Cathy’s Corner Café moves to Syracuse’s west end

SYRACUSE — Cathy’s Corner Café, previously located at 731 James St., has moved to a larger building at 929 Avery Ave. and will start serving dinner, just in time for Thanksgiving. The space formally housed Smorol’s Restaurant, which closed in the spring of 2012. 

Cathy’s Corner Café has been a full-service caterer and lunch service for 18 years, but owner Cathy Comer says she has always wanted to serve dinner. In the 800-square-foot location on James Street, she didn’t have enough space and parking was limited. Instead, she offered a lunch menu Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with menu items including customizable deli sandwiches and entrées like chicken bruschetta and steak. 

Comer’s business now occupies two-thirds of the 4,704-square-foot building at 929 Avery Ave., which has plenty of street parking for patrons. Once opened, the restaurant and bar will be located on the first floor. She is currently providing catering services from the basement. Comer closed down her James Street location on Oct. 31, the same week she purchased the new location on the west end of Syracuse. 

In her larger space, Comer will serve dinner three nights a week, Thursday through Saturday. The restaurant will offer pub fair Tuesday through Sunday, including burgers, quesadillas, and club sandwiches. A full-service bar is also on tap. 

Comer expects to receive her liquor license on Nov. 19, and plans a soft opening on Nov. 20. She’s also planning a grand opening the first week of December. 

The second floor has two apartments, which Comer will rent out to others. She says she’ll use the money from rent to help pay off the mortgage.

Comer purchased the property at 929 Avery Ave. in October for $175,000, according to a news release from CBRE Syracuse, which brokered the sale. She bought it with a combination of her own cash and bank financing.

The building had been sitting vacant for about two and a half years and needed mostly cosmetic renovations, most of which Comer is completing herself. 

She used two local contractors — JCB Plumbing & Mechanical, Inc., of Syracuse, for plumbing maintenance, and AIS Commercial Parts & Service, of East Syracuse, for kitchen hood repair. Comer expects she will spend about $25,000 on renovations.

Cathy’s Corner Café has generated a 5 percent increase in annual revenue year to date, compared to a year prior, according to Comer, but she expects a decline in revenue for the first six months in her new location.

“When you move a business, you lose some business,” Comer says. However, she predicts catering orders will eventually increase. Comer is forecasting a 5 percent to 6 percent annual increase in revenue during the first two to three years. 

Comer started her catering business in 1996, and Avery Avenue will be her fourth location. The original Cathy’s Corner Café was located on Grant Boulevard, then moved to East Genesee Street, and finally opened on James Street in 2007. 

Comer says the time was right for another expansion. “I liked that [the Avery Avenue location] was in a neighborhood; I liked that it had an apartment. It all clicked,” she says. 

Comer notes that people have been regularly stopping by her new location to ask when she is opening. 

Regarding the menu, Cathy’s Corner Café customers can expect to find new appetizers, desserts, and items on the lunch menu. One item Comer is especially excited about offering is grilled pizza. 

Her current staff of four employees will increase to nine, and she is still searching for new employees.        

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