Tue. Dec 10th, 2024
Noble Cellar brings fine dining and history to downtown Syracuse.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Noble Cellar in downtown Syracuse

Noah Love: Noble Cellar is a new upscale restaurant in downtown Syracuse, serving wine and American cuisine. Co-owners Robert Zaccaria and Sarah Pelligrini worked in real estate together, but decided it was time for them to move on. They both wanted to focus on the revitalization of Syracuse.

Robert Zaccaria: We just didn’t know what that was going to be, but we knew we wanted to create an experience for people. We wanted to, in some small way, make Syracuse a little bit better of a place to live.

Love: As they set out to figure out what this could be, they had one rule.

Zaccaria, Sarah Pelligrini: No restaurants!

Love: When they started looking for buildings, an old church was for sale.

Zaccaria: We came and saw this, she actually reached out to me, because this building had been on the market, she’s like “let’s go look at it,” and I was like “ugh, I know it’s going to be a restaurant, ugh fine let’s go look at it.”

Love: And that’s what it became. They bought the building, and after 18 months of renovations, the Noble Cellar opened in January 2024. One of the reasons the owners were so inclined to purchase this space was for the history of it. Lying beneath the noble cellar, just down these stairs, is one of the most important pieces of Syracuse’s history.

Pelligrini: So we are walking through here in the Underground Railroad, and I’ll give you a little bit of a visual.

Love: According to the Onondaga Historical Association, the owners in the 1850s harbored on average 30 escaped slaves a month as they made their way to Canada.

Pelligrini: This is actually the area in which they rested and waited patiently, quietly. It’s really unbelievable being in here, and you can see the stone. You can really just sense it and feel it. It’s crazy the energy in here. It’s really remarkable.

Love: The owners have an idea to share those feelings with the patrons that walk in their front door.

Pelligrini: In the front, creating some kind of a plexiglass floor where you could see, just see it. Just see it, that’s enough.

Love: The history of the space inspired the name of the restaurant it hides beneath. Noah Love, NCC News.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Noble Cellar, a new upscale restaurant in downtown Syracuse, is serving wine and American cuisine in a historic location.

Co-owners Robert Zaccaria and Sarah Pelligrini, who previously worked together in real estate, decided it was time for a change. Both wanted to contribute to the revitalization of Syracuse.

“We just didn’t know what that was going to be, but we knew we wanted to create an experience for people and, in some small way, make Syracuse a better place to live,” Zaccaria said.

As they brainstormed ideas, they had one rule.

“No restaurants!” the co-owners said.

However, that changed when they came across an old church for sale.

“She actually reached out to me because this building had been on the market,” Zaccaria said. “She’s like, ‘Let’s go look at it,’ and I was like, ‘Ugh, I know it’s going to be a restaurant. Fine, let’s go look at it.’”

The pair ended up purchasing the building, and after 18 months of renovations, Noble Cellar opened in January 2024.

One reason the co-owners were drawn to the space was its historical significance. Beneath Noble Cellar is a key part of Syracuse’s history.

“We are walking through here in the Underground Railroad,” Pelligrini said. “I’ll give you a little bit of a visual.”

According to the Onondaga Historical Association, the owners of the building in the 1850s harbored an average of 30 escaped slaves each month as they made their way to Canada.

“This is actually the area in which they rested and waited patiently, quietly,” Pelligrini said, “It’s really unbelievable being in here, and you can see the stone. You can really just sense it and feel it. It’s crazy—the energy in here is remarkable.”

The owners plan to share this history with patrons.

“In the front, we’re thinking of creating some kind of plexiglass floor where you could see it. Just see it—that’s enough,” Pelligrini said.

The history of the space inspired the name of the restaurant it hides beneath.