La Vie Boheme, Madison House closing

Two of Madison Streets most well-known restaurants are closing their doors, while a third reinvents itself.

ONEIDA >> Two Madison Street restaurants are closing their doors and another overhauling its menu as business downtown turns bleak.

Rumors that long-open Madison House has closed as of early June are true.

Owned by the Manaseri family since 1999, the downtown staple located at 140 Madison St. served its last meal on May 30, said Chad Manaseri, who worked at the restaurantwithhis family.

He said the non-family friendly environment of the neighborhood coupled with the lack of downtown activity contributed to the slow death of the restaurant.

“When you walk out the front door and see a drug deal going down” was half the problem, he said. Manaseri added that restaurants need consistency, and don’t need diners that are scared away.

When Herb Philipson’s and other stores were still downtown, he would often see a Friday night dinner crowd of more than 300 people. One recent Friday night, the Madison House served 43 diners.

Manaseri said his family became frustrated by weekday lunch services that sometimes served only a few people.

In the near future, all of the furniture and equipment in the restaurant will be sold and the building will be put on themarket, Manaseri said. His family also has plans to move to Arizona.

“Maybe we will open a nice, simple hotdog stand,” he said.

Menu options ranged fromItalian, American and Cajun to pizza, seafood and steak. The eatery also offered on-site banquet facilities and catering. TheMadisonHouse, formerly named Gussie’s before the Manaseris bought it, has been a downtown establishment since 1852, and rumor has it that AbrahamLincoln once visited the premises.

For restaurant information, visit: www.themadison-house.com.

In addition, La Vie Boheme Bistro, located at 109 Madison St., will also close its doors at the end of the month.

A May 28 Facebook post by owner Elaine Clark reads:

“Hello friends!! It is with bittersweet feelings in my heart I am announcing that La Vie Boheme Bistro will be closing it’s doors on June 27th after our last OpenMic Nite. It was not an easy decision. We’ve shared this news with some of our La Vie friends whom with the best of intentions, offered us suggestions onhowwecould make some adjustments and remain open. What a great feeling to know how important our business is to so many wonderful people. I am truly amazed at the way music can bring love and friendships together. It bridges generation gaps, social standing and even politics...”

On Wednesday, Clark explained that she is just “moving on to other things,” and that after seven years in business on the street, she still is not making a profit. While openmic nights have been popular, the lunch crowd numbers have left much to be desired, she said.

“It also doesn’t help that there was a meth bust across the street last week,”

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