Sunny Days of Ithaca, a souvenir shop located on The Ithaca Commons, announced that they will be closing their doors this Labor Day after 12 years of business, and moving to an online-only shop. Since 2014, they have filled the niche of a small-scale souvenir store that sources from local artists, giving community members and tourists alike trinkets to bring home and remember their Ithaca experience.
“We feel like we contributed to another great store that was needed on The Commons,” said Co-owner Todd Kurzweil. He felt that Sunny Days was responsible for bringing back “a real hippie-ish vibe” to Ithaca which the city used to have, but lacked for a period of time.
The store first announced their closure with a March 23 Facebook post. Alongside the announcement a poster was hung explaining the reasons for its closure, citing issues with landlords, construction, COVID-19, difficulty paying employees, a drop in business and a need to prioritize their personal lives.
Co-owners Todd and Deidre Kurzweil, who are married with one son, reflected on their time at Sunny Days and their decision to close in interviews with The Sun.
“I think it’s a uniquely, amazingly special place for so many reasons,” Deidre said. “It’s not just that it’s a beautiful environment, but that it’s also beautiful people, which makes the fact that I can’t survive a little more heartbreaking.”
Deirdre explained that she plans to continue the business online, carrying on the “story” of Ithaca through “Ithaca is Gorges” merchandise, alongside continuing her screen printing business, T-Shirt Express. She also expressed hopes to create a business plan for another small-scale souvenir shop, something she believes should exist in downtown Ithaca.
Multiple businesses have closed in The Commons recently, prompting conversations about local policy issues, the cost of living in Ithaca, and concerns about the current presidential administration.
A retail study conducted in 2023 over two years and released in March by the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, the City of Ithaca and Michael J. Berne Consulting, noted “public safety concerns” downtown as having the ability to impact foot traffic and businesses if not addressed.
Deirdre and Todd both addressed the City of Ithaca in separate interviews with The Sun, asking for the local government to be mindful of the policies they implement.
Todd asked for more clear communication from the “leaders of downtown,” referencing issues including regulations for e-bikes and scooters, smoking, requirements for public bathrooms and panhandling on The Commons. He also raised concerns about parking, referencing the closed Green Street Garage, which he claimed made it more difficult to park.
“It would be great if the leaders talked with a little more clarity, a little more prioritization, about the issues that they know are problematic, and communicated that out with some frequency,” he said.
Deidre also expressed concern for the lack of support for small businesses downtown and the issues stemming from Asteri Ithaca, which she believes are “spilling out” into The Commons.
“When you feel like you’re not being heard, you scream and yell and hope that somebody hears you,” she said. “I will be super sad if I see more 12 year businesses go out of business because they just aren’t getting the support that we should give them.”
In April, Ithaca won a $10 million New York State grant for downtown revitalization, which it will use to improve businesses, housing and its downtown area. On Wednesday, the city announced the launch of planning committees to “identify projects that support economic development, enhance quality of life, and create more resilient, inclusive communities.”
Deidre also pointed to the disconnect between Cornell students and the community of Ithaca.
“They don’t even really come down the hill very much,” she said. “I don’t think anyone is encouraging them to come downtown.”
Struggles and Success
Sunny Days started in 2014, with its first location at 123 S. Cayuga St., the same location where Envious Handbags is located today. Deirdre called it the “worst possible location to put a souvenir shop,” explaining how the intersection was mostly busy with car traffic rather than walking traffic.
The shop faced troubles stemming from the Ithaca Commons Restoration Project, which began early 2013. Deirdre believed the project was going to take 18 months — however, it ended up spanning 843 days into July 2015.
She reflected on a loan she took from the city.
“They had to have known that [there] was no way that it was going to finish by then,” she said. “The combination of [the construction delays] and people leading me to believe that that corner was a good idea, I was just screwed from the beginning.”
According to Deirdre, the store went “deeply into debt” after the first five years. In an effort to ramp up business, they changed locations to the Commons in 2019 at 210 E. Green St., the current location of The Ithacan Residences.
Deirdre explained she “immediately saw the positive impact” from the move to The Commons. However a year in, the store ran into issues with its landlord, Jeffrey Rimland, and COVID hit.
That winter, Rimland began construction of Ithaca College’s Physician Assistant School, next door to Sunny Days, on Dec. 9, 2020 — unannounced to their neighbors.
The couple attempted to lobby Rimland for the construction to be delayed by two weeks until after the holiday rush, but they were unsuccessful.
“That’s what screwed me over the worst of all,” Deirdre said.
Sunny Days filed a lawsuit against Rimland, alleging he hurt their business with loud noise from construction during work hours that drove away customers. It also alleged inconsistent heat and air conditioning, according to both Todd and Deirdre.
Rimland appealed and lost, paying $30,000 to Sunny Days to cover their lawyer fees.
The Sun was unable to reach Rimland for comment.
Todd explained that, during the process, he extended Sunny Days’ lease by three years to give it better standing in court. The extension allowed them to keep a sister location open until 2024, as Sunny Days of Ithaca moved to its final and current location on The Ithaca Commons, 171 E. State St., in April 2021.
“[I] wouldn’t just be a fly that was swatted away by a reckless developer,” Todd said.
During the first two years at their current location, the shop found success. It was “in its glory,” Deirdre said. “In [20]23 and [20]24 – literally until November of 24 – it was just booming.”
Then, in late 2024, Asteri Ithaca, an affordable housing development, opened, and Donald Trump was elected as president. That December, Sunny Days ran into struggles with its holiday rush.
“Who knows what the combination of those variables was that led to [it], but I saw a 20% drop in my most important month of the year,” she said. “That put me in a place of not really being able to recover.”
In January 2026, the store was forced to lay off the remainder of its staff in the face of rising debt, leaving only Deidre and Todd to run the store. This happened a week after Deirdre visited Tampa to care for her mother, who was facing health issues at the time.
When, a week after the layoffs, Deirdre’s bank account went negative the same day she received a call that her father was facing health issues, she felt “the universe [was] speaking to [her],” telling her that she needed to be with her family. Her father’s death in February was the “final straw” which led to the closure of the shop, she told The Sun.
Moving Out and Moving On
Moving forward, Todd told The Sun about his and Deirdre’s plans to “rebound,” “reset,” and “find a deeper sense of who we are together.” They plan to visit family members in Florida in the fall, and enjoy “the natural beauty of Ithaca and the surrounding area.”
Deidre recounted the story of an “out-of-town” family of an Ithaca College alumni with a nine-year-old daughter, who returned to the store yearly in the summer for seven years. This year, when she noticed the daughter was “really sad” about the store closing, Deirdre told her she could take as many of the store’s free buttons as she wanted, since she couldn’t come back.
“Three of them had some reference to Sunny Days, like ‘I love Sunny Days,’ or ‘Sunny Days is great,’” Deirdre said. “It was really sweet, and she was genuinely sad.”
Deirdre and Todd both thanked the community for its support, and asked the people of Ithaca to go downtown and support local businesses.
“If you care about small businesses, then just do it,” she said. “It’s what drew me back to Ithaca, The Commons. I still believe in it. I really do.”
Everett Chambala is an assistant news editor for the 144th board. He is working as the primary summer reporter for The Cornell Daily Sun through The Sun’s summer fellowship program.
Everett Chambala is a member of the Class of 2027 in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He is an assistant news editor for the 144th Editorial Board and can be reached at echambala@cornellsun.com.
