INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 138, No. 36
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021
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8 Pages – Free
ITHACA, NEW YORK
News
Dining
Sports
Weather
Indigenous Art
Midnight Snacking
Dribbling On
Chance Of Rain
Professors discussed indigenous land dispossession’s links to artistic expression in a Tuesday event. | Page 3
Jimmy Cawley ’25 breaks down exactly what makes Louie’s Lunch a North Campus staple.
For the first time in 25 years, men’s basketball has started the season 3-0.
| Page 4
| Page 8
HIGH: 57º LOW: 36º
Trivia Nights Return to Locales Across C-Town As restrictions ease, restaurants adopt weekly game events and students, locals join the fun
By FAITH FISHER Sun Staff Writer
With students gathering every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at beloved Collegetown establishments, the trivia scene has taken Collegetown by storm this fall. Students have come together at Luna Inspired Street Food, Collegetown Bagels and Loco during the week to compete for prizes, spend time with friends and take a break from the chaos of the school week. Trivia nights at Loco became a tradition in September of 2020. Kevin Sullivan, the owner of Luna’s Inspired Street Food and Loco, wanted to bring a socially-distanced activity to the bar as they reopened doors to patrons. He reached out to Dale Harrington — who had been hosting karaoke nights at the bar for years — and asked him if he would want to run virtual trivia nights. “I would do a virtual trivia night from my home to Loco on Tuesday nights because we weren’t able to do anything else,” Harrington said. “I would ask questions through the P.A. system from home into the bar, and I had all the interactive stuff on my screen so I could see what they were answering.” In August 2021, trivia nights transitioned in-person and D.J. Dale extended his services to Luna’s Inspired Street Food on Mondays at 9 p.m. “I think it's a lot of fun, and I love being in person,” Harrison said. “I really enjoy the particular quiz company that I work with. I think it's really fast paced, and I enjoy the competitiveness of it. The rapport I have with the crowd, it's all really energizing.” Students have expressed similarly positive responses to the trivia nights. Lucy Rittmaster ’23 first attended trivia at Luna’s over the summer. Though she hasn’t returned during the semester because of her busy academic schedule, she noted her appreciation for the events. “I really loved spending time with my friends and just being able to have fun on Monday nights,” she said. “The atmosphere during trivia night was so fun and playful with a side of competition.” Maya Voelkel ’22 found out about trivia at Loco from her friends, and gave it a try about a month and a half ago. Since then, she has tried to return every Wednesday night
with her group of friends. “I like that it’s a team activity, so it’s very social,” she said. “[D.J. Dale] does a really good job running the trivia. He’s very engaging and creates a really fun environment.” Two weeks ago, her trivia team won first place, which earned them the prize of a $100 bar tab. The next week,
HANNAH ROSENBERG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Game night | A sign advertises the Collegetown Bagels trivia night details on a C-Town sidewalk.
she returned for trivia and used the $100 bar tab to fund the night out. “It definitely brought us back, and it was fun to just drink while hanging out with each other playing trivia,” Voelkel said. She and her friends plan to keep going to trivia at Loco on a weekly basis. She has not been to trivia at Luna’s or CTB, but plans to visit CTB soon. CTB began hosting trivia at its Collegetown loca-
tion in September 2021 as an extension of its preCOVID trivia nights at Ithaca Bakery on Meadow Street. According to Ramsey Brous, the owner of Ithaca Bakery and Collegetown Bagels, a few players from the bakery wanted to restart trivia nights and expand them to more locations as social distancing requirements eased. CTB started the event using “Table for One Trivia,” which started its operations remotely during COVID. When Table for One transitioned to in-person hosting, Brous partnered with the company to bring trivia back to his businesses. “Table for One is very engaged with the audience, and they’re quite fun,” Brous said. “The questions are all original, so it's not something that's being used in other places. Also, they're nice to the audience while keeping it competitive.” Brous decided to hold CTB trivia on Tuesdays, directly following the restaurant's happy hour, to avoid conflict with the other local trivia nights. Lauren Thomas grad, Kelly Moran grad and Abby Lewis grad stopped into CTB on Tuesday evening to share happy hour beers together. They hadn’t planned for a night of trivia, but when they heard it announced over the microphone, they couldn’t pass up the opportunity. They played under the team name “Fire and Ice,” competing with a slew of other teams for the first place prize of a $40 gift card. Even though they didn’t win the prize, the trio saw the trivia night as an opportunity for “good beer, good times and good friends.” “I think what’s fun about trivia is that when you’re with friends and they know something, it’s a way to get to know them,” Lewis said. “It’s like ‘how did you know the first candyman in America was that? What’s the experience that brought you to know that?’ So it’s a really nice bonding thing.” Trivia is here to stay as Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights give students an enjoyable pause from academics to spend time with friends, engage in some friendly competition and even learn something new. “I think it's nice to just get a break from reality and sit there and just have a moment outside of what you normally do in life,” Harrington said. Faith Fisher can be reached at ffisher@cornellsun.com.
