Restaurant Turnover in Collegetown
In the relatively short amount of time I have been a Cornell student, Collegetown has changed drastically. This year, in particular, there has been a lot of construction on College Ave. where the original CTB and Ruloff’s were. The unfortunate closure of these businesses will luckily lead to more openings and opportunities for other stores or restaurants in the future. Ithaca’s students, faculty, staff, and locals definitely notice how Collegetown’s restaurants come and go very quickly in comparison to other college towns.
The restaurants located in this small area vary greatly over such short periods of time. Mango Mango, a dessert place revolving around mango styled dishes, did not exist as of December 2019. Similarly, Pronto, a new craft pizza and salad restaurant, opened out of nowhere this month right across the street. These two restaurants had little recognition prior to and during their openings but still managed to be extremely successful and have booming business. What these restaurants replaced is now a thing of the past, and customers have moved on by enjoying what the new places have to offer.
The culture of Collegetown’s restaurants is quite interesting and unusual. The restaurants do not have to be around for long and do not need a major opening celebration to get attention. They suddenly appear before the eyes of those living in the area, and luckily word gets around.
In some cases, restaurants change location but stay in Collegetown. Ultimately, CTB managed to move right across the street and is thriving at its new location. It is a larger store than the previous one and allows for more outdoor seating. What else could a restaurant ask for?
Similarly, Luna Inspired Street Food followed CTB’s steps and moved its restaurant to a different location in Collegetown this semester. Luna has always been a popular spot, especially since it was right next to and partially connected to Loco. This year, you can find Luna on Dryden, which is closer to the center of Collegetown. It even has tons of space for outdoor seating and socially-distant dining. It is pretty amazing how Collegetown restaurants can move locations so easily and have little change at the same time.
Collegetown is quite unique with its restaurant culture. It is one of few places where you can think a restaurant is closing for good and find it opening down the street. Or, a restaurant can just appear out of the blue one day and become your new go-to spot. Regardless of the uncustomary way Collegetown goes about opening its restaurants, it has a multitude of them to choose from. Collegetown shows its local heart with what they have. As much as people may be saddened to see some places come and go, we should all be excited about the opportunities to come. Who knows what restaurant is next to appear in Collegetown?
