New executive chef expects to reopen Coltivare by this fall

After a difficult few years that included offering takeout during the pandemic, then shutting down in spring 2023 (except for special events), Ithaca restaurant Coltivare has a new executive chef, Scott Riesenberger, and a new vision for the future that includes reopening by the end of 2024.

Coltivare is not just a favorite downtown bistro. It also serves as a learning environment for Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) students enrolled in the college’s hospitality programs.

The timing of the restaurant’s relaunch is contingent on many factors, including construction and the hiring of contractors, Riesenberger said Thursday. Under Riesenberger’s new leadership, the Coltivare team also needs to finalize standards and determine the direction the restaurant wants to go in when it comes to rebranding. “That in itself could take the next two months to decide on, but if that’s all lined up, by the end of summer/beginning of fall we could relaunch.”

Riesenberg said he is also looking forward to representing the best of what the Finger Lakes has to offer in his food.

“I didn’t really appreciate or understand the region until later in life,” said Riesenberger, who is originally from Rochester.

Riesenberger’s many professional accomplishments include garnering 3 stars from the New York Times for his work in operating Hudson at the Haymount House in Westchester, NY. 

Riesenberger has 25 years of experience in restaurants across the globe, including France and New York City, but he now finds himself excited about his native region. “There are so many wonderful parts to it,” he said. “I’ve really come to love it and endorse it and want to really be a part of it. I want to be an ambassador of it.”

Sue Stafford, who has chaired Tompkins Cortland Community College’s Hotel and Restaurant Management and Culinary Arts Degree programs since 2010, said that the culinary program at TC3 strives to support the local community in multiple ways with Coltivare.

From its farmers markets and wine trails to the many value-added products that come out of the region’s farms, the Finger Lakes has a lot to offer, she said. “It really made sense that we took that and provided those industry sectors with programs that could benefit them,” Stafford said.

Riesenberger wants to use the relaunch as an opportunity to make intentional decisions about the restaurant.

“It sounds like it was received well, but there was some confusion about what the mission was and how it’s being operated,” Riesenberger said.

The goal is to further partnerships with the community as well as enhance the culinary and wine programs, Riesenberger said, adding that he is looking to create a space that will be successful both as a standalone restaurant and a place to host special events.

As for the menu, he hopes the food will strike a balance between high-end and approachable. The same goes for the ambiance.

“I don’t want it to be perceived as a special-occasion type of environment,” Riesenberger said. “I want to make it an everyday place but create different opportunities or options.” He would like Coltivare to be the kind of place where people can grab a burger at the bar on a weekday or sit down to a multi-course dinner on the weekend. “And I want it to feel the same in terms of quality, execution and standards,” Riesenberger said.

When it comes to teaching, the chef said he wants students to feel like they are constantly growing and getting better, “not pressured in the way where people feel intimidated. It’s more about empowering them to make choices.”

He is looking forward to partnering with the TC3 farm and other local producers. “It not only helps the local economy, but the food tastes better and lasts longer,” he said. “In this region there are such good resources to create a locavore cuisine that’s based on seasonality.”

What ingredient is his favorite to source locally?

“Tomatoes are the best,” he said, lamenting the condition of many grocery store specimens. “They tend to be shipped really far, and everyone stores them in the refrigerator, and they become mealy and gross,” Riesenberger said. But locally grown tomatoes are completely different.

“I love the diversity of a tomato,” Riesenberger said. He appreciates tomatoes not only for the vast number of ways they can be prepared but the wide range of flavors that they can exhibit in their raw form. “I think tomatoes are pretty exciting to me,” he said.

The décor will receive a significant upgrade before the restaurant opens. Riesenberger said the aesthetic he will be shooting for is a “cross between modern and rustic elegance” with “refined points of texture that give it a feeling of luxury but also a comfortable casualness.”

“It’s really just refreshing it and making it feel current,” Riesenberger said.

“The goal is to really integrate ourselves in the community in a way that people feel the space is justified and that it’s really coming into its own,” Riesenberger said. “It’s got a decade of history behind it, but I think this is the next renaissance here.”