Yet another collegetown bar bites the dust

[Trotsky]

There's always Joe's...

[upprdeck]

joes has been gone for years.

[billhoward]

joes has been gone for years.

When Joe's came back, it wasn't the restaurant it once was. Or the level and variety of Ithaca dining has gone way up and Joe's suffered in comparison. We ate there maybe three times in the years before the 2019 closing and it just wasn't the same.

https://www.14850.com/083011053-joes-closing/

[marty]

joes has been gone for years.

When Joe's came back, it wasn't the restaurant it once was. Or the level and variety of Ithaca dining has gone way up and Joe's suffered in comparison. We ate there maybe three times in the years before the 2019 closing and it just wasn't the same.

https://www.14850.com/083011053-joes-closing/

Agreed.  My wife used to occasionally dream about a grilled tuna entree special that she ordered at the original Joe's.  No nightmares due to the second coming of Joe's, but the decline was a testament to the work ethic (and recipes) at the original joint.

[upprdeck]

not a lot of good choices left in town. choi/boatyard i guess but both are pricey for the quantity/quality of the food.

[marty]

not a lot of good choices left in town. choi/boatyard i guess but both are pricey for the quantity/quality of the food.

I just enjoyed a Boatyard meal and Janice liked her small plate. Coffee coming. On to warm-ups.

[billhoward]

not a lot of good (affordable) [FYP] choices left in town. choi/boatyard i guess but both are pricey for the quantity/quality of the food.

Last century, a lot of decent cheap eats in Collegetown this at a time when Collegetown was not yet home to the New Young Gentry. Now, there are many good restaurants downtown that you can afford maybe once a month as a student.

It is hard to imagine Collegetown with, what, zero or one Italian restaurants?

[marty]

not a lot of good (affordable) [FYP] choices left in town. choi/boatyard i guess but both are pricey for the quantity/quality of the food.

Last century, a lot of decent cheap eats in Collegetown this at a time when Collegetown was not yet home to the New Young Gentry. Now, there are many good restaurants downtown that you can afford maybe once a month as a student.

It is hard to imagine Collegetown with, what, zero or one Italian restaurants?

There's a Youtube celeb, Michael Fremer who mentioned working at Record Runner in the late 60's in his review of the new Beatles box sets.

I'm curious if the space that Record Runner vacated when they closed was home to the short lived Steak Aroma.

[David Harding]

not a lot of good (affordable) [FYP] choices left in town. choi/boatyard i guess but both are pricey for the quantity/quality of the food.

Last century, a lot of decent cheap eats in Collegetown this at a time when Collegetown was not yet home to the New Young Gentry. Now, there are many good restaurants downtown that you can afford maybe once a month as a student.

It is hard to imagine Collegetown with, what, zero or one Italian restaurants?

There's a Youtube celeb, Michael Fremer who mentioned working at Record Runner in the late 60's in his review of the new Beatles box sets.

I'm curious if the space that Record Runner vacated when they closed was home to the short lived Steak Aroma.

From what I can see below (TLDR), I think that Steak Aroma was probably adjacent to Road Runner Records in the same building, but evidence is conflicting.  

I confess to never having paid any attention to either establishment, despite lived just a few blocks away through that period.  I can offer Ithaca Journal articles identifying the address of Road Runner as 406 College Ave and Steak Aroma as 408 College Ave.  

Poking around a little more in the Ithaca City Directories:
1969 Record Runner at 406 College and both Hill Drug Store and Pete's Luncheonette at 408 College.
1970 Same
1971 Same
1972 The Fire Light at 406 and Flamboyan Restaurant sharing 408 with Hill Drug.  
1973 406 and the restaurant slot at 408 were both listed as vacant.  
1974-1975 Steak Aroma Four at 406 and nothing but Hill Drug at 408.  
1976 same
1977 same
1978 406 is vacant and Hill Drug remains at 408.
1979 both vacant.  

Checking the Cornell Sun digital archive, I find Steak Aroma ads starting in September listing the address as 408 College Ave.  Help wanted ads (dishwasher) in 1976 say apply at 408 College.

25 July 1977 The place burned on 25 Jul 1977.  The Ithaca Journal article reported that the building housed Steak Aroma, Hill Drug, and an empty storefront.  The photo might trigger memories.

[marty]

Thank you, David!

[ugarte]

standing outside the burning Steak Aroma and yelling "I said RARE"

[Weder]

standing outside the burning Steak Aroma and yelling "I said RARE"

too soon

[David Harding]

Not a bar and it hasn't bitten the dust.  Purity Ice Cream has changed hands apparently without missing a beat.  https://cornellsun.com/2021/11/17/purity-ice-cream-thrives-under-new-ownership/

[billhoward]

At some point this will be a dead forum because how many bars remain in Collegetown that can still go under?

[Iceberg]

At some point this will be a dead forum because how many bars remain in Collegetown that can still go under?

Hardly any. I was there last month visiting a friend in grad school and all the spots I had in my head (i.e. Ruloff's) were gone. We actually had to go somewhere downtown for a relaxing place that wasn't an undergrad hangout spot. It's really too bad that bars such as Chapter House and the Nines no longer exist