319 College Ave. has always held a special place in my heart. Three years ago when I was a freshman it was The Bear Lodge. For the young’uns reading this, back then it was an under-populated bar — overpopulated with minors — that happily hosted bar-tabs and charity events. With older locals and an extensive list of beers on tap, its vibe was somewhere between The Nines and Ruloffs.

The space, like many others in Collegetown, had remained empty since its closing. It boggles the mind that there could be so many vacant lots in C-town when it is close to impossible to get a quality fresh salad, or even the ingredients to make a decent salad. Collegetown is also missing other basics like a drug store, a linen store (seriously, we are the right demographic for cheap linens, socks and underwear), a diner, and a functioning indoor bus depot. The City of Ithaca is currently crafting a plan for Collegetown which will hopefully include ways to stimulate new businesses and improve tenant-landlord relations (another C-town pet peeve of mine). But it is time for the Hotelies and the AEM majors to employ some of their entrepreneurial spirit and open some FUBU businesses. Even though Paul Krugman’s New Economic Geography finds that similar businesses group themselves together, this does not mean we need another bar, ATM or Asian restaurant. No offense to Asian cuisine, but the market is definitely saturated. Yet another Korean restaurant is slated to open at the former Bank of America spot at the corner of College and Dryden, which is across College Ave. from — you guessed it — another Korean restaurant, Koko’s.

However, 319 is different. It has broken the C-town curse. Today, 319 is the proud home of Insomnia Cookie. Insomnia is a late-night cookie delivery service that is the source of everything warm and delicious since my roommate Camille departed for the real world. While Insomnia Cookie has been on campus since 2006, originally sharing kitchen space with Tasti Delite, it opened its own store last Thursday: a communal Valetine’s Day gift if you will.

Insomnia Cookie has been infiltrating college campuses since starting out in Seth Berkowitz’s kitchen as an undergrad at Penn. Years ago, I was a guinea pig in that kitchen — trying out various flavors, envious of the big kids who got to bake all day long. I was inspired to start my own midnight munchies place wherever I ended up. But as we know those who can’t do, teach, and those who can’t teach, teach gym. Instead the closest I have come to is a devoted fan.

At first I was torn about using Insomnia Cookies as an example of collegiate creativity because of its Penn origins but Wanda Paul, the manager of Ithaca’s Insomnia Cookie, informed me that the current COO, Joe Essenfeld ’01, is a Cornell alumnus. Starting or investing in C-town businesses benefits the local economy and employs Ithacans and Cornellians. For that community service I salute Joe! From his prompt and friendly email responses it is clear that he is committed to Cornell and Collegetown. Not only has Joe brought a great business to Collegetown but he found his job — and the space on College Ave. — through two other Cornellians. The employees I spoke to seconded Wanda’s sentiment that Joe, Seth and the other “Insomnia Cookie guys that come from New York City” want to see the store and the employees succeed.

While I’d like to see C-town become more than our playground, places like Insomnia Cookie go beyond satiating my sweet tooth. In light of our resistance to implement programs that will overtly integrate us with our neighbors, opening family friendly stores like Insomnia Cookie is a start at increasing cross-community interactions.

Insomnia Cookie, like its neighbor That Burrito Place (a wonderful surprise when I returned from abroad this fall), is a necessary complement to existent C-town commercial development. As Stephanie Feit ’09 said, “C-town used to be one big bar with ATMs at every table.” Places like Insomnia Cookie and TBP leverage the other late night activity going on while also providing social outlets for minors and others who might not want to go to the bars. For those of us who are bummed about Ithaca’s early curfew, Insomnia Cookie and TBP offer much needed additional hangouts for the Club Sidewalk overflow once Johnny O’s is Johnny Closed.

Joe Essenfeld, as a former Collegetown resident, knew that although other Ithaca areas like the Commons might be more central to Insomnia’s delivery zone, College Ave. has the most late-night foot traffic. But Insomnia Cookie does more than grab our last few dollars, it makes the walk home exponentially better. Insomnia Cookie and TBP bring activity further down College Ave., a well appreciated service for those sad souls who live on the south end of College Ave. Even though The Nines, Dino’s and Jason’s extend further down the block, these two new establishments bring a lively atmosphere previously missing south of the corner of College and Dryden.

We all know Jason is not the guy to give us a pat on the back and an encouraging smile for the rest of the trek. Nothing makes a girl walking home — whether from the Palms or the Cocktail Lounge in Uris — feel warmer inside than a gooey cookie and a glass of milk.

Now that Joe has fed us it is time to train some of our entrepreneurial vision on other communities. College entrepreneurs are great, but let’s push ourselves to also be college visionaries. I raise a peanut butter topped brownie to whoever is out there designing a social justice program for their honors thesis — like Wendy Kopp did at Princeton, when she created Teach For America.

Simone Greenbaum is a senior in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning. She can be contacted at sgreenbaum@cornellsun.com. Socialist Socialite appears alternate Wednesdays.