Tarassa’s Italian-American Cuisine in Duanesburg is expected to close at the end of January 2027, owner Wendy Cookingham has announced, bringing an end to a two-year run at the Western Turnpike spot known for its pizza, subs, and homestyle pasta dinners.
Cookingham announced the closure in a Facebook post on Sunday, according to NEWS10 ABC. She described the restaurant’s journey as a dream built with passion, dedication, hard work, and community support, and said the two years brought unforgettable experiences, meaningful connections, and cherished memories. Cookingham called the closing of this chapter bittersweet, while adding that she believes the future may bring new opportunities.
A Restaurant Named for a Friend
Tarassa’s opened for business on January 13, 2025, at 5055 Western Turnpike, in the former Landing On 20 space, according to an earlier NEWS10 report on the restaurant’s debut. The restaurant was owned by Cookingham and Doug DeMarco, and Cookingham said at the time that she named it after one of her best friends, who had died of cancer.
At opening, the restaurant was serving pizza, chicken wings, cold and hot subs, wraps, calzones, salads, pasta dinners, and burgers, among other dishes, per the same NEWS10 account. Tarassa’s was initially open for takeout only while it awaited its liquor license, Cookingham told the outlet at the time.
Early Buzz and a Building’s History
Soon after it opened, Tarassa’s had racked up a 4.5-out-of-5 rating on Yelp, according to a January 2025 report from Daily Voice. The building at 5055 Western Turnpike has seen multiple Italian eateries come and go: before Tarassa’s, the space hosted The Landing on 20, and before that, Jonathan’s Pizza & Italian Cuisine, according to The Daily Gazette.
Tarassa’s built a following on social media, with its Facebook page showing more than 4,300 followers and over 1,000 people talking about the restaurant, according to the restaurant’s Facebook page. For now, the exact date of the restaurant’s final service has not been announced, with Cookingham’s timeline pointing only to the end of January 2027 as Tarassa’s wraps up its two years of serving Duanesburg.
