- By Dan Veaner
- Around Town
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Foodies may have been disappointed when Hope's Way closed its doors last month. They will be happy to know that the popular restaurant and catering company isn't entirely going away. It was purchased at the end of January by Brous & Mehaffey, which owns the Ithaca Bakery and Collegetown Bagles. The new owners plan to move their current Triphammer Mall store into the Hope's Way space and to incorporate favorite foods from the restaurant into their menu."We're very excited about it," says Ramsey Brous. "We purchased the recipes, the customer lists and such. We are certainly very interested in wanting to please the people who patronized Hope's Way. Part of what that means is taking a look at what specific things we can incorporate into our repertoire that are important to her customers."
This Ithaca Bakery location will move to the Hope's Way
space in the Triphammer Mall
The plan is to move the Ithaca Bakery location from its current storefront in the Triphammer Mall to the Hope's Way space, closer to the front of the mall. No major renovations are planned, which will mean the merged space will be ready to open its doors by the end of February.
"It's such a beautiful space," he says. "I don't think we're going to do a lot of redecoration. That was one of the attractions, that it is such a nice space both in the front and back. Some of the minor things we will be doing are installing a hanging system for art shows, and a little rearranging of the service line. We hope to improve the traffic flow in there. We'll be expanding the menu boards so we can have our full line of offerings there."
Former Hope's Way employees who are interested in working for the new owners have all been offered interviews. Brous says that Hope Rich will likely consult to the business as well, at least for the first few months.
Collegetown Bagels was established over 25 years ago with locations on College Avenue and Aurora Street. In 1983 Brous & Mehaffey expanded to into a gourmet deli and catering business. In 1990 the firm acquired the Ithaca Bakery, which had been established in 1910. But Brous says that the company has no plans to expand beyond Tompkins County.
"Once in a while we have a conversation about it, but frankly our heart's desire is to remain committed to the Ithaca community," he says. "That's a big part of who we are. We didn't move here to do the business -- we're from here and decided to do the business in the community that we love. That has been our desire all along, not to try and end up elsewhere."
That commitment has recently expanded to featuring local foods and produce on the regular menu. He says that it is now possible to do that as local producers have become a more reliable source of high quality foods. The restaurants have incorporated organic beef, organic chicken, locally produced pork, cheeses, and vegetables and fruit in season for their popular dishes and sandwiches.
"That has been a really big push over the last year," Brous says. "We've worked very hard to establish relationships with dependable suppliers in the local area. It's been very well received. As you can imagine, the quality is fantastic."
That makes the Hope's Way acquisition a perfect match for the firm. The kitchen in the old Triphammer Mall Ithaca Bakery space has been haphazardly added to as needs arose, and Brous says it is bursting at the seams. The new location includes two large, well designed kitchens, one of which was created to be used for catering and the other for the restaurant. The size and layout of the kitchens will improve efficiencies in the restaurant, and help expand the catering business.
Brous says he expects to increase business in the restaurant, and that familiar employees from both businesses will help encourage customers of the two restaurants to embrace the merge.
"We certainly hope to be busier," he says. "We also hope that some of the faces will remain familiar for the Hope's Way customers that come in."
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