The building housing the Rongovian Embassy was built in the early 1800's owned by original T-Burg settler Abner Treman (T-Burg was supposed to be named Tremansburg in his honor, but a spelling error at the time mistook the "e" for a "u").

After many building incarnations as a blacksmith shop, butcher shop and five-and-dime, fast forward to 1970. Cornell Hotel school student and music manager Alex Brooks had returned to the T-Burg area in the 1970's. "Brooksie" explains...."Boffalongo was a dumb name for a band. Our producers were incompetents and our record company bungled the record release. Our chances of making "Dancing in the Moonlight"� a hit had evaporated. (Our bassist, Doc Robinson did do it 2 years later, as King Harvest. The original King Harvest poster still hangs behind the bar). As the band manager, I suggested we go back to St. Thomas and make some money so we could go on to something else. We had a great summer (1971) and I suggested we go return to the Finger Lakes and each buy a house so we could hang on to some of our earnings. Then we could start a new band or do something else. Band members eventually went on to play with Orleans, The Blues Magoos, The Beach Boys, Steve Forbert and Meatloaf among others.

I bought a great house in Trumansburg and figured to fix it up and sell out in a year or less. But Jules Burgevin got me involved as coordinator of the Trumansburg Centennial Celebration (1972) and I became aware of what a unique village it is. Elaine Gill asked me to scope out the building 5 W. Main St. that the bank had offered her, cheap. Almost all the buildings on that block were empty but were clean and well built. She bought it and started her experiment in modern living, Kosmos, which was the first vegetarian restaurant in the area.

I had the idea for Rongovia from good friend Thumper's expression, "Wrongovia", and I had created the map for the stage in my first club in St. Thomas (1967). The places on it represent events from that Summer of Love and the people from the Finger Lakes who made that trip to the islands. We thought it might be funny, some day, to have an embassy from our fictitious country (also a state of mind!). In December 0f 1972, I bought the building #1 West Main St. and started building the bar. Danny Turbeville, band leader from the first Ithaca band in St. Thomas, had kept the map. He kindly gave it back to me. The Grand Opening was April 27, 1973. I bought 3 West Main St. in 1976 and expanded to the present configuration."

After a highly successful 12-year run, Alex sold the building to Rochester couple Eric and Mary Ott who reopened in 1987. They brought many new components to the Rongo and saw it grow despite changes in the drinking age and new state restrictions. They eventually sold it in 2002 to Pennsylvania businessman Carl Burk, who sold it to Bruce Tompkins in 2004. It was sold to Mike Barry, Jr. on October 28, 2004. Long live the Rongo!