Panini’s Closed for Good Today After 25 Years Downtown. $43 Million in Construction Next Door Made It Impossible.

Panini’s at 222 Harrison Street served its final lunch on Friday, April 10, closing for good after more than 25 years as a downtown Syracuse institution.

The 75-seat sandwich shop opened in 1999 near Clinton Square under founders Dennis and Catherine Yost. It became a weekday staple for the Oncenter, Everson Museum, and Marriott corridor crowd — known for paninis on custom focaccia bread, breakfast sandwiches starting at $7.99, and signature lunch paninis that topped out at $13.79.

Steven and Joanne Bianco bought the business in April 2015 with plans to install a wood-fire stove and expand into artisan pizzas and baked goods. They wanted to build what Bianco described as a Tuscan-style cafe.

What they got instead was a construction zone.

Two Projects, One Block, No Foot Traffic

Two major construction projects directly flanking Panini’s turned Harrison Street into an obstacle course for more than two years.

The first was the $32 million INSPYRE Innovation Hub at 235 Harrison Street — a 46,000-square-foot expansion of the former Tech Garden that broke ground in August 2023 and opened in September 2025. During that stretch, construction reduced Harrison Street to a single usable lane. The finished facility is now the largest business incubator in New York State at 90,000 square feet, operated by CenterState CEO. It houses the GENIUS NY drone accelerator program, which has invested nearly $24 million in 42 startups since 2017. Empire State Development funded $16.6 million of the project through the CNY Rising Upstate Revitalization Initiative.

The second was an $11.1 million apartment conversion at 250 Harrison Street — the historic former Hilton hotel building that also houses Ale ’n’ Angus. Developer High Tide Capital is converting 26,000 square feet of upper-floor office space into 35 apartments: five studios, 25 one-bedrooms, and five two-bedrooms. That project closed sidewalks and took another lane of traffic on Harrison.

Combined, the two projects represent $43.1 million in investment and the near-total elimination of road and sidewalk access on the block where Panini’s sat.

The Owners Said Goodbye but Not Why

The Biancos posted a farewell message on Facebook around April 1, thanking customers for years of shared meals and conversations. Steven Bianco declined to comment further when contacted by syracuse.com.

Customers who lined up during a midweek lunch rush after the announcement asked if the restaurant planned to relocate. It will not.

The Pattern on Harrison Street

Panini’s is not the only casualty on the block. Ale ’n’ Angus at 238 Harrison temporarily shut down in September 2025 after owner Matt Beach said the combined construction made it nearly impossible for customers to get in. When two Harrison Street lanes were closed alongside Montgomery Street closures, there was no off-street parking at all.

Beach is hedging with a second location — Crooked Cattle, opening in the former Starbucks space in Armory Square, a four-minute drive from Harrison Street.

Downtown’s Bigger Squeeze

Harrison Street’s problems sit inside a larger downtown construction pressure zone. The I-81 viaduct project — the largest in NYSDOT history — is entering Phase 2 street-level work this year, with the first section of viaduct projected to come down in late 2026.

Other downtown businesses have reported steep losses from road closures. Harborview Wine and Liquor’s manager said construction cut business in half. Scholar and Champs owner Ben Aufsesser reported sales dropped roughly 50 percent, calling it worse than COVID. Speach Family Candy Shop’s president said he learned about a nearby bridge closure from a highway sign.

City leaders have held the line. Former Mayor Ben Walsh framed the situation as short-term pain for long-term gain. Mayor Sharon Owens acknowledged community concerns about Phase 2 impacts on festivals and downtown foot traffic.

What Harrison Street Loses

The INSPYRE Hub is open and attracting startups. The apartments are filling up. Harrison Street will eventually get new sidewalks and full traffic lanes back.

But the 75-seat sandwich shop where downtown workers grabbed a chicken pesto panini and a half-moon cookie for $2.75 on their lunch break — that place served its last order on Friday.