There have been some recent changes to Hamilton Village, including the closures of Martha’s on Madison and The Broad Street Diner, two staple downtown restaurants.
Martha’s on Madison, known as MOM’s, was a bar where customers could order wine, small plates and craft cocktails and shop for specialty groceries in a cozy space. Students frequented The Broad Street Diner for seven years to enjoy classic diner breakfasts before its closure.
Both establishments were well-loved spots in the heart of Hamilton.
Senior Riley Raymond enjoyed spending birthdays at MOM’s or stopping there in the evening before a night out.
“They had cards and games, and you could sit there,” Raymond said. “It was a nice space to chat. It was a different vibe from the other bars, which is nice. It felt like it was geared more towards school staff and girls. I know there is the new Lower Lakes Brewery next to Maxwell’s and they have similar hours and are geared towards a similar demographic.”
Britty O’Connor is the ex-owner of Martha’s on Madison, owner of Flour & Salt, President of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and a Colgate alumna. O’Connor enjoyed providing an evening space for students, but the decision to close MOM’s was ultimately based on the intensity of running Flour & Salt.
“I wish that we could be open more than we are,” O’Connor said. “We have a really hard time finding staff. Being in a rural area doesn’t give folks many options. Most of my staff don’t live here because it’s very difficult for lower-income people to find an affordable rental in town that isn’t taken by a student, or a house that hasn’t been purchased by a Colgate family. That’s a deciding factor.”
O’Connor also wanted to spend more time with her husband and 5-year-old daughter.
“I’m head pastry chef at Flour & Salt, and my husband was the lead bartender at MOM’s. If you think about the hours of those two positions, we never really saw each other. Add in a 5-year-old to that mix. We were missing a lot of quality time together,” O’Connor said.
More generally, O’Connor believes that there is still a lot of fallout from the pandemic and tariffs, which are taking a toll on food-service businesses.
“I’ve seen [it in] a lot of businesses that I follow on social media. People survived 2020, 2021 and 2022, but now food prices are increasing. Specific to the beverage industry, tariffs on wine and liquor are skyrocketing. It was already tight up to this point. But that’s all anecdotal,” she said.
O’Connor was able to confirm that there are plans for a new business to take both MOM’s and The Broad Street Diner’s place, although she was not at liberty to say what it would be.
Raymond hopes there will be a new place to go dancing in Hamilton.
“The Hourglass and Handsome Johnny’s are not dancing spots at all. On a normal night, people aren’t dancing. They are usually just chatting around the bar. We need a place like MOM’s but with a dance floor,” Raymond said.
Reflecting on potential Broad Street replacements, junior London Pettibone shared a desire for another casual place to sit and study.
“It’s really nice to study in town and get away from the library for a while, but I feel like the café options close before class ends and are always flooded with students,” Pettibone said. “It would be great to have somewhere more tranquil to get work done.”
