Big changes are due for Marshall Street, the mecca of nightlife, retail and food for generations of Syracuse University students, basketball fans and townies.

Developers have proposed tearing down 727 S. Crouse Ave., the building behind Marshall Street that houses Chuck's Cafe, Funk 'n Waffles and a handful of other businesses. If the project is approved at a Syracuse Planning Commission meeting tonight, the space would become an 8-story retail block with apartments.

Existing businesses are expected to have a home in the new development. But when the proposal became public, dozens of alumni took to social media wondering whether longtime bar Chuck's would be the same without its beer-stained floors and Sharpie-covered walls.

Whatever the future of Chuck's, the neighborhood is headed for big changes.

SU is beginning a campus-wide infrastructure update, including construction of the large, modern National Veterans Resource Complex at the corner of Crouse and Marshall.

Another hi-rise development is proposed for South Crouse Avenue, in the place where buildings house Varsity Pizza and Faegan's Pub. The owners of Varsity have pledged it will live on in one form or another.

This hub of college life could be headed for a major shake-up - or it could once again prove its staying power after years of perpetual turnover and adaptation.

With so much action proposed for University Hill, we talked to business owners, community members, students, alumni and other stakeholders about the changing face of Marshall Street.

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LEGENDS OF

M STREET

VARSITY

PIZZA

CHUCK'S

CAFE

THE

BEACH

HARRY'S

J. MICHAEL

FUNK 'N

WAFFLES

THE

UNIVERSITY

THE

STUDENTS

Varsity Pizza

Long-time pizza purveyor balances nostalgia with changing times

Kathy Sampalia, general manager at the Varsity and Faegan's, has been working for John and Jerry Dellas for 30 years. The cousins are the third generation in their family to operate Varsity Pizza since it opened in 1927.

Sampalia said she trusts the businessmen to shepherd at least two Marshall Street mainstays through changing times.

The Dellases are "nurturing a plan" to demolish the stretch of buildings along South Crouse Avenue and replace them with a 10-story facility, complete with commercial space, eight floors of apartments and a 200-space parking lot. The project was recommended in 2015 for a $1.2 million grant by the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council.

The Dellases insist the Varsity is going nowhere. They have said the plan would preserve the look and feel of the classic pizza joint.

Sampalia first took a job with the Dellases tending bar at Buggsy's Back Alley Bar in the early 80s, during Marshall Street's heyday, when the drinking age was 18 and Sampalia recalls every bar had a dance floor.

Buggsy's, now Orange Crate Brewing Co. (formerly Lucy's Retired Surfer Bar and The Orange), had a dunk tank and ceramic tub with a mannequin in it. Fraternaties and sororities used the dunk tank for fundraisers, Sampalia said.

Elli Darmoyslis has been making pizzas at the Varsity for 45 years.

Sampalia's first memories from growing up in the University area are of a family-friendly Marshall Street with a Burger King and an arcade in the late '60s and early '70s.

"As far as development goes, I think it's a good thing but it's also a little sad. I think we all feel you kind of have to move forward," she said.

She hopes proposed developers follow Varsity's lead by retaining a "tried and true nostalgic" atmosphere on the street while moving with the times.

The Dellases have had various businesses on the block to accommodate students' and community demands. They opened Faegan's in 1978.

Varsity has adapted too - it added a wraps and salads station a few years ago because of customers' demand for healthy options, but still serves plenty of slices, wings and greasy burgers, Sampalia said. The same woman, Elli Darmoyslis, has tossed pizzas at the Varsity for 45 years.

"I'm hoping we can have the best of both worlds," Sampalia said.

Chuck's Cafe

Gritty watering hole will live on, owner says

Chuck's (formerly Hungry Chuck's and Hungry Charlie's) has been a staple on the Hill since 1970. First housed in the basement at 727 S. Crouse Ave., Hungry Charlie's was a massive room the manager says was about three times as large as the current space.

Owner-manager Stephen Theobald said patrons used to take "Chuck's Laps" around the massive room to socialize, flirt and keep the blood flowing.

Theobald patronized Chuck's as a student in the early '80s. He took over the bar about four years ago.

He said the biggest change he's seen on Marshall Street is that it's become a part of the campus, not the off-campus destination it used to be. Since Chuck's opened, SU has stretched past its old front door, the Hall of Languages that faces down University Avenue. The Whitman School of Management, for example, wasn't there when Theobald was in college.

"In that sense, the university campus has grown much larger. This little bit of the district is by and large the same," he said.

Theobald said he hopes Marshall Street retains its main street atmosphere despite its growth.

"It provides an area where the students can walk in relative safety, without having to go through a neighborhood that's less safe, or get in a car and get into trouble."

