Funked Up

The smell of waffles used to draw Mezzanotte Lounge goers from the biting cold into the warm glow of colorful lights and funk music pulsating through the walls and floor. In between dancing with friends, customers took frequent breaks to munch on flavorful waffles and converse into the wee hours of the morning.

The unique atmosphere is still alive, but now it has a new home.

Syracuse University 2006 alumni, Adam Gold and Kyle Corea held the grand opening of their famous Funk ‘n Waffles on Jan. 16 at their new location, La Tazza Coffee Shop. Graduates with degrees in film, Gold and Corea don’t plan on moving to Los Angeles or New York City to pursue careers in communications anytime soon.

Although the publicity of the new waffle management of La Tazza is still underway, there is promise the constant ‘home’ for the waffles will be a success.



A chocolate chip waffle got Brian Smith, freshman finance and accounting major, coming back for more, and he plans to visit La Tazza right away. At this year’s Juice Jam concert in September, Smith signed up for the Funk ‘n Waffles mailing list to be informed of events.

‘(Selling waffles) seemed like a cool thing to do,’ Smith said. ‘(The waffles) are excellent. I haven’t had a bad one yet.’

Corea and Gold hope to attract more than their regular ‘funkers.’ Corea said as a freshman he didn’t like Marshall Street because the ‘mom and pop shop’ feel was taken away, and that Syracuse had limited fun for its students other than ‘dive bars and crap parties,’ Corea said.

The fact that La Tazza draws international students and grad students is a plus for Funk ‘n Waffles. As a diverse campus, Corea said he thinks the social scene is too ‘cliquey.’ He wants to bring in different groups of people to come together, eat waffles and listen to funk music. The atmosphere is catered to underage students because there’s no alcohol, but the party lasts until 3 a.m.

The Funk ‘n Waffles business took off several years ago at a house party featuring Gold’s former band, Sweaty Pants, and captured the taste buds of SU students and clubs in the Syracuse area. During Corea’s and Gold’s junior year, Sweaty Pants often played at off-campus parties entertaining guests and fans of the band. The idea to serve waffles came when a housemate of Gold’s, Dave Kahn, decided to make waffles with his countertop waffle iron.

‘The suggestion was made to put things into the batter,’ Gold said. ‘(The waffle filler) is whatever is in the freezer.’

One of the first Funk ‘n Waffle batters contained cinnamon raisin bagel chips, cream cheese and fresh raisins. Strawberry and banana waffles were served at the first ‘waffle’ house party, and it was a huge success.

Gwen Macdonald, junior forest engineering major at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, had her first taste of Funk ‘n Waffles at a house party featuring Sweaty Pants. She enjoyed a chocolate chip waffle.

‘I think it’s great people are all partying and (Gold and Corea) have food for them,’ Macdonald said.

Gold and Corea invested $100 to make about 50 waffles to give away to partygoers. The house ‘reeked of waffles,’ Gold said. ‘It was a sensational overload.’

By the end of their junior year, the waffles followed the Sweaty Pants to house parties as well as the Mezzanotte Lounge, where the band often performed.

‘It’s a musical, culinary experience,’ Corea said.

The first step to a Funk ‘n Waffles expansion came when Dan Mastronardi, a promoter for Hollerback Productions, attended a waffle party.

‘(Gold and Corea) had good energy,’ Mastronardi said about the atmosphere at the party. ‘The vibe was cool.’

The Corea-Gold team was offered an opportunity to share funk music and flavorful waffles at Mezzanotte Lounge once a week. The pair served fresh-made waffles every Thursday night in the fall of 2005 and part of the Spring 2006 Semester. Hollerback Productions also provided a free limo service to club goers, and served complimentary champagne.

Although Sweaty Pants was no longer a band, Gold and Corea still wanted to provide music at the club to keep the funk in Funk ‘n Waffles alive. A friend of the two, Dave Moore (DJ Tantric), a Georgetown graduate student, offered to provide his disc jockey services to spin funk records.

‘Funk ‘n Waffles is strictly about funk and disco,’ Moore said. ‘It’s a magical moment we all share – dancing to good music and eating good food.’

The biggest waffle production came to Funk ‘n Waffles last spring. Cora Thomas, an office assistant at WAER radio station where Gold volunteers, requested he and Corea serve their famous waffles at a local church fundraiser. The team eagerly offered their services, and made 250 waffles served with fried chicken.

After providing a huge number of waffles in just one morning, Corea and Gold were ready to look for more opportunities to spread the taste of their waffles and music. The chance presented itself with the annual Penasci Business Plan Contest, rewarding the winner $25,000 to put toward its business. As one of the only non-business major entries in the contest, Corea and Gold learned business methods along the way.

‘We were two film majors making waffles,’ Corea said.

Of the 70 teams entered, Funk ‘n Waffles finished in the top 16 and was awarded a plaque for creative excellence. This achievement set the pace to pursue a more serious business with the waffles.

‘(Making waffles) became more than a hobby,’ Gold said. ‘Now we had an actual goal.’

As recent college graduates, the decision to move out of Syracuse presented itself to Gold and Corea. They were uncertain what their next step would be, but eventually decided to stay in Syracuse, where their business was prospering.

‘There was work to do, and our resources are in Syracuse,’ Corea said.

Before settling in Syracuse to continue Funk ‘n Waffles, the waffle team drove across the country to clear their minds. Upon their return, the two got jobs at the then-new Thai restaurant, Appethaizing, two doors down from La Tazza. Due to the proximity to La Tazza, Corea and Gold became friendly with the coffee shop’s owners, Mike and Susan Petrosillo. While the Petrosillos offered to sell La Tazza to Corea and Gold, it was eventually settled that Corea and Gold would be the new managers, keeping the same original menu with a few additions; one of which was, of course, waffles.

Gold said he finds it ironic he and Corea are now managing a coffee shop, since the start of ‘Funk ‘n Waffles’ was at a small espresso bar at Mezzanotte Lounge.

Corea and Gold love to hear people are ecstatic about what they are doing, and they hope their home base at La Tazza is a success.

‘We’re just happy we can do what we love to do,’ Gold said.





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