Spring Break
The Daily OrangeBar and restaurant returns to SU after a 5-year hiatus
By Charles Isaac
Posted: 8/28/03, 1:44 AM EST Section: Feature
Tucked away in the alley behind Marshall Street is a new haven for food, drink and intellectual conversation. OK, it's really another bar located near Syracuse University.
Most are under the impression that the spacious Chuck's is a brand new establishment. However, the bar and restaurant has a longer history here than students realize.
In 1970, the creators of Chuck's operated a small chain of bars and restaurants called Hungry Charlie's, which served mostly Northeastern universities. One franchise occupied the floor below the current Chuck's location here at Syracuse. They made quite a name for themselves among the students and the community.
"Hungry Charlie's was an institution here in Syracuse," said Chuck's manager Sam Kamen, who graduated from the Maxwell School in 1990 with a political science degree. "Students, faculty, neighborhood folk and the surrounding area, everybody knew of Hungry Charlie's."
In 1996, the bar's lease ended, and the owner decided not to renew it because he had hoped to build an independent movie theater to occupy that space. Plans for the theater fell through. Mark Janov, who ran the downstairs of Chuck's for 20 years when it was Hungry Charlie's, signed a new lease for the Syracuse location in 2002. He asked his friend Kamen, then working as a food and beverage manager for a hotel in Florida, to come and help him open it for the beginning of the Fall 2003 semester.
Despite being restored, the bar contains much of the original Hungry Charlie's furniture - some of which dates back to the 1970s. One thing that regretfully could not be salvaged was the signature collection of artwork from the original restaurant chain. This eclectic blend of paintings and murals includes elephants sitting at a bar and Jesus entering a bathtub.
"They tried to build this place in the style of the original Hungry Charlie's but with a newer, fresher look," Kamen said.
The bar has only been open for a little more than a week, but response has been very positive.
Most are under the impression that the spacious Chuck's is a brand new establishment. However, the bar and restaurant has a longer history here than students realize.
In 1970, the creators of Chuck's operated a small chain of bars and restaurants called Hungry Charlie's, which served mostly Northeastern universities. One franchise occupied the floor below the current Chuck's location here at Syracuse. They made quite a name for themselves among the students and the community.
"Hungry Charlie's was an institution here in Syracuse," said Chuck's manager Sam Kamen, who graduated from the Maxwell School in 1990 with a political science degree. "Students, faculty, neighborhood folk and the surrounding area, everybody knew of Hungry Charlie's."
In 1996, the bar's lease ended, and the owner decided not to renew it because he had hoped to build an independent movie theater to occupy that space. Plans for the theater fell through. Mark Janov, who ran the downstairs of Chuck's for 20 years when it was Hungry Charlie's, signed a new lease for the Syracuse location in 2002. He asked his friend Kamen, then working as a food and beverage manager for a hotel in Florida, to come and help him open it for the beginning of the Fall 2003 semester.
Despite being restored, the bar contains much of the original Hungry Charlie's furniture - some of which dates back to the 1970s. One thing that regretfully could not be salvaged was the signature collection of artwork from the original restaurant chain. This eclectic blend of paintings and murals includes elephants sitting at a bar and Jesus entering a bathtub.
"They tried to build this place in the style of the original Hungry Charlie's but with a newer, fresher look," Kamen said.
The bar has only been open for a little more than a week, but response has been very positive.
