As Funk ‘n Waffles prepared for the evening rush one Friday night, owner Adam Gold rang up customers at the front register while employees who worked the morning shift clocked out. In the midst of dinner preparations, Gold stepped away from the counter to quickly change the music playing — the finishing touch for the restaurant’s “funky” vibe.

In addition to his role in the culinary scene, Gold is a musician at heart. Since January 2007, Gold has owned Funk ‘n Waffles, a restaurant and performance venue in the heart of downtown Syracuse. The restaurant will celebrate its four-year anniversary at its current location this weekend, with a three-night celebration featuring local artists and, of course, homestyle waffles.

“The waffles are this hilarious, lucky thing, but I love music,” Gold said. “To be able to make it for people, I feel really lucky that I get to do that.”

Funk ‘n Waffles has had three locations in the restaurant’s almost 12 years of operation. While employees and customers have come and gone, two things have remained constant: the food and the music.

“I think in business one of the best things you can do, no matter what business you’re in, is consistency,” said Sam Levey, Funk ‘n Waffles’ bar manager. “People can count on us for seven days a week of music.”

Gold opened the business with his college roommate, Kyle Corea, after graduating from Syracuse University in 2006. Stemming from parties the two threw during their junior year, the restaurant idea came to fruition when the pair entered the Panasci Business Plan Competition at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management during spring semester their senior year.

“We ended up nearly winning this competition worth 25 grand, and it was just like, but why?” Gold said. “There must be something that people see in this, some potential.”

Funk ‘n Waffles first opened at its original location near Marshall Street, just off SU’s campus, shortly after. But the restaurant’s success hasn’t come without difficulties. Corea left Funk ‘n Waffles in 2012, leaving Gold to manage the restaurant by himself.

At first, Gold said he was concerned. But then he got a call from Food Network.

That’s when the restaurant started making a name for itself. Funk ‘n Waffles was featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” and not long after, Gold decided to open a second location in Armory Square. A community of foodies and music lovers began to grow alongside the restaurant.

“There’s definitely a solid crew that continues to create a culture that is accepting of people,” said Jessica Brown, the lead singer of the Syracuse-based reggae-soul band Root Shock, a regular act at Funk ‘n Waffles. “It’s a good place to hang out and let loose a little bit.”

Brown’s connection to the restaurant runs deeper than the music. She was the first manager at Funk ‘n Waffles’ original location and, while no longer an employee of the restaurant, the relationship she built with Gold and other members of the Funk community has endured.

In addition to performances with Root Shock, Brown sang with Sophistafunk, a three-piece band featuring Gold on keyboards, before joining her current group in 2012.

“It seems like they kind of grew up here at this location,” Gold said. “I’ve known them even before we opened this place.”

Funk ‘n Waffles faced a setback in February 2017 when its original location — along with the other businesses in its building, including the popular college bar Hungry Chuck’s — was forced to close in order to facilitate the construction of The Marshall, the luxury student apartment complex that now stands in its place. The restaurant’s second location became a saving grace for the business — if he hadn’t already built his downtown location, Gold said, he didn’t know if Funk ‘n Waffles would be in Syracuse.

The closure of the restaurant’s original location led to bittersweet emotions in several Funk ‘n Waffles employees, including Craig Lewis, a manager at the downtown location.

“The complete gentrification is kind of crushing to the people that live in the area,” Lewis said. “It’s a catch-22. You got a nicer place, but it’s going to come at a lot higher prices.”

The restaurant took another hit in November following the closure of its Rochester location, just one year after its opening in the former Water Street Music Hall. Despite bumps in the road, Lewis knows the restaurant will always have a special community surrounding it. He said the team knows they’ll only be able to get through “some of the madness” by working together.

Levey, a self-described “Syracuse lifer,” added that the restaurant has helped contribute to a change in the vibe of Syracuse’s downtown, as well as the growth of small businesses within the city.

“There was a time 1o years ago when everything in Armory Square was an Irish pub,” Levey said. “Now it’s a cornucopia of cool things. Every town’s got a McDonald’s, every town’s got a Pizza Hut. But not every town’s got a Funk ‘n Waffles.”

The community built up around Funk ‘n Waffles will be on full display this weekend, as the restaurant’s anniversary celebration kicks off Thursday and Friday nights with back-to-back shows headlined by Root Shock. The celebration ends Saturday night with a solo performance by jam band Twiddle lead singer Mihali Savoulidis. Tickets for all three nights can be purchased on Funk ‘n Waffles’ website.

“This place is a home to a lot of people,” Lewis said. “Even some of our employees live upstairs. This is literally their home. We love it here.”

Published on December 5, 2018 at 11:46 pm

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