BY MATT LINDSEY
North Country This Week

POTSDAM — Bondito’s Burritos, 34 Market St., is closed.

The restaurant, which was purchased in 2018 by Steve Bond, closed shortly after summer fest this summer, the owner said.

Bond said the closure was mostly due to the pandemic.

“Business never came back after COVID,” he said.

He said his food products were not really made for delivery and takeout, but rather made to be eaten immediately in the restaurant.

He said when mixing cold and hot products, the consistency was not ideal when delivery a half hour later.

Bond estimated a third of his business was from students, and enrollment is down at both Potsdam colleges.

In 2017, SUNY Potsdam had an enrollment of 3,587. This fall, that number plummeted to 2,613, a 27 percent decrease.

Clarkson University has seen a 6.6 percent drop.

In nearby Canton, St. Lawrence University had a 6.9 percent decrease and SUNY Canton an 8.6 percent decline.

Bond said other restaurant and small business owners have closed due to the pandemic and a decline in student enrollment.

“Different people are all saying the same thing,” Bond said.

The business was originally owned by Marc Morley, and was called Hot Tamale.