"People can grab a burger at Stacked Grill, wander across the street to Delmar Scoop and then shop at I Love Books," Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce President Michelle Charpentier told Spotlight News this summer. "You can make a whole day of it without having to drive from destination to destination."
That quote describes a route more than a list of shops. It's also the clearest explanation of how the Four Corners got to where it is in 2026. This summer, Bethlehem's senior economic developer, Brianne Conner, reported that the only vacant storefront at the intersection was the former Swifty's building. The newer businesses didn't arrive as separate destinations. They fit into a short walk, and the owners Spotlight spoke with credited their neighbors as much as their own menus.
A Year That Started With A Closing
The block didn't fill up evenly. FoCo Taco closed at the end of February, which left 374 Delaware Avenue empty heading into spring. Stacked Grill moved into that space and opened on May 13 with burgers, sandwiches, wings and other pub fare, NEWS10 reported.
So the corner went from a closed taco shop to a busy burger counter in about ten weeks. By summer, co-owner Stewart told Spotlight, "We're doing great and people really seem to like the new spot," and he credited "good food, service, consistency and a good price point." He also said he plans to add new menu items this fall.
Delmar Scoop, the burger stop's partner in Charpentier's walk, sits at 389 Kenwood Avenue. When it opened, the owner told NEWS10 it would be a year-round hard ice cream shop. Owner Cara Bashant describes demand by the batch. She told Spotlight she sometimes mixes fresh coffee heath bar, birthday cake and salted caramel brownie as many as three times a day.
"I drive through the Four Corners and I see people all over eating ice cream, and I love that," she said.
Then there's Cora Muse, a women's clothing boutique at 341 Delaware Avenue. Charpentier named it as the opening she was personally most excited about, saying it offered "that New York City experience right here," and she described the Four Corners shops as having an "upscale feeling, but obtainable."
The Shared Parking Lot Behind The Ice Cream Line
This is where the walk Charpentier described becomes something concrete. Ask Bashant why Delmar Scoop works and she names other businesses.
"McCarroll's is so good to me. You can tell it's a real community because everyone wants to help."
McCarroll's, across the street, lets Delmar Scoop customers park in its lot. Bashant has also teamed up with her neighbor Art Stars on pirate-themed birthday parties. Her summary of the welcome she got was short. "Everyone is so friendly."
Those arrangements matter more than they might seem to. A new ice cream shop with no parking of its own depends on someone else's spaces. A party business and a scoop shop that share birthday customers each send the other a reason to stop in. Charpentier connected the Four Corners' draw to its vehicle and foot traffic and to how easy it is to reach for residents, lunch-hour workers and students. The newcomers are riding traffic the long-running businesses already built.
Those long-running businesses form the frame the new ones fit into. Spotlight's report names them:
- McCarroll's, whose lot covers the ice cream overflow
- Perfect Blend, which Charpentier called one of the longtime favorites
- Wildbird Junction, her example of the variety in the mix
- I Love Books, the last stop on her burger-and-ice-cream route
- Art Stars, Delmar Scoop's birthday party partner
Even buildings that look like offices are part of the mix. Conner said the former two-story office building at 345 Delaware Avenue is "bursting with wellness proprietors," including physical therapy, healing work, spa treatments and an esthetician. In other words, an upper floor that could easily have sat empty is now another reason to come to the intersection.
What's Still Unresolved
A walkable block also makes its gaps easy to see. As of early October, three projects in or near the Four Corners don't have answers yet, and each one is stalled for a different reason.
The former Swifty's building. It was the one vacancy in Conner's summer count, and she didn't know what would happen to it. "It's a big question for me," she told Spotlight. No public proposal or announced use has surfaced since. Bashant said she hopes the space gets filled so it adds to the corner's customer traffic. That's the same logic as the shared parking lot, now applied to a whole building.
Tipsy Moose at 333 Delaware Avenue. Tipsy Moose Tap & Tavern is taking over the former 333 Restaurant space just off the Four Corners. This summer, Conner said patio work and interior buildout had started and that she expected it to open this fall. As of this writing, the company's own site still calls Delmar its fourth location, says "renovations underway; stay tuned," and lists only Latham, Troy and Albany as open. Fall runs through most of December, so "this fall" is still possible. There just isn't a date yet.
The Hallwood Road taproom. Around the corner, RealMcCoy brewery on Hallwood Road has closed. Spotlight reported that another taproom will eventually take its place but is still waiting on a liquor license. The operator wasn't named. A Times Union report on the end of Real McCoy described the picture at 11 Hallwood Road less clearly. Improvements appeared to be underway, but what was happening with the property was unclear, and State Liquor Authority records still showed Real McCoy's license for the address as active. Neither account names who will open there or when.
| Site | Last public status | What it's waiting on |
|---|---|---|
| Former Swifty's | Vacant, future unknown as of summer | A buyer, tenant or proposal |
| Tipsy Moose, 333 Delaware Ave. | "Renovations underway" on company site | Finishing the buildout and announcing an opening date |
| Former RealMcCoy, Hallwood Rd. | Unnamed replacement taproom reported; improvements underway, plans unclear | A liquor license and a named operator |
Tipsy Moose is the only one of the three with a named tenant and a stated opening season. The Swifty's building has no public plan at all.
Where The Four Corners Crowd Goes In October
The intersection's draw doesn't stop at the storefronts. A few minutes away, the town's October calendar runs on the same kind of local cooperation.
The Delmar Farmers Market is in the last weeks of its outdoor season at Bethlehem Middle School, Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It moves indoors in November. The market's calendar marks National Farmers Day with thank-you notes on October 10 and free pumpkin painting from 10 a.m. to noon on October 31.
Bethlehem Public Library is running an "Our Farms, Our Future" series this month:
- Exhibit reception, Thursday, October 8
- Film screening, Thursday, October 15
- Farm-transition panel, Thursday, October 22
- Community conversation, Thursday, October 29
- Storytelling night, Friday, October 30
From October 5 to 16, the library is also collecting unopened household supplies, toiletries, paper towels and pet food for the Bethlehem Food Pantry as part of its Great Give Back drive.
On October 10, Five Rivers Environmental Education Center hosts "Feathers ala Autumn!" from 10 to 11:15 a.m. Registration is due by Wednesday, October 7. If you go, it pairs naturally with a stop at Wildbird Junction.
Later in the season, the Chamber lists Small Business Saturday as the Saturday after Thanksgiving, which is November 28 this year. First Night, its annual December 31 celebration, brings entertainment to the Four Corners. By New Year's Eve, the Tipsy Moose question may well be settled. The Swifty's building is the one still waiting on a plan.
Delmar is home for me, and the Four Corners is where I do my own errands, so I'm keeping an eye on these three open questions. If you want to know how a new tenant at the Swifty's building, a Tipsy Moose opening or a Hallwood Road taproom might affect life and home values on your street, I'm happy to talk it over over coffee at Perfect Blend. Work With Melissa at Melissa Dubin.
