ITHACA, NY — Three new restaurants have opened or are opening soon in downtown Ithaca, bringing diverse new food to the local culinary scene. All three new restaurants are locally owned and operated.

The openings come during a transition period for the Commons and downtown Ithaca, where popular bar The Range recently announced its closure after eight years in business. Several new restaurants also opened over the summer, but a notable number of storefronts in the Commons still sit empty.

Asempe Kitchen

On August 2, Kuukua Yomekpe’s Asempe Kitchen opened in Press Bay Alley, bringing a popular Ithaca Farmers Market spot to the downtown restaurant district.

The word “Asempe” means “curiosity” in Fante, the Ghanaian language spoken by Yomekpe’s maternal grandmother. Yomekpe wants the people of Itha to visit her restaurant to try dishes that may be unfamiliar to them.

“To broaden your horizons, you have to be willing to be curious,” Yomekpe said. “You have to expand your boundaries to get to know the other person, the other culture (and) the other food.”

At Asempe, Yomekpe serves traditional West African dishes, all of which are vegetarian and gluten-free. She said her peanut stew — a rice-based curry made with peanuts, tomatoes, onions, ginger and garlic — is popular at her stand at the Ithaca Farmers Market.

Asempe means more than the curiosity needed to try new dishes, Yomekpe says — it’s also the curiosity to find out what happens “behind the scenes.” She plans to offer weekly or bi-weekly cooking classes at her restaurant for those interested in learning West African recipes.

Asempe is currently open Thursday through Saturday from 5pm to 9pm, but Yomekpe plans to expand these hours in the coming months.

Komonz Grill

Komonz Grill – a new restaurant serving Italian and Mediterranean cuisine – opened at Ithaca Commons on August 7. The restaurant is located in the former space of Waffle Frolic and BrgrHub.

Sofiane Elmahen, the owner of Komonz Grill, said he was inspired by the food at Sammy’s Pizzeria and Souvlaki House – two restaurants where he had previously worked. Komonz Grill is Elmahen’s first restaurant. Elmahen previously worked at the former Sammy’s Pizzeria, a neighbor of his new venture in the Commons.

“I’m doing something special. There are two pizza places here on the Commons. They have the same food. I’m trying to do something different. I have some smoothies, some platters, a pastrami meat pie (and) pizza,” Elmahen said.

Elmahen said he has received a “good” response from the Ithaca community, but hopes to see more foot traffic when Ithaca students return to town.

“I hope we will have more to do when the students come back,” Elmahen said.

Elmahen said that Komonz Grill serves 17 types of pizza and that all food served in the restaurant is halal. Komonz Grill is open from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and from 10:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on all other days.

Fresh market

The neon sign for Thompson & Bleecker Restaurant still hangs above its former location on the Commons, but the space sat empty for months. That was until a few weeks ago, when a sign appeared in the window announcing owner George Papachryssanthou’s newest restaurant.

Papachryssanthou, who owns Thomson & Bleecker and Chatty Cathy’s in Collegetown with his wife Milany, said he is aiming for something fast-casual with Fresh Marché. The concept, he said, is a lunch-focused restaurant with Parisian- and Italian-style sandwiches and the option to build your own salad.

“I just find it really weird that there’s no place where you can go and make your own salad or eat something healthy but not pushy,” Papachryssanthou said. “I want it to be health conscious, but I want it to be fun. (…) I’d like to find a happy medium.”

According to Papachryssanthou, the soft launch of Fresh Marché is currently planned for October.

Thompson & Bleecker has moved to a new location in the nearby Barr Building on East Seneca Street, which opened earlier this summer. The restaurant’s successful move and its staff’s ability to handle the change without sacrificing service or food quality — even during the COVID-19 pandemic — have given Papachryssanthou more confidence in the new restaurant.

There is some risk involved in deviating from Papachryssanthou’s tried-and-tested formulas and trying to fill a very different gap. Papachryssanthou admitted he has grappled with “how potentially stupid that could be,” but he sees the reward in the risk.

“It’s natural, everyone should think that way,” he said. “If you didn’t, there would be no fear, no fire, nothing that would drive you out of bed to run there and give you that goal and succeed. That’s in me, I don’t plan on failing.”

In spring 2025, another Fresh Marché location will open in Collegetown in the new Catherine Commons building.