Bar and restaurant returns to SU after a 5-year hiatus

By: Charles Isaac

Posted: 8/28/03

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.

"This place is awesome. It's so much fun, it's not one of those clubby, stupid-ass, piece of shit bars," said College of Arts and Sciences student and patron Adam Reynolds. "You can sit down, drink with your buddies and have a good time."

That seems to be true. Chuck's is large and has a lot of open space. When one walks in, a spacious floor greets them. A large, horseshoe-shaped bar stands on the right. While the bar, also serving as a food counter, is the centerpiece of the location, it does not dominate the room. This makes Chuck's seem inviting without being overwhelming. The bar is never so crowded that you have to become intimate with the person standing next to you. There is a lot of room to move around, and there are plenty of tables at which to enjoy your food and beverage away from the bar area.

"I didn't want people to come in and be jammed up at the bar," Janov said.

Certain bars at SU have an impenetrable layer of filth that seems to cover everything, even some of the people. Chuck's, however, has a very clean feel, from its copper-topped bar to the well-kept seating area.

"I want [Chuck's] to be comfortable for everybody," Janov said.

The alternative rock montage blaring from the speakers differs from the pop, rap and techno found at many of the campus bars.

Chuck's hopes its appeal won't be restricted to a certain crowd, as has been the case for some other SU area establishments. It would like to attract people from the entire university spectrum.

The owners want Chuck's to be the place where students feel comfortable to pre-game a sporting event, go have lunch with some friends or enjoy a few beers after work. The goal is an all-purpose bar with good food and a relaxing atmosphere.

"It's exactly what Syracuse needed," said junior biology major Jeff Glushakow .

Janov warns, however, that since he just opened, he needs some time before Chuck's is the place he envisions.

Future plans include lunch service, which should be ready soon, television sets and perhaps a stage for live music. They will even set up coffee and espresso machines to appeal to a wider customer base.

"Within the next week or two we should really have this place the way we wanted it," Janov said. "I don't want to put people off when they come in."

Chuck's wants to live up to its historical precedent, Hungry Charlie's. The impetus behind most of Janov's and Kamen's decisions is to try to recreate what they loved about Hungry Charlie's.

For the most part, it is achieving Janov's vision of a comfortable atmosphere that everyone can enjoy.

"It's only going to get better," Kamen said. "As this place is going to evolve."