To enter Cosima, a Sicilian restaurant inside a refurbished factory along the Jones Falls, customers must turn into a steep and narrow driveway that veers alarmingly to the right. When Judith Golding first opened the eatery almost a decade ago, she said people would ask her, “What the heck are you thinking having a restaurant down here? I couldn’t find it, and the driveway is so scary.’”

For the most part, Golding has proved naysayers wrong. Cosima offers some of the finest views Baltimore has to offer, complete with a stream and visiting wildlife — who knew the Jones Falls, long a glorified sewer, could be so picturesque? But recent sales at the restaurant have taken their own trip down a steep driveway. On the heels of a slower-than-normal summer, “things just really have not picked up the way we want them to.”

Was it time to close? After all, Golding said, “Nine years is a good run for a restaurant.”

Before throwing in the towel, the former social worker decided she would have another try. Later this month, the eatery will unveil a retooled menu with more pizzas and affordable options. “I’m not going to say rebranding, because it’s still Sicilian food,” Golding said.

On the old menu, the lowest-priced pasta dish was $32. Now, it’s $14 for baked gnocchi in cream sauce. A street food section includes $14 arancini and fried polenta for $8. “We’ve always wanted to do street food and small bites that people get on the streets in Sicily and eat while they’re walking,” Golding said.

It’s just the latest local restaurant to either reinvent itself or close, hoping to adapt to a tough economic climate that has diners tightening their wallets. This summer, Bolton Hill’s Tilted Row unveiled a new chef with a new menu, while last week, Columbia’s Walrus Oyster & Ale House announced a redesign with the help of former Duck Duck Goose owner Ashish Alfred following depressed sales.

Some businesses have even turned to desperation, posting pleas to Facebook to encourage customers to come back while there’s still time. In August, Heritage Smokehouse owner George Marsh pleaded to patrons via email and social media to fill the restaurant for it to stay open.

Fine dining restaurants like Cosima became used to pivoting during the pandemic, emphasizing takeout and special events. Nearby eatery Woodberry Kitchen closed down, relaunching as an event space with a small tavern attached. But that model wouldn’t make sense for Cosima. “I don’t think we could survive just on weddings, and I wouldn’t really want to anyway,” Golding said. “I like serving dinner.”

In addition to financial pressures from customers, Golding said Cosima is victim to an increasingly saturated dining market. The arrival of new restaurants like Cece’s of Roland Park to the Village of Cross Keys, which is being reinvigorated by developer Caves Valley, has had a major impact. “Definitely, we’ve had people coming in and talking about going to Cece’s,” she said.

Cosima has another Cross Keys connection: The restaurant’s first executive chef, currently listed as concept director on the website, was Donna Crivello, who named the eatery for her Sicilian grandma. Crivello was long associated with her chain of Donna’s restaurants, including one that operated at Cross Keys until 2018.

When it comes to the ebbs and flows of the restaurant industry, “we’ve lived through this so many times,” Golding said. “A new restaurant opens, it’s the hot thing for a while. … I always feel like you kind of have to wait and see if it’s got legs.”

In the meantime: Cosima is still here.

The headline on this article has been updated to clarify the status of Cosima's business.