fest features or has featured music at the Skaneateles Brewery, roasted chestnuts outside The Savage Homestead, and glassblowing at Snake Oil Glassworks.
Watkins Glen
At the southern end of Seneca Lake sits Watkins Glen, a small village with big business. Tourists come from far and wide to explore Watkins Glen State Park, attend Watkins Glen International, and patronize a wide variety of shops and eateries. Because of its world-renowned reputation, Watkins Glen has a Walmart (one of the smallest communities with such a retail giant) and a Famous Brands Outlet alongside charming indie establishments like The Blackberry Inn Kitchen and the Graft Wine + Cider Bar. After munching bagels at the former or mussels at the latter, get dessert at The Great Escape Ice Cream, a colorful family-run parlor that has been serving homemade treats since 1982.
Geneva
Located at the opposite end of Seneca Lake from Watkins Glen, Geneva has a similar mix of big box stores and small package shops. Tourists can stop in town at Walmart and Wegmans or north of town at Finger Lakes Premium Outlets before sampling local fare throughout the area, especially at Finger Lakes Goods and the Belhurst Castle and Winery. Likely famished after a day of diverse shopping, they can fuel up at a number of independent eateries. Empire Coffee and Donuts, which opened in 2023, is worth a mention for its intergenerational ownership, hand-cut donuts, organic coffee, and event space for everything from trivia contests to Lego building.
As natural vacation destinations, the lakes are lined with small towns full of amenities. But they are New York amenities, meaning even the state's remote retreats have cosmopolitan influence. From the birthplace of women's rights to an Italian-style villaggio to a town as festive as the Dickens, put your finger on these Finger Lakes hubs with thriving local businesses.
