Ithaca’s Grandma: Forty Years in C-Town

Yesterday, I spoke with Sarah Van Etten, alias Grandma, the sole owner of the College Variety Store next to Souvlaki House, on Eddy Street in Collegetown. I was prompted to interview Grandma because of the gossip circulating this summer that her store had lost its liquor license. I was able to find out the truth behind those rumors and able to convince Van Etten to let me in on the secrets of being all of Ithaca’s Grandma.

Grandma said she has been working in the Variety Store since either 1970 or 1971. Before moving to Eddy Street, Grandma and her husband owned a store at another location, but they bought the building on Eddy Street just before he passed away. She was left with no money and had to work 105-hour weeks for the first two years after his death to make ends meet.

She said her competitor told her she would never be able to keep her business open, but she made up her mind that she could. Well, look at her almost 40 years later. For those years, Grandma has not only been the sole employee of the Variety Shop but has also served as a landlord for the building above her shop. She works seven days a week and finds herself with little time to rest because of all the responsibilities she juggles. She runs the entire place herself. Grandma can’t afford to hire an employee, so she works all the hours the store is open herself. However, she chuckled and said she often finds herself wishing she were someone else’s employee — then she’d get paid.

Grandma said that her favorite part of the job is “dealing with the people.” Interacting with kids — especially teenagers — is tough, she said. She added that, in general, she has a very interesting, never-boring job. Grandma said the students are all good kids and she appreciates the help they give her by lifting heavy 30-packs and shoveling her walkway.

“I meet a lot of friends, especially people from overseas that still keep in contact,” Grandma said. She proudly showed me a Christmas card she received from Thailand and a commemorative plate a past student sent her from Jerusalem.

I asked how much longer the store would be open for business, and she said she hoped for another couple of years, but current difficulties — wide ranging in nature — made her unsure whether College Variety Store would make it that long. Grandma has been battling bronchitis for the past several years and doesn’t know how much longer she will be healthy enough to work as hard as she does. She also said there is too much competition today and too many convenience stores in Collegetown. Many more students have cars and are shopping outside of Collegetown. She used to carry groceries, but she said that she has now downsized to only stocking snacks and beer.

However, it is questionable how much longer Grandma will be able to sell beer. Early this summer the state sent fake customers using false IDs into her store to attempt to buy alcohol as a way to bolster their claims that she was not properly checking IDs. Unfortunately, Grandma sold alcohol to these people and, as a result, her liquor license was suspended for the month of July. It has since been returned to her on a probationary status. She said the situation is “in her lawyer’s hands” and that she is simply hoping for the best. This is not the first time Grandma has had troubles with her license. In 2004, police caught a high school student drinking in Stewart Park in downtown Ithaca, and he said he got the alcohol from her store. She assumed “he stole it here” — but she was strapped with a $6,000 dollar fine.

These experiences have left Grandma with important advice for Cornell students: “watch out for ‘townies’ — they’re bad.” Van Etten said that in her experience, townies steal and try to get things without paying for them — it’s best to steer clear of them. Being a ‘townie’ myself, I was a bit reluctant to print this sort of advice — townies have a bad enough reputation as is, we hardly need to strengthen the case against us. However, upon reflection, I realized that many of my local friends do haggle and bargain quite a bit, so there’s a good possibility Grandma’s assessment isn’t too far off-base. In addition, Grandma’s tenure in Ithaca certainly trumps my time here, so her word has a bit more authority than my own prejudiced opinion. So, as parting note, make sure to keep an eye out for those townies, and let’s all hope Grandma’s liquor license woes fade away.