Spend any amount of time in Ithaca and you’ll quickly see why the city is regularly recognized in lists of best places to live: its beauty goes well beyond waterfalls. We feel lucky to live in such a diverse and dynamic community—and to welcome visitors who are genuinely curious to get to know us better.
We’ve gotten a lot of questions about how to support African-American Ithacans when visiting town. So we’ve decided to highlight some popular Black-owned businesses to celebrate the many ways in which they help build, feed, invigorate, heal and complete our community.
Northstar House’s roots in Ithaca run deep. The locally-focused farm restaurant grew out of the friendship of three men who go way back: As toddlers, Jed Ashton and singer Elliot Martin ran together through the Stewart Park sprinklers, and as college students, some 30 years ago, they met saxophonist Lee Hamilton in Boston. Once back in Ithaca, the friends knew exactly what they wanted to add to the city’s going-out scene: a diverse, inclusive gathering place for families, aimed at the community.
Their vision came alive in 2009, named for the celestial body that “has always been a guiding light for African Americans since the time our ancestors were brought here against their will,” Ashton explains. Alluding to the town’s history as a stop along the Underground Railroad, “the North Star also represents those who participated, those who risked their lives to help people escape slavery.”
Today, Northstar House steers an eclectic mix of locals—and visitors—of all ages to the northern end of the Fall Creek neighborhood, just around the corner from Ithaca Falls, to enjoy dinner or Sunday brunch and the “lively libations and nice, nice vibes” promised by the restaurant’s motto.
“We were really aiming to create a bar, but the food took over,” says Ashton.
But the bar side hasn’t been neglected: the long list of bottled beers and rotating drafts puts on display what New York breweries have to offer. The team hopes to expand Northstar’s outdoor dining options to keep bringing the community together, especially in challenging times.
Northstar House, at 202 E Falls St in Ithaca, is open Thursday-Saturday at 4pm, and brunch on Sundays; reservations are accepted, and there indoor and outdoor (seasonally) seating available.
BLUE OYSTER CULTIVATION/MUSHROOM SPIRITS DISTILLERY
Mushroom farming wasn’t exactly what Wendy Rizzo had in mind when she trained as an attorney and launched a 20-year career in higher education, but first meeting her husband, Joe, at a farmer’s market in New York City may have been a hint that produce was in their future. Since 2009, Ithaca-based Blue Oyster Cultivation has been bringing a whole rainbow of mushrooms to customers at the Ithaca Farmers Market and the Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan: blue, yellow, and pink oysters, the bestseller shiitake and the more exotic lion’s mane, hen of the woods, king oyster and pioppino. From humble beginnings on a shoestring budget, the business has mushroomed into a successful family venture focused exclusively on edible fungi.
Joe is the mushroom expert and main driving force, says Wendy, who does a little bit of everything. It was Joe’s initial foray into mushroom growing as a middle-school science teacher — in charge of a community garden in Brooklyn and doing hands-on plant science with his students — that got them started. “We felt from the beginning that mushrooms would be well received at the farmer’s market,” Wendy explains. They were right, though it still took several years to build a steady customer base.
Blue Oyster Cultivation's mushrooms also serve as a key component of their Mushroom Spirits Distillery Busines, which operates tasting rooms in downtown Ithaca and Seneca Falls.
Mushroom Spirits Distillery, at 130 E Seneca St in Ithaca, is open Tuesday-Sunday at 130 E Seneca St in Ithaca.
When Gedese Degebasa opened Hawi Ethiopian Cuisine in 2015, she was in it for the long haul. The former athlete went from running marathons for her home country, Ethiopia, to running the popular restaurant’s kitchen and business side, sometimes for more than 60 hours a week. “’Hawi’ means ‘wish’ and also ‘lover of nature,’” Degebasa explains. “I love to cook, and having my own restaurant was my dream, my wish.”
Making it come true in Ithaca was more of a coincidence. Degebasa met her erstwhile business partner (who has since returned to Ethiopia) in the kitchen of a New York City Ethiopian restaurant, where she honed her culinary skills for two years after first arriving in the United States. “My business partner searched online for places in New York where the rent would be cheap,” Degebasa recalls. “I knew Manhattan but didn't know the other boroughs, so I thought Ithaca was somewhere in the city. I couldn't believe how much the bus ticket was, and how long the ride lasted. I kept thinking the next stop would be our stop. But when we finally got here, and I saw the place that would become our restaurant, it felt just right to me.”
Degebasa is most fulfilled by her work when the restaurant is full, servers are moving fast, and chatter fills the air as everyone eats and drinks, sharing large platters of Ethiopian favorites: vegetables, legumes and meat in a variety of mild and spicy sauces and served on top of injera, a large, thin sourdough pancake made from teff flour. Hawi welcomes many first-timers to her country’s cuisine, so the menu makes sampling easy. ‘Don’t be overwhelmed by the choices, but just try everything,” Degebasa says.
Five years in, the chef wouldn’t mind slowing down a bit and hopes that her sister will be able to join her from Ethiopia to help with the business. Then again, Degebasa already has her sights set on the next leg of her journey—opening a second Hawi restaurant in another city, to bring her native cuisine to even more people.
Hawi, at 113 S Cayuga St in Ithaca, is open from 3-9pm Tuesday-Thursday, 12-9pm Friday-Sunday, and closed Monday.
Chef Kuukua Yomekpe began Asempe Kitchen as a catering business and pop-up restaurant, but opened her brick-and-mortar restaurant in late 2024 in downtown Ithaca's Press Bay District. Chef Kuukua's goal is to use food to encourage dialogue and curiosity about each other. In addition to the restaurant, cooking classes also are offered in the space.
Asempe Kitchen specializes in providing gluten-, soy-, and dairy-free, primarily plant-based, West African food, with seven natural ingredients or less in the majority of its dishes, cooked in olive oil. The dishes are mildly spicy, additional spices are brought to the table for those wishing a spicier version of the dishes.
Asempe Kitchen, at 114 W Green St (Press Bay Court) in Ithaca, is open for lunch (11:30am-3pm) Thursday-Sunday, dinner (5-9pm) Thursday-Saturday, and brunch (11am-3:30pm, reservations required) the first Sunday of the month.
Olivia Hall is an accidental Ithacan, who—like so many—came to Ithaca, fell in love (with her husband and the city) and stayed a lot longer than she’d planned. After nearly 15 years, it still regularly surprises and delights her. Ithaca is a wonderful home to return to from her adventures across the globe—whether to Tokyo, Madrid, Cologne, Bucharest, Quito or Aqaba—and a place she’s proud to show off to visiting friends and family.
