Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) – Salt City Market in downtown Syracuse was founded to help small restaurant owners grow their brands in an industry in which success is difficult to find. The first case studies demonstrating their success are now available.
Three vendors will leave the market by May 2024. The first, Miss Prissy’s, is a soul food restaurant that saw so much success as a part of the market that they bought a new location, and will move there in February. The second restaurant, Big in Burma, will close after their owners retire in April. Finally, Farm Girl Juicery, already closed their stall with the owner expecting a baby.
CJ Butler, marketing and communications manager at Salt City Market, said that vendors are not all expected to stay, and that vendors moving out is actually proof that the market is following through on their mission statement.
“It’s not just about them succeeding in the Salt City Market,” Butler said. “We want them to succeed wherever they go.”
Just because the vendors are moving out however, doesn’t mean that their stalls will be empty. Butler said that Salt City Market already had a plan to fill their empty stalls with restaurants she called “hidden gems” of the Syracuse area.
The first of the new vendors to arrive is She Fancy Grazing Co., a charcuterie restaurant that is currently located in New Hartford, about 50 miles east of Syracuse. Their restaurant will fill the stall where Farm Girl Juicery used to be, and will open in December.
The second new vendor is SinBun, a bakery that makes “sweet and savory buns.” SinBun is one of several upstart restaurants that used Salt City Market’s test kitchen, which was built to help aspiring restaurateurs achieve their goals, both as chefs and business people. The test kitchen offers several programs for upstart restaurants, including a phase in which participants build a business plan and apply for a loan from the bank to get their shop started. SinBun has worked with Salt City Market every step of the way. Their stall will be the one currently occupied by Miss Prissy’s, and will open in February.
The final new vendor is Elle Rae’s Tacos. Butler said that customers have been demanding that tacos come to Salt City Market since it opened, and she expects the restaurant to be a hit. The owners come from San Jose, and hope to bring a “Cali-Mex” style to upstate New York. Their restaurant will fill the stand occupied by Big in Burma, and will open in May.
SinBun is hosting a pop-up event to showcase their new restaurant at Salt City Market on Nov., 16. from 12-7 p.m.