"Nothing lasts on that corner!" (200.7)
There's been a lot of "Nothing lasts on that corner!" since I published an article about Viva Taqueria moving across the street in Downtown Ithaca yesterday morning.
Nonsense.
Madeline's did quite well there for most of its over twenty years, surviving despite construction above them, the excruciating rebuild of the Commons, the construction of Monks, the restoration of the Griffin Block building that Simeon's is in after the tragic truck crash there, and the City Centre construction across the street.
They haven't said it to me, but I've heard from multiple people that Ursula and Pete took over the Madeline's space with the intent all along to move Viva there once its lease ended. If so, Pasta Vitto did what it was supposed to, hold the space for them while making some money. The delays on their liquor license and then the pandemic weren't their fault or the fault of a "cursed" corner spot.
Before Madeline's? There was a little fast-food mall-style food court in there in the mid '90s, with a Taco Bell and Pizza Hut Express and something else that's not coming to mind. Subway? I remember the friendly face but not the name of the guy who owned that.
Viva Cantina could be very successful across the street from its original burrito stand corner, with more bar seating, roomier outdoor seating, a bigger dining room, and a bigger kitchen. And the current Viva could be turned into a new eatery by someone with another vision.