<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4KZ1jw_18epZRsk00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4KZ1jw_18epZRsk00" width="1247" height="1662" ><figcaption>Stephen Burke is the columnist behind&nbsp; Ithaca Times &nbsp;column "Ithaca Notes." Photo: provided</figcaption></figure>A surprising number of Ithaca eateries have recently announced their closings.Some are new; some have existed for years.The most recently closed was the most recently opened, in August 2024: Asempe Kitchen, on W. Green St., which featured West African fare and “plant-forward traditions,” with ingredients such as cassava, black-eyed peas, okra, palm nut and plantains. Its “Afrobeats Brunch” menu typically featured five vegan entrees. A few doors away from Asempe, the Rashida Sawyer Bakery has closed after a relatively short existence. The shop was a family business centering on creations by its namesake, Loraine Rashida Sawyer, a baker for many decades for other Ithaca enterprises, renowned especially for her renditions of classics such as cheesecake, carrot cake and fruit tarts. The shop offered carry out, catering, special orders and delivery, as well as table service for slices and beverages.Red’s Place has closed after years on downtown’s "Restaurant Row,” off the east side of the Commons. Red’s Place was a dining pub featuring burgers, flatbreads, soups and salads, with a wide variety of beers and other beverages, and both indoor and outdoor seating.The Watershed, a half-block west of the Commons, steps away from the State Theater, closed in December after almost a decade. It was more a bar than an eatery, but had a menu of about a dozen food items to complement its primary offerings of specialty crafted cocktails. Part of the operation was the Downstairs, below the main bar, which presented music and other live events at night. The number of closings so close together might be coincidental, or might have common causes. When the Watershed and Downstairs closed, owner Ashley Cake wrote a public notice that suggested reasons relating them. Some issues are specific to Ithaca. Cake wrote that local government is not doing enough to welcome people to downtown Ithaca in general, and the Commons in particular. She mentioned “scaremongering about panhandling and drug use on the Commons,” and wrote of the need for "public bathrooms, no-to-low barrier hospitality including food and places to rest, volunteer outreach workers, bystander intervention trainings and other alternatives to police intervention.”Cake further cited high housing costs in the city which have many people moving to the outskirts, where they are less likely to frequent downtown, instead commuting home in the evening after work in town or on the campuses. Cake’s businesses were particularly focused on evenings, and even late nights, but for most eating and drinking establishments nighttime population and trade are crucial.Cake also cited broader social factors. The “cost of living skyrockets,” she wrote, while “wages stagnate or decline.”Cake’s concerns find similar voice in the Asempe Kitchen’s closing announcement. Owner Kuukua Yomekpe described “the challenges of the current economic climate - rising costs and changing spending habits,” and “a continued lack of foot traffic.”The lack of foot traffic dates back considerably to the onset of Covid, from which many businesses have yet to recover, particularly restaurants and bars.There are newer political disruptions, with the Trump administration’s kidnappings and killings of residents, focused on politically liberal locations - a designation that certainly includes Ithaca - keeping people out of public places.Close to home politically for some time now in Ithaca, as Cake writes, are Cornell’s “continuing capitulation to the [Trump] administration’s craven demands,” creating “university-wide budget cuts [and] lay-offs,” and the school’s “outrageous… persecution of students who protest the state of Israel’s genocide in Palestine,” leading to “such an atmosphere of apprehension” that many Cornellians stay inside, don’t come downtown, and leave Ithaca as soon as they can.In Cake’s statement, she says “one of my bartenders said it perfectly: It’s not about the money, we need customers.” Cake writes, “What my places need to flourish is nothing less than our collective liberation. I need folks to have child care, stable housing, basic income…[for] places where people can gather spontaneously” in “reciprocal relationships.”She needs - we all need - people to show up because they are able to show up. What goes around comes around, and who comes around - or doesn’t - defines that. Without a broad commitment to change, the troubles and losses of downtown businesses are probably only beginning. </div></body>

Downtown Ithaca Eateries Face Closure Wave

Several popular eateries in downtown Ithaca have recently announced their closures, impacting the local dining scene. Asempe Kitchen, which opened in August 2024, closed due to rising operational costs and a lack of foot traffic, exacerbated by the lingering effects of the pandemic. The Rashida Sawyer Bakery, known for its classic desserts, also shut down. Long-standing establishments like Red's Place and The Watershed have closed, citing high housing costs, stagnant wages, and decreased nighttime population. Owner Ashley Cake of The Watershed highlighted issues such as inadequate local government support, rising living costs, and political tensions affecting Cornell University students. These closures reflect broader economic and social challenges, including political disruptions and the economic climate, which are significantly impacting the viability of downtown businesses.

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A surprising number of Ithaca eateries have recently announced their closings. Some are new; some have existed for years. The most recently closed was the most recently opened, in August 2024: Asempe Kitchen, on W. Green St., which featured West African fare and “plant-forward traditions,” with ingredients such as cassava, black-eyed peas, okra, palm nut and plantains. Its “Afrobeats Brunch” menu typically featured five vegan entrees.

Multiple Closures Among Downtown Eateries

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A surprising number of Ithaca eateries have recently announced their closings. Some are new; some have existed for years. The most recently closed was the 

Multiple Closures Among Downtown Eateries

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