BUSINESS

BusinessTimes Comics for Collectors remains City xture 19 New Businesses open downtown in 2022

Comics For Collectors: Still A Marvel

By Lyndsey Honor

When you enter Comics for Collectors nostalgia washes over you as your gaze moves across the tightly packed shelves that line the space, oor to ceiling. It’s a quiet establishment populated by customers, young and old who independently peruse cover a er colorful cover until they’re ready to ring up their pile of new reads.

Tim Gray has owned and operated Comics for Collectors since 1981. Gray and his partner Bill Turner rst opened the store on the second oor of 148 e Commons. A er early success, they began envisioning a bigger future, setting a goal to one day own ve stores. While they never opened another four, they did manage to start two more. In 1983, Gray and Turner opened a store in Elmira, which operated until 1993, and in 1991, the team launched a third store in Corning, which closed its doors in 2001. e Ithaca store has continued to thrive. In 1994 the store moved to 207 N. Aurora St. Gray assumed full ownership of Comics for Collectors in 2000 a er Turner sold his shares in the business. And in 2020 the store moved to its current location at 124 W. State St.

Forty years a er starting the business Gray is still as passionate about the business and Ithaca, as he was in the beginning.

Gray has watched much transition around the Commons, but he’s speci cally paid attention to the fall of print technology here. “ e Commons was once heavily populated by magazine stores, newsstands, and businesses of the sort,” Gray said. “Over time, as technology changed, these stores began closing their doors. It’s been hard to see the printing industry slowly diminish over the last two decades with the rise of the internet and social media. I’m just fortunate that people still seek out comics the way they’re meant to be read: on the page. I look outside every day and remember that my store stands as a relic of print history that once was in Ithaca.”

Gray attributes the ability to keep comic stores successful to the constant turnover in the industry. 98% of Gray’s inventory is new content at any given time because there’s constantly new material. “Keeping up with the changing market can be exhausting, but it’s what keeps the people coming back,” Gray said. “New stu o en gets released at similar times of year, so I’ve learned to gauge when I need to update my collection. ere’s o en releases in the rst month, in the summer, and then again in the fall, making it so my store’s constantly changing. Some of my customers return a couple times of year just because they know it’ll be like walking into a new store every time.”

Gray has managed to retain his enthusiasm for the business. “I know so many people who spend decades working in grocery stores or similar establishments and hate what they do,” Gray said. “It’s because they’re doing the exact same thing, day after day, and they burn themselves out. My industry changes all the time and I get to reinvent my job and how I do it whenever I want. Every day o ers something new and I get to interpret it however I’d like.”

As for the future of his store, Gray has high expectations. e pandemic de nitely impacted things, like it did for everyone, but he only sees room for growth. “ e number one thing I hope will change as we come out of COVID is what publishing companies are willing to print,” Gray said. “It’s been common practice in recent years to only print the newest editions of comics to have available in stores. Take Max Meow for example. e fourth book in the series just came out and that’s the one I have on my shelves. It’s not ideal to only have the newest edition available because then readers miss all the content that came before. It would be really cool if print companies could start budgeting to print these earlier editions so stores like mine can reach more readers.”

Comics For Collectors has been at its new location since 2020. (Photo: Mark Levine) Tim Gray is as passionate about the business today as he was when he first opened 40 years ago. (Photo: Provided)

Comics for Collectors, 124 W. State St., (607) 272-3007; Tuesday through Sunday 12 p.m. through 6 p.m.

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New Downtown Businesses Help City Rebound From COVID

By Lyndsey Honor

Every entrepreneur knows that there’s opportunity in crisis. e COVID-19 pandemic was a tragedy on many levels but one silver lining is that it seems to have sparked a surge in entrepreneurship. A high percentage of these new ventures are the kind of small, street-level specialty businesses that bring tra c and vitality to locations. You don’t have to look further than downtown Ithaca for evidence of that.

