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ImageSimeon’s American Bistro recently completed a 1,700 square-foot, $200,000 expansion, in a move that adds 12 more outdoor dining seats along downtown Ithaca’s Restaurant Row, 20 new seats inside the restaurant, creates new jobs, expands the restaurant’s full-course menu selections, increase the availability and selection of Finger Lakes wines for local diners, and enhances the visual appearance of Restaurant Row through an exterior façade renovation.

Simeon’s is located on the corner of Aurora and State Streets, at 224 The Commons. Owners Rich Avery and Dean Zervos purchased the adjoining building at 106 North Aurora Street, following the closure of a business that was located in it.

The purchase allowed Avery and Zervos to turn the ground floor space of the adjoining building into a dining room that seats 20, install a new, state-of-the-art  kitchen with new grills,  ranges, expanded preparation areas and fryers, convert the old kitchen into a “showcase” wine room that prominently offers Finger Lakes Wines, and install a new exterior façade on the ground floor of the adjoining building that enhances the appearance and atmosphere of Restaurant Row. By taking ownership of the adjoining building, Simeon’s can also use the sidewalk space in front of it for outdoor seating, in accordance with City of Ithaca regulations. The result is a new Simeon’s that now offers a fine dining experience in the same casual atmosphere that it’s known throughout the region for.

The expansion was financed through the Chemung Canal Trust Company, the Small Business Administration and owner assets. Owner and Executive Chef Rich Avery says, “We’re pleased to be able to enhance downtown Ithaca’s Restaurant Row and at the same time, continue the long tradition of excellent food, served in an atmosphere of pleasant ambiance. We truly appreciate the support of our customers, the Chemung Canal Trust Company and the Small Business Administration. Along with the addition of 32 more seats on Restaurant Row, and the creation of some new jobs, this expansion will also benefit our local food and produce suppliers, as it will increase our need for their services. That’s a benefit to our entire community that we would not be able to achieve without our customers and business partners.

As a business policy, Simeon’s routinely purchases food and produce from local vendors. 

The expansion is also another chapter in the history of an historically and architecturally  significant building that houses a business with an historically significant name.

Simeon’s is named after Simeon Dewitt, the founder of Ithaca and the first Surveyor General of New York State. The original building at 224 The Commons was built in 1871. It became a soda and candy shop in 1923, and by 1930, was converted to a men’s clothing store. It continued to be a men’s shop for more than 40 years, until a 1975 renovation and conversion back into a soda shop. The name of the business was also changed to Simeon’s. In 1986, Alan Cohen took ownership of Simeon’s and converted it into a restaurant. Cohen would later serve as Mayor of Ithaca. The restaurant theme and Simeon’s name have remained with the location to this day.

Architecturally, the building at 224 The Commons is reminiscent of Italianate architecture on the outside. Inside the restaurant, detailed plaster relief and plaster angels on the walls, two-inch thick block marble floors, a marble bar, and a high ceiling with plenty of windows that create a feeling of being in a much larger atmosphere.

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