The Biggest Question About The Hudson Valley’s New Service Area

This week, a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Hudson Valley's new Modena Service Area marked a very special occasion. Not only was the location completely rebuilt, but Modena was also the final Thruway rest stop to undergo a massive transformation thanks to a multi-year, $450 million renovation project.

While there were questions surrounding the project's funding (the New York State Thruway Authority continues to remind commuters that the entire budget was provided by private investment and not tax or toll dollars), most residents were concerned about something else entirely.

NYSTA Announces Opening of New Modena Service Area

The recent post from the NYSTA (below) showcased community leaders and politicians on hand for the ribbon-cutting of the 27th and final rest stop to undergo a facelift on the Thruway. The biggest question in the comment section, however, was focused on the availability of food on one very special day.

Community Responds to New Modena Service Area

As with nearly everything on the internet, the comment section was crowded with many negative responses, deriding the reportedly small bathrooms, alleged high prices, and lack of late-night food options at the new Applegreen branded service stations. There were also questions about chicken on Sundays.

Questions About Chick-fil-A at New Modena Service Area

"Does [the service area] have chicken you cant get on Sundays?", asked one commenter, referring to divisive fast food chain Chick-fil-A, which closes all franchise locations on Sundays. Others jumped on the bandwagon.

"Terrible design. They cut the bathrooms in half, chose Chikfila [sic] as a vendor (closed on Sunday, the biggest travel day for consumers)... Someone should go to jail", added a slightly more perturbed New Yorker. "Horrible choices for food... Seriously, Chick-fil-a closed on Sundays?", said another. It seems like residents declined to check the vendor list on the Thruway's latest rest stop.

Chick-fil-A Locations on the New York State Thruway

While there are several Hudson Valley service areas that reopened with Chick-fil-A locations, Modena is not one of them. The new Modena Service Area currently hosts Dunkin', Burger King, and Popeyes franchises (all of which are open seven days a week), and will soon welcome Pret and Auntie Anne's as well.

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As the famous saying goes, everyone's a critic, but it may be helpful to remember that service areas attached to major highways are not as common outside New York State (several Californians anecdotally reported they had never even heard of a highway rest stop that had more than public bathrooms available). Take a journey through service area history in New York below.