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Syracuse’s Downtown Renaissance Syracuse's Downtown Renaissance

By Reese Gaudelli

Reese Gaudelli:
Broadway in Syracuse has brought major musicals to downtown
and many local businesses are taking advantage of the foot traffic by offering themed specials.
While these specials are popular, restaurant owner Nicole Samolis says they’re also apart of something bigger – the renaissance of downtown Syracuse. 

Nicole Samolis: “Downtown has been going through a large revitalization over the past decade, there are now over 4,000 people who live downtown and so that in itself helps create the vibrancy for our neighborhood.”

Gaudelli: since the covid-19 pandemic, the Syracuse downtown development committee says about 25 new businesses have opened up each year. 
Committee member Vanessa Szwejbka says that they are all part of a tight-knit community. 

Vanessa Szewejbka: “These businesses are not competing against each other, they’re helping each other and that’s important because I think the ecosystem of downtown needs to be able to work together in order to continue to grow and to continue our revitalization mission which is going great.
Gaudelli: part of this mission is downtown dining weeks -where restaurants offer special deals to attract customers. And this year…The event went very well.


 Downtown dining week was such a success that several businesses, just like this one, have extended their specials past the two-week promotion. Sweet on chocolate manager Gina Brainard says that the benefits of dining week are long lasting.

Gina Brainard: ” it definitely brings a lot more people in when you have a deal to entice or that kind of thing…But then they see the rest of your product and you have a new customer.”
Gaudelli: new customers are the key ingredient to any business…And in downtown Syracuse, many of them seem to be thriving.
From NCC news, this is Reese Gaudelli reporting

Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) –From “Hairspray” to “Hadestown” and now, “Pretty Woman,”Broadway in Syracuse has brought major musicals to the Landmark Theater. Many local businesses offer themed specials to take advantage of the foot traffic. Whether it’s the “Vivian Latte” at Cafe Kubal or a special menu at The Tasting Room, these specials are very popular. However, they are part of something bigger; the renaissance of downtown Syracuse. Nicole Samolis, owner of The Tasting Room, feels this has been a long time coming.

“Downtown has been going through a large revitalization over the past decade,” said Samolis. “There are now over 4,000 people who live downtown, which in itself helps create the vibrancy for our neighborhood.”

This revitalization is helping businesses get back on track after the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, about 25 new businesses have opened up each year. Vanessa Szwejbka, a communication associate on the committee explains how these businesses are part of a tight-knit community. 

 

A bartender pours a cosmo into a martini glass at The Tasting Room
A bartender at The Tasting Room is making the “Pretty Woman Cosmo” in honor of the musical opening at the Landmark.
© 2024 Reese Gaudelli

“These businesses are not competing against each other, they’re helping each other and that’s important because I think the ecosystem of downtown needs to be able to work together to continue to grow and to continue our revitalization mission, which is going great,” said Szwejbka. 

Part of this mission is Downtown Dining Weeks. This two-week-long event is where restaurants offer special deals to attract customers. This year, the event was a success. Several businesses decided to extend their dining week specials past the two-week promotion because they were seeing so many new customers. Gina Brainard, manager of Sweet on Chocolate feels that the benefits of Downtown Dining Weeks are long lasting. 

 “It definitely brings a lot more people in when you have a deal to entice or that kind of thing, but then they see the rest of your product and you have a new customer,” said Brainard. 

The key ingredient to any business is new customers and in downtown Syracuse, many of them seem to be thriving.

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