SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News)– Restaurants around Syracuse are preparing their stores for lots of customers while customers deck the halls with boughs of holly.
Salt City Coffee manager Zachary Olivadese said instead of just focusing on profit this holiday season, their focus is to bring a cup of cheer into customers’ days.
“We’d love to have a conversation with you while we make a drink for you,” Olivadese said. “It’s about the customer experience.”
He said the pandemic caused people to be separated, but he wants human interaction at the forefront of how Salt City Coffee does business with customers.
“I love watching people come in with their family and their students,” Olivadese said. “They can come and sit and I know that customer and they’re like, ‘Hey this is my parents, this is my mom, this is my dad,’ and that’s really important for me, too.”
Like Salt City Coffee, Funk ‘n’ Waffles barista Aiden Hawkins said their restaurant is looking forward to more customers coming into the store between now and New Year’s.
“Thanksgiving’s kind of like where it starts,” Hawkins said. “We get a slow spell for Black Friday and then it gets intense.”
Hawkins said the restaurant is seeing more consistent business throughout the holiday season, not just the day of or right before each holiday.
“On the weekends we’ve been running out of tables, which is pretty rare,” Hawkins said. “[That’s] kind of reserved for holidays where everybody’s got a day off. But it’s becoming a more consistent thing.”
Both shops said they want to cut down on wait times.
“[We want to] make sure we’ve got more food made and make sure we’re staffed properly,” Hawkins said.
Olivadese said cutting down on wait times allows for more hospitality.
“We want to be able to take their order, talk to someone, and then come to the end of the bar and have your drink ready for you,” said Olivadese.
