Correction appended
Sarah’s Patisserie, a bakery shop in the Commons popular for its gourmet chocolates and desserts, permanently closed its doors on Sept. 23.
Owner Tammy Travis, who named the restaurant after her ex-wife Sarah, was unable to be reached for comment and did not want to speak to the press. The owner announced the upcoming closure on the shop’s Facebook page Sept. 12, but did not give a reason for the business’s departure.
“I will be on to the next business incarnation before you know it,” she wrote.
Travis opened the original restaurant 12 years ago at the Community Corners Shopping Center, north of Cornell’s campus, according to The Ithaca Voice. She opened its current downtown location at 130 Seneca Street in 2013.
Matan Presberg ’18 — who worked with Sarah’s Patisserie to redesign their website in his Introductory Design and Programming for the Web class — said he appreciated the friendliness of the restaurant’s workers.
“They always had delicious homemade desserts and staff who were both knowledgeable and very friendly,” he said.
Maria Chak ’18 agreed, adding that the pastries at the shop were “delicious, especially their macarons.”
“I definitely would have recommended [Sarah’s Patisserie], I just wish it was closer to Collegetown,” she said. “I actually didn’t realize it was closed, because I was so caught up with what was happening at Cornell.”
Sarah Lam ’17, who has been frequenting the shop since her freshman year, said she is “really disappointed” Sarah’s Patisserie is now closed.
“I went there mainly for the macarons, and I would go in the morning when they would make the chocolates and macarons in their open window kitchen,” she said. “They had more than a dozen flavors of fresh macarons.”
Lam also called the shop “a really cool study spot” and “a good spot to meet Ithaca locals.”
“[The shop] was unique because it added diversity in Ithaca’s image as a food hub,” she said.
In a note still posted on the shop’s door, Travis thanked Ithacans for their “continued patronage, support and love.”
“This is the last day at Sarah’s and with a heavy heart, the shop is closing its doors,” the note reads. “It’s been an honor being part of your community.”
Josephine Chu ’18 contributed reporting to this story.
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Sarah’s Patisserie was co-owned by Tammy Travis and Sarah Jefferis. In fact, although the store was named after Jefferis, she has had no connection to the business for three years.