North Syracuse, N.Y. -- Hinerwadel's Grove, a local institution that has been hosting clambakes for 104 years, is closing.

Owner Vicky Hinerwadel made the announcement on the clambake catering facility's Facebook page Friday afternoon.

"We want to announce to all of our very appreciated customers, employees and suppliers that we have made the very difficult decision to make our 104th season serving our clambakes to the CNY community our last," she said on Facebook.

She said she has been battling cancer for more than two years and decided "it is time to put my health first." She called the it a "very heart wrenching and emotional decision."

"Unfortunately, there is no 5th generation to carry on the tradition of our clambakes," she said.

Hinerwadel's great-grandfather, John Hinerwadel Sr., a postal carrier, started Hinerwadel's Grove when he bought 34 acres on West Taft Road near Route 11, just outside the village of North Syracuse, in 1914. He farmed part of it and used the rest of it to host clambakes.

"People would take cable cars from the city to attend the clambakes," Vicky Hinerwadel said. "He found a way to transport clams packed with ice in wooden barrels on trains from the Chesapeake Bay to supply his dream."

The business became a local institution over the decades and a favorite location for politicians, unions, businesses and others to hold their summer clambakes and fundraisers. Governors, senators, mayors and state lawmakers often attended or held events there.

Gov. George Pataki bites into a sausage sandwich at a Republican Party clambake at Hinerwadel's Grove in North Syracuse in 2001. Nicholas Pirro, then-Onondaga County executive is on the right.

"Our clambakes survived many ups and downs, including the Depression, a couple of recessions, Prohibition, many wars including World War 1 and 2 and the Korean War, to name a few," Hinerwadel said. "We had several fires destroying our buildings to the ground and even a gas explosion that destroyed our kitchen, but somehow we persevered all these obstacles."

Hinerwadel's began serving salt potatoes at its clambakes in the early 1960s.

Vicky Hinerwadel holds a bag of Hinerwadel's Grove's signature product, salt potatoes, in this 2009 photo.

Vicky Hinerwadel said her father started packaging them in his garage by hand and distributing to small markets such as the nearby Sweetheart Market. Soon, salt potatoes became a popular item in Central New York and beyond, she said.

She said her family planned to continue distributing its Hinerwadel's Salt Potatoes to local stores.

"To my work family and to the Syracuse area and beyond, there will never be enough gratitude for our long run putting on clambakes for CNY," she said.

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