Purity Ice Cream Shop Welcomes New Owner, Menu Items
KATRIEN DE WAARD / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Sweet treats | Patrons flock to Purity for ice cream on the evening of Nov. 6. By LAURA GRIES Sun Contributor
Purity Ice Cream Shop, the “Ice Cream of the Fingerlakes,” has continued its legacy of serving a wide variety of homemade ice creams and family favorite foods under its new owner, Kevin Sullivan, over the last month. Sullivan, an Ithacan native, owns several
local restaurants including Luna Inspired Street Food, Loco Cantina, Pronto Craft Pizza & Artful Salads, Ithaca Ghost Kitchen and Jack’s Grill. After 23 years as Purity’s owners, Bruce and Heather Lane put the business up for sale in June 2021 as they planned to retire and spend more time with their family. Purity manager Sam Newlin said that the shop is going through an adjustment period, but the switch is going well. “We are actually operating at the highest we’ve been in awhile,” Newlin said, “We just got food in the back, and we're doing more online orders and setting up kiosks and a lot of new employees.” The shop continues to provide its regular frozen treats, including the traditional banana split to more unique creations like the Mad Mint Sundae — a brownie with scoop of mint ice cream, crushed oreos, hot fudge — and Expedition Sundae — two brownies and a cookie topped with 8 scoops of ice cream and three sundae sauces. In addition, it has
added food items to the menu for lunch and dinner. Purity serves diner favorites, including burgers, fries and chicken tenders. “Not much has changed,” Newlin said. “I think that’s what’s great about Purity – it’s all still the same. It would be kind of foolish to really mess with it because we have something great going on already.” This sense of familiarity and nostalgia remains a draw for many patrons. Tom Hill, an Ithacan native who currently resides in Westchester, New York, makes sure to head to Purity every time he visits the city. Hill was in Ithaca for Cornell’s family weekend to spend time with his daughter, who is a first year. Hill visited with his wife and three other children, who were all excited to return to Purity for some fun bonding time. “It’s been a tradition to come back and hit Purity at least once while we’re back in town,” Hill said. “When I come back, I think, ‘Is it just nostalgia?’ But no, the ice cream is really good.”
Jorge Inamagua ’22 said they enjoyed the shop’s nostalgic and familial atmosphere on their first visit. With their friend visiting Ithaca for the weekend, Inamagua thought Purity would be the perfect spot to try out a locally renowned business while grabbing some food and catching up. “There are a lot of cool things here,” Inamagua said. “I really like the atmosphere a lot. It’s definitely a family place.” Some visit not only for the food, but for the welcoming environment. Purity features a large dining area with plentiful tables, where customers can spend time with family and friends as they enjoy their treats. “Whenever I post a picture with Purity Ice Cream,” local patron Michelle PiccoloHill said. “Everyone –– whether they grew up here or went to school here –– inevitably comments, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s Purity!’ It really is an Ithaca staple.” Laura Gries can be reached at lbg52@cornellsun.com.