This is the second year that Bite of Ithaca has combined with the Winter Lights Festival to provide a two-part community experience between the outdoor displays and local restaurants. Sixteen restaurants are participating in this year’s Bite of Ithaca event, creating special $5 menus of small plates that are not a part of their typical offerings. The Downtown Ithaca Alliance hosts the Festival to brighten up the gloomy Ithaca winter and promote small businesses during their traditionally slow season. However, this year is especially important for the restaurants involved in the event, because the restaurant industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of COVID-19

The pandemic has presented unique challenges to restaurants, especially those that rely on a full, sit-down dining experience. The National Restaurant Association reported in late June that the industry had lost more than

During the summer months, restaurants were able to offer outdoor and socially-distant seating that allowed customers to have a more normal experience in compliance with New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s safety guidelines. The City of Ithaca closed down the block of North Aurora Street that is heavily populated with restaurants so that outdoor seating could be expanded to the curb and the street could be used as a walkway. However, the cold weather has eliminated most of those options, and many restaurants are only able to offer takeout or delivery options.

Bickering Twins, a popular Latin American restaurant that is not located on the North Aurora strip, has not offered any in-person dining since the start of the pandemic. Co-owner Corey Adelman said the restaurant participated in Bite of Ithaca before, and they wanted to get involved again this year to market themselves to the community.

“I still feel like we have supportive customers, but just not having the dining experience just cuts down on how much business is coming in,” Adelman said. “In the past when we had the restaurant full of people, people would just tack [Bite items] on to a meal. This year, it is almost all a marketing approach.”

The pandemic has also altered the Bite of Ithaca event itself. Cassandra Babcock, the house manager of Kilpatrick’s, said the restaurant has only offered the “Bites” menu for in-person dining in the past but decided to change their approach this year.

“Normally you bring people in and get them to try drinks and other things on our menu, but we didn’t want to make people feel uncomfortable by having to come in and dine,” Babcock said. “We decided to do to-go and we’ve actually had more to-go [orders].”

Mouthwatering menus

Restaurants are taking advantage of the festival to test out new items or bring back old ones. There are a wide variety of offerings across the 16 participating restaurants, ranging from Thai chicken wings at Red’s Place to spiked puddings at Nowhere Special Libations Parlor.

Kilpatrick’s decided to use three items not on the typical menu to entice both first-time and regular customers to check out the new options. Babcock said that the chess pie — a traditional English custard pie — has been a favorite of customers so far, as have the Brussels sprouts caramelized in balsamic vinegar.

“I think people like the Brussels sprouts because it gives them the opportunity to eat healthy, per se, but also to have some flavor in there,” she said. “We’re considering putting those on the menu for sure.”

Bickering Twins on the other hand, took the opportunity to revitalize several items that were offered in the past. Adelman said the restaurant has served only a limited menu since the pandemic began, so the Bite of Ithaca event gave them the opportunity to expand a bit. He said they also made all of the options vegetarian to show the bold flavors that they could get from seasonal vegetables. The restaurant is serving up squash tacos and Brussels sprout quesadillas during the event.

Babcock said the Winter Lights and Bites Festival has been a big help to the local Ithaca restaurants and surrounding businesses amid such uncertain times.

“Advertising is always good with the Bites, and I think it brings people from other towns in too,” she said. “Around this time, people are Christmas shopping, so they’re already out and about, and when you give them an opportunity to get a cheaper item, but for a good portion, that really brings people in to try it.”