OSWEGO, NY— The time has finally come. Oswego’s own Taco Bell has finally opened and with promotions to celebrate. 

On Wednesday morning, locals attended the grand opening and ribbon cutting for the fast-food chains new location. The new addition to Oswego’s dining options has taken about 6 months to construct, and after numerous delays caused by weather conditions a gas pipe running through the property has finally opened on October 30. The marketing director, Jessica Woodburn has been waiting for this moment. 

“So I think that everyone here in Oswego has known that this has been a long time coming we’ve been working diligently to find a location and due to situations out of our control,” said Woodburn. “We had a couple of locations fall through but then we were able to get this fantastic location on George Street. We’re excited we’re finally open people have been very patient and we think that today is just going to be a phenomenal opening day.” 

A familiar face was seen at the grand opening, Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow. 

“Well it’s great to finally have Taco Bell in Oswego. We had a many years ago and it left Oswego, but now it’s back and it’s finally here and we’re so excited. There’s a huge demand here in the city. Between people in the SUNY community and people who just overall love Taco Bell and are tired of driving to Fulton or North Syracuse to get it. I think they’ll do really well and we’re happy to have them,” said Barlow. 

Some of their favorite Taco Bell orders? 

“Chicken Quesadilla with a Mountain Dew,” said Woodburn. 

As for Mayor Barlow, “I like the box of tacos, the cinnamon twists, and then the Baja Blast which I think you can only get at Taco Bell.”

Since the beginning of the semester, multiple clubs have had trouble with funding as they were not budgeted capital to support themselves. Vocal Effect, a show choir on campus, is one of those clubs.

“Vocal Effect is a SUNY Oswego’s one and only show choir. We do performances all over campus and in the town of Oswego. We meet every couple of days and just have fun, sing, and dance. It’s a lot of fun,” said President, Thomas Waizenegger.

Vocal Effect meets weekly and are about 30 members strong. This year Vocal Effect has had their funding cut right in half dropping from a $3,000 budget to a $1,500 budget.

“At the start of the year we started with about $1,500, we had about $3,000last year, and now our budget and now our budget was slashed in half over the course of a year,” said Waizenegger.

This is problematic for the club. Much of their funding is used for acquiring new material to perform and the rights to do so, as well as costuming and transportation to the multiple venues that the group performs at.

“It’s not fun, having your funding cut in half in less than a year. I understand that the Student Association had to make these cuts in order to start getting themselves out of the red, but for smaller clubs like Vocal Effect, it’s not fun and it’s not sustainable for us,” said Waizenegger.

As for the group currently, you can catch them on October 26th at 3 PM in The Space, Marano Campus Center free admission for all.