SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Ngoc Huynh has been operating Mamma Hai in the Salt City Market since 2021, when the food hall first opened. She has seen this city grow right in front of her eyes.
“I’ve seen couples get together, break up, and start dating new partners throughout my five years here,” Huynh said. “They don’t talk to each other, but they still come talk to me.”
It’s been a roller coaster ride filled with ups and downs for Huynh and neighboring market vendors. One of the biggest challenges was opening up in the middle of a global pandemic. But masks and social distancing didn’t keep Syracuse from filling their plates and their stomachs with fresh, home-style meals.
“We were pretty sure no one’s going to come. But we had people lined up around the block,” Huynh said.
Now, five years after opening, the Market threw a birthday party for itself on Jan. 29 – ‘Soup Flight Night.’ Attendees paid $35 to travel around the world without ever leaving their backyard. And just like in 2021, Syracuse came hungry and eager to eat, as the event sold out.
Salt City Market is more than just a food hall. The Allyn Family Foundation funded the market’s opening in 2021, and has been committed to the development of the city of Syracuse since, Salt City Market Marketing and Communications Manager CJ Butler said.
“Day after day, we have a hand in something that is transforming Syracuse and transforming the way people think about the city that we live in,” Butler said. “We really have become a family, and it is amazing to be around these people and know not only are we having an amazing time and eating great food, but making actual change in the community.”
There are 26 mixed income apartments on the market’s third and fourth floors. The waitlist to get into those apartments is over 800 names long, Butler said. The Allyn Family Foundation purchased a building across the street from Salt City Market, where they will renovate 152 more mixed income apartments.
Some community members were initially critical about the Market being built in downtown Syracuse.
“People told us, ‘Go out to Fayetteville, go out to Manlius, go somewhere where you would expect this kind of space to be.’ And we very intentionally chose this spot and we recognize the challenges that came with it,” said Butler.
Salt City Market has indirectly impacted the surrounding area as well. Daycare’s that weren’t there five years ago now exist right across the street, Butler added.
The Market has become home for Butler, Huynh, and others. A mixture of cultures from all over the world coming together in one shared space. A feeling that Huynh could only describe with one word: family.
“I’m one of the vendors that has been here from the beginning. But overtime, different vendors come in and you get to experience things. I think the only reason I’m still staying is because it’s almost like. I don’t even know how to explain it, it’s almost like, It’s family,” said Huynh.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
Matt Sheremeta: Safe to say that Ngoc Huyhn has seen it all.
Ngoc Huyhn: I’ve seen couples get together, break up, and start dating new partners throughout my five years here.
Sheremeta: She runs the Vietnamese restaurant Mamma Hai in the Salt City Market. The perfect opportunity to share a piece of her culture, and some family secrets.
Huynh: A lot of the style that I cook and the way I make things, it’s from my mom, my aunts, my grandma. and so, that was one of the reasons i started it.
Sheremeta: Everyone knows nothing is better than a home cooked meal, and market communications manager CJ Butler says, that’s how the lightbulb went off.
CJ Butler: The thing that inspired the salt city market was realizing how much amazing food existed in Syracuse in people’s homes.
Sheremeta: In this house, a birthday bash. Salt City Market is celebrating five years with a soup flight night. A trip around the world just down south salina street.
If you were throwing a birthday party, you’d invite all your closest friends of course. And that’s what the salt city market did tonight. And this community really showed up and showed their appreciation as hundreds came out to this sold out event. But five years ago when they opened up, the community wasn’t so supportive of the idea.
Butler: So many people told us, “go out to Fayetteville, go out to Manlius, go somewhere where you would expect this kind of space to be.” And we very intentionally chose this spot and we recognize the challenges that came with it.
Sheremeta: The vendors certainly felt that weight. But just like they did tonight, this city came ready with some empty bellies.
Huynh: We were pretty sure no one’s going to come. But we had people lined up around the block.
Sheremeta: Business stayed steady. So much so that some vendors have outgrown the market, opening additional locations within the city. But Huynh has no plans of moving out.
Huynh: I think the only reason I’m still staying is because it’s almost like… i don’t even know how to explain it, it’s almost like… it’s family.
Sheremeta: From cooking family style, to building one of her own, Huynh, and so many others, have been brought together by food. Creating a new home where they will stay for many more years, right in downtown Syracuse.
Matt Sheremeta. NCC news.