Theobald is confident Chuck's will live on. He's committed to reopening the bar in whatever new development springs up.

Long-time patrons don't want to see the bar cleaned up too much in a renovation. The dim, gritty feel of the place, they say, is what they love about it most.

"Chuck's is an institution exactly because of its dressed down, lowdown, grimy environment," said Lisa Horst, who graduated in '89.

"Chuck's didn't allow you any pretenses. It made you leave your expensive shoes and lipstick at home ... It forced you to strip down to who you really are. It made us all equal.

The Beach

Lawn was ultimate springtime hangout for SU students

Syracuse alumni who matriculated in the '60s, '70s or '80s will remember a strip of land adjacent to Marshall Street known as The Beach. Many of them wrote to Syracuse.com to say it was their favorite thing about Marshall Street.

Students hang out at "The Beach" on the corner of South Crouse Avenue and Marshall Street in the 1960s.

"Back in the '70s there would be students smoking pot right in front of God and everybody," said Stephen Theobald, who owns Chuck's Cafe.

"The students would come and get a slice of pizza at Cosmos or whatever at other restaurants," Theobald said. "The lawn would be full of kids doing whatever and hanging out."

Reader frankmaloney, whose username harkens back to the 1970s Syracuse football head coach, said The Beach was the place to be to take in that "plentiful" Syracuse sunshine. He said students would flock to The Beach on a nice day, refreshment in hand.

"It was also a place where students mingled with townies of various - and often quite colorful - personalities," he said.

Harry's

Change is in M Street's DNA, longtime bar owner says

John Shahin has owned Harry's Bar at 700 S. Crouse Ave. for 27 years. He said change on M Street is a part of the place's DNA.

"Marshall Street is used to change," Shahin said.

SU fans drink in Harry's Bar at 700 S. Crouse before the Florida State basketball game in January.

He's seen widespread construction in the past, but views the brick pavers and added parking to be an improvement. He expects the upcoming changes to be an improvement, too.

"To look at the buildings when you're coming down from the Dome, it's all run-down, it's nasty," he said. "(The developers) know what they are doing."

His clientele has changed over the years - its more diverse and less rowdy - but Shahin is confident students will always want a place to drink.

What keeps him up at night is drawing enough crowds to compete just eight months out of the year. Many businesses on Marshall close down for summer and on academic breaks.

Still, Shahin doesn't worry too much about his business.

"Things are changing. You have to move on. It's not a big deal - well, it would be a big deal if Harry's was gone.

J. Michael Shoes

Development has been good for business, safety

Erik Hicks has had a front row view of Marshall Street for the last 18 years. He works at one of the longest standing retail shops on Marshall Street. J. Michael Shoes has been on the street for almost 35 years.

Hicks said that after watching turnover and updates to the street, his strategy for the next round of development is to roll with the changes as the store always has.

A clerk looks over the inventory in J. Michael Shoes on Marshall Street.

"When I started here it was asphalt with telephone poles, parking on both sides - double parking on both sides - and loading zones."

In 2001, the city added brick pavers and planted trees.

"It's definitely made a positive impact as far as the look and the safety of the street," Hicks said.

Hicks views Marshall Street as the face of the university, the place where prospective students and families along with visiting professors congregate for meals when they first see SU.

"This is the welcome mat to the university really. So I think it's very important that it stays up to date and safe and looks like it's cared for.

Funk 'n Waffles

Local businesses keep M Street funky

Funk 'n Waffles owner Adam Gold has a message for students and community members who eat, drink and shop on Marshall Street: "If they want great stuff, they have to patronize great stuff," he said.

Gold moved to Syracuse 16 years ago to attend the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, but stayed after he graduated to open Funk 'n Waffles. It's one of the businesses that would be at least temporarily displaced if the latest proposal goes through.

The stairway at Funkin 'n Waffles, Jan. 25, 2017.

Gold's college cohort witnessed a crackdown on fake IDs and drunken drinking in the 2000s, which changed the make-up of Marshall Street. Raids in that era shut down popular booze spots Konrad's (now a Verizon Wireless store) and Maggie's (now Cafe Kubal).

Now, there are no bars with a storefront directly opening to Marshall Street. As bars went, restaurants proliferated.

Funk 'n Waffles, which aside from serving up waffles doubles as a chic coffee shop and hosts open mic nights, found a home among a new, eclectic mix of less alcohol-centric businesses on the street.

Gold also observed growth in the number of chain restaurants, something he views as a sign there is a lot of money to be made on the Hill.

