Dining

Rulloff’s: A Premature Goodbye

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When I first went to Rulloff’s, located on 411 College Ave back in February, I thought I would be saying goodbye to the bar and restaurant since its building is set for demolition at the beginning of this summer to make room for an apartment complex. Unfortunately, we would instead be saying goodbye to Rulloff’s, like many other restaurants, as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Plastered on its doors now are signs that read, “Due to the coronavirus crisis Rulloff’s is closed until further notice.”
When I dined there, I asked if Rulloff’s would open another location, and the waitress told me they honestly don’t know. However, the answer being “yes” is less likely given the new and upsetting reality all restaurants now face. Whether it was trips to Insomnia Cookies to take a study break, post-prelim boba runs, Chatty Cathy dates with my roommate, frequent and spontaneous stress-prompting trips to Mango Mango or celebrations at Koko — Collegetown restaurants have always been there for me during my time at Cornell.

COVID-19

‘When Cornell Leaves, Our Business Goes Away’: Ithaca Businesses Brace for Impact of C.U.’s Move to Online Classes

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“We used to have a nine-month business and now we’re down to seven,” Collegetown Bagels and Rulloff’s owner Gregor Brous said. “So if we lose April and May then we’re down to five this year.” George Papachryssanthou, who owns a downtown restaurant and two Collegetown stores, said “There’s no way to sugarcoat it. … It’s gonna hurt.”

Opinion

GUEST ROOM | The Destruction of Collegetown

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Imagine you are an alumnus from the Class of 2010: You and a couple of your college friends make the trek to Ithaca to visit your old stomping grounds. After checking out campus for a little while, you head towards Collegetown for dinner. “How about Stella’s?” your friend suggests, “It’s got great atmosphere.”

“Sounds good!”

You walk across Cascadilla Gorge and down College Avenue. You see the black awning — “COFFEE LUNCH BRUNCH STELLA’S DINNER WINE COCKTAILS.” As you come nearer, however, you see the windows are covered with paper “FOR RENT.” No problem, you can walk a bit further and go to The Nine’s. They’ve got great atmosphere and the deep-dish pizza is delicious, you think to yourself, I remember going there with my friends during my first week on campus.