At least 19 new businesses opened downtown so far this year, according to Gary Ferguson, the Executive Director of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA). ere are currently three or four ribbon cuttings scheduled for October and November.

Here’s the current list of 2022’s new downtown businesses: • Adam Grill (114 W. Green St.) • Lev Kitchen (222 E. State St.) • One Stop Kicks (107 S. Cayuga St.) • e Pretty Peach Waxing Studio (112 W. State St.) • e Rest Gallery (113 W. State St.) • Mix Gallery (156 E. State St.) • Zaza Smoke Shop (101 E. State St.) • Tableside (112 N. Cayuga St.) • Cayuga Smoke Shop (207 N. Aurora Street) • Good Choices (110 E. State St.) • Covenstead Workplaces (203 N. Aurora St.) • 5 Sisters (W. Green / Press Bay) • e Gallery (W. Green / Press Bay) • Paris Baguette (125 E. State St.) • Yellow Deli (143 E. State Street) • Envious Vegan Handbags (123 N. Cayuga St.) • Revelry Yards (109–111 N. Aurora St.) • Purposeful Parenting (207 N. Geneva St.) • Café Dewitt [new owners] (215 N. Cayuga St.)

Among these businesses, Revelry Yards and Paris Baguette have hit major milestones within the last few weeks.

Revelry Yards hosted its grand opening on September 19. e brewpub is already being commended for its casual, welcoming lounge space and clever drink titles. e restaurant extends onto the back patio where guests can nd “ e Yards,” an outdoor, relaxing hangout equipped with games, re pits, and more. You can read all about their mission, restaurant, and vision on their website. https://www.revelryyards.com/.

Even more recently, Paris Baguette opened its doors for the rst time on September 28. ere are over 4,000 units of the franchise across the globe, and Ithaca now hosts one. Owner Yeonseok Song became familiar with Paris Baguette in her former homeland of South Korea. When her family moved to Ithaca, she quickly realized she could launch one here. She has a long-term goal to open another cafe closer to Cornell’s campus a er gauging the success of the Commons location. You can nd out more about the café’s o erings at https://www.parisbaguette.com. e DIA works closely with businesses that are trying to start and/or grow in Ithaca. Gary Ferguson, the Executive Director of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, says they’re directly involved with preparing businesses to open. “We handle a lot of the behind the scenes work to help businesses get on their feet,” Ferguson said. “We will write and send out press releases, plan grand-openings, and prepare ribbon-cuttings for any business taking up space downtown. It’s our way of welcoming them into our community and setting the precedent that we’re a support system for one another.”

Even a er a business opens its doors, they continue to receive accommodations from the Downtown Ithaca Alliance. “By taking an active role in business development over time, we’re improving the business climate of our community,” Ferguson said. “Street-level businesses are the lifeblood of the Commons and we provide them with necessary resources in return for such hard work.”

Kristina elen — Business Development Director of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance — adds to Ferguson by saying, “ e businesses we welcome into our city truly bring the warmth and the experience that our community craves. ey’re at the epicenter of creating a vibrant downtown. We’re just a pillar holding them steady. ey interact with community members on a daily basis, learning what the people need and adjusting to t these requests. ey’re vital, and we continue to fuel this life source — and by that, I mean these businesses— by helping them in whatever way we can.”

While new shops are preparing for grand openings and welcoming their rst customers, others are preparing to move on. e only business that’s scheduled to close on the DIA’s radar—is Wa e Frolic, which will shut its doors for good on Oct. 15, 2022. Owners Dmitry and Brittany Serebryany say they have lots of decision making to do, but they’re ready to embark on their next professional adventure.

“It’s really hard to see businesses go, but the joy of Ithaca is that there’s always turnover,” Ferguson said. “New creative visions keep downtown alive and prosperous, and we’re thankful to every business that has a part in that, whether they’re still operating or not.”

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Paris Baguette, newly opened on the Commons, is part of an international chain of 4,000 locations. (Photo: Mark Levine)