He wants to see more locally owned businesses dominate the Marshall Street area, old favorites like Faegan's and Varsity, along with new joints like the vegan Strong Hearts on the Hill and Cafe Kubal.

"Any big university can have a Starbucks, a Chipotle, a McDonald's. I think it's awesome when a campus has really unique shops."

Gold's hope for upcoming development is for landlords to lead by example and work with local businesses, not just the chains that can afford the most expensive rents.

"I think development is inevitable," Gold said. "I don't think it's a bad thing, but hopefully we can continue to show the area some respect, and keep it funky somehow.

The University

Campus continues to grow, wrap around Marshall Street

Syracuse University is in the beginning stages of a massive facilities update that will reach every corner of the campus, including where the university meets Marshall Street.

Just this winter break, an academic building on South Crouse between Marshall Street and Waverly Avenue was demolished to make way for the new National Veterans Resource Center.

Initial schematics show a modern structure with glass walls and a large courtyard.

Syracuse University released conceptual drawings that show what the new National Veterans Resource Complex might look like when it is tentatively finished in 2019.

A draft framework released in June 2016 suggests lots of changes for the area.

The framework emphasizes a mix of commercial, residential and academic spaces on its northern border with Marshall Street.

It suggests shifting SU's "front door" to Waverly Avenue and its "backbone" to University Avenue. The new veterans' center is situated to connect town with gown, and the people it serves with the college and community in a one-stop shop.

It also calls for a complete renovation of Marshall Square Mall, tucked behind Starbuck's with its own eclectic mix of shops and restaurants: a thrift store and a tiny Asian foods store.

The university has not yet announced plans for the building. It's not one of the projects marked "near-term." Yet its changes will also influence how the area is used in years to come.

As several people interviewed for this story pointed out, the university has already expanded and wrapped around the busy retail block - for example, with the construction of Whitman School of Management on University Avenue, completed in 2005.

Kevin Quinn, spokesman for Syracuse University said in a statement that the university supports development that preserves the "residential and architectural character" of the neighborhoods surrounding the university.

"The University continues to believe a vibrant University Hill and East neighborhood are important for our city and region," Quinn said. "Given this importance, both neighborhoods will benefit from balanced, sustained and carefully planned new development.

The Students

Students dream of a shopping mall, grocery store for Marshall Street

Sophomore Cynthia Chen and junior Ran Wang chose to come to Syracuse from China to study at the School of Information Studies, or iSchool.

To them, Marshall Street blends seamlessly with the university: They aren't separate neighborhoods.

Aside from the Chipotle they dined on at Marshall Square Mall between classes, Chen and Wang listed their favorite Marshall Street spots as Subway, Appethaizing and Komachi, a Korean place on South Crouse Avenue.

Sophomore Cynthia Chen and junior Ran Wang chose to come to Syracuse from China to study at the School of Information Studies, or iSchool. To them, Marshall Street blends seamlessly with the university: They aren't separate neighborhoods.

Both responded favorably to the idea of a high-rise apartment complex with retail and restaurants on Marshall Street.

Their first suggestion was a big grocery store, that students wouldn't have to drive to get to. They also said they would also like to see more retail and even a shopping mall in the space. They liked the idea of apartments for the convenience.

The two students said they most often come to Marshall Street to visit the mall for classes at the English Language Institute or to work out at the Fitness Center

Legends of M Street

Street was notorious for post-game rowdiness

There are some things about Marshall Street that we'd just be remiss not to mention in this story.

Take Gertis McDowell, the man who called every passerby "pretty lady" or "big poppa," as he shook his tin can of change outside Starbuck's. McDowell, nicknamed the Mayor of Marshall Street, died in 2015.

Gertis McDowell on Marshall Street in Syracuse.

There are the beloved restaurants and bars that have come and gone. We've compiled a list of some of the most notorious here.

The rowdiness on Marshall Street is also legendary.

Fans of the 2003 team might recall the naked man in a tree whose photo memorialized celebrations of SU basketball's victory over Kansas in the NCAA championship.

Fans in 1987 will remember the massive crowds, rioting and looting on Marshall Street after SU's Final Four run. After SU's loss to the Indiana Hoosiers in the championship game, an angry mob of fans smashed in the window of an ice cream shop and 29 people (15 of them students) were arrested, mostly for disorderly conduct.

By the way, in the playoff game, when Syracuse beat Providence College 77-63, fans broke parking meters, looted a cigarette machine from a closed bar, shattered the roof of a bus shelter and damaged a city police car, costing taxpayers thousands.

Businesses on M Street that year reported selling out of chicken wings.

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Katie Shafsky contributed to this report.

Reporter Julie McMahon covers Syracuse University and Syracuse city schools. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992