ITHACA, N.Y. — The Range, a beloved western-themed bar and venue located on the Ithaca Commons, closed for good over the weekend after eight years of gigs, drag performances and occasionally abandoned tabs.
Owner Andrew Schreck told The Ithaca Voice on Monday that the bar “wasn’t self-sustaining,” and his decision to close was “100% financial.”
“It just wasn’t meant to be,” Schreck said. “But we had a good run.”
People who were at the bar on Saturday, its final night of service, described a somewhat chaotic scene: Schreck abruptly closed the bar, asking patrons to close their tabs and leave early due to a lack of staff.
Schreck, who also owns the Westy, a dive bar located on Ithaca’s West End, teamed up with Tommy Grozier, former owner of the Ithaca Sports Club, in 2016 to open The Range and bring live music back to the Commons.
For eight years, The Range served as a cultural respite for all types, students and locals alike. The bar was full most weekend nights, with a line that stretched down the steep, graffitied steps all the way outside to the Commons, where innumerable cigarettes were shared between strangers and friends.
The bar’s stage became a primary venue for up and coming local bands, many of them fresh on the local music scene. Schreck and TJ Schaper, co-owner of The Deep Dive, a lakeside bar and venue in Ithaca also known for its live music, booked the gigs.
It was a place where local musicians and bands got a shot on a stage and Ithaca’s queer community was able to grow.
Joe Hayward, a member of popular local bands like Heavy Bone Zydeco and the Cast Iron Cowboys, grew up playing music in Ithaca. He told The Ithaca Voice that as a country musician, he was excited when he heard The Range was opening up in 2016 and hates to see it go.
“Over the years I’ve played there many times with several different groups,” Hayward said. “I have fond memories of funk night with Deans Kids.”
Hayward was scheduled to play at the venue with Heavy Bone Zydeco on Aug. 16. But Schreck told The Ithaca Voice on Monday that all scheduled shows “have been or are in the process of being canceled.”
Every other Thursday night at The Range, the queer community came out for “Thursgays,” where a rotating lineup of drag queens, performers and DJs took the stage in sequins, silk, beads and fur. They lip-synced and danced choreographed numbers in a space that felt safe.
Tilia Cordata, using her performing name, organized the event in 2022, after two years of streaming her digital drag and burlesque show “Flame Night” on Twitch, which she was able to host in person when COVID-19 cases began to decrease.
“Thursgays” reinvigorated the local drag scene, and even before Cordata organized the bi-weekly event, she said “The Range has been home to the drag community in town since it opened.”
“It’s kind of always been the venue for us to perform at and grow around,” Cordata said. “The Range closing is kind of a big hit.”
While Cordata is having conversations concerning the future of “Thursgays,” she said that “nothing is set in stone or decided.”
DJs, bands and performances were scheduled at The Range beyond Aug. 3, the day the bar abruptly closed. The next show was set for Friday, Aug. 9, when Delaques, a local groove-fusion band, was supposed to perform.
Yoshi Aerson, one of four members in Delaques, said their “heart breaks” seeing the venue closing it doors.
“The Range been an essential part of the Ithaca night life,” Aerson said. “I’ll miss all the amazing times I’ve had up there.”
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