Syracuse, N.Y. — After months of pop-up dinners and taste-testing, Salt City Market has chosen the eight winners of a contest with a big prize: a stall at Syracuse’s first downtown food hall.

The chefs all live in and around Syracuse, but they will bring to downtown tastes of homes and family in faraway places like Burma, Jamaica and Vietnam.

The market, currently under construction in what had been a troubled parking lot on South Salina Street across from the Hotel Syracuse, is being funded by the Allyn Foundation.

“We have such astonishing talent in our town. Salt City Market is about a lot of things — cuisine, culture, establishing a crossroads for all of Syracuse — but the magic of it all starts with these entrepreneurs,” said Adam Sudmann, who is the market manager. He previously was the founder of My Lucky Tummy, a pop-up food court that featured cooking by immigrants and New Americans in Syracuse. “We’re thrilled to be a part of their journey as they build generational wealth for themselves and their families. And we can’t wait to see what they do next.”

The market will include 10 food stalls. Eight of the vendors will be contest winners and two will be already established businesses, Sudmann said. Those two have not yet been chosen.

The food hall is just a piece of the market. The owners of Salt City Coffee will have a coffee shop during the day that turns into a bar at night. There also will be a grocery store. The upper floors will have office space for the Allyn Foundation and other nonprofits, and mixed income apartments.

The project will cost $22 million and is being funded by the Allyn Foundation, which created Syracuse Urban Partnership, a separate nonprofit to own the building and run the food hall.

“We embarked on this project knowing that our community has talented individuals who, given the opportunity, will seize the chance,” said Meg O’Connell, executive director of the foundation. “We firmly believe that our city will continue to prosper if we work together to support and empower all our residents in accessing opportunities.”

The winners are:

Dreamer Glen-Johnson, one of the new vendors at Salt City Market.Provided/Black Cub Productions

Dreamer Glen-Johnson: American soul food. She runs Miss Prissy’s, a catering business, making food that’s inspired by her grandmother. Glen-Johnson lives in Syracuse with her two children.

Duyen Nguyen, one of the new vendors at Salt City Market.Provided/Black Cub Production

Duyen Nguyen: cookies, cakes and sweets from Southeast Asia. Nguyen grew up in her mom’s bakery in Vietnam. She learned how to decorate cakes and work with traditional ingredients, like taro root. When she moved to the U.S. she went to school for a culinary management degree at Onondaga Community College while working at Roji Tea Lounge and Tous Les Jours.

Fiona Day is one of the new vendors at Salt City Market.Provided/Black Cub Productions

Fiona Day: sweet and savory pies. Day grew up baking with her four siblings in Syracuse. Her family always took pride in their pies. As she grew more confident as a baker, she experimented with sweet and savory ingredients. Day was born and raised in Syracuse.

Gloria McCuban and Latoya Ricks are one of the new food vendors at Salt City Market.Provided/Black Cub Productions

Latoya Ricks and her mother, Gloria McCuban: Jamaican food. Ricks came to the U.S. from Jamaica at 19. She went to school for math and science at Onondaga Community College and has certifications in phlebotomy and EEG use. Her grandmother and grandfather were celebrated cooks in Jamaica and she looks to follow them. McCuban came to the U.S. following Ricks, who is her oldest daughter. McCuban is a mother of nine with a degree in biblical studies. She teaches Sunday school and does catering.

Hein San and his family will be one of the new food vendors at Salt City MarketProvided/Black Cub Productions

The San family: Burmese cuisine. Myo and Thanda came to the U.S. from Myanmar with their daughter, Htet, and son, Hein. They lived in Idaho before coming to Syracuse, where they have been for eight years. The family has always cooked, but this will be their first business venture. They plan to make home-style Burmese food.

Ngoc Huynh is one of the new food vendors for Salt City Market.Provided photo/Black Cub Productions

Ngoc Huynh: Vietnamese cuisine. (Huynh is an Advance Media New York employee). Born in Vietnam, Ngoc and 50 of her relatives escaped by boat after the war. The Japanese rescued them at sea; she nearly died. After living in Japan, the families immigrated to Nebraska. Huynh graduated from Syracuse University. She learned her recipes cooking alongside grandmother, mother, aunts and family friends.

Sarintha "Sara" Tong-Ngork is one of the new food vendors at Salt City Market.Provided photo/Black Cub Productions

Sarinthra Tong-Ngork: Thai cuisine. Tong-Ngork’s parents are from Thailand. She was born and raised in Syracuse and has spent 23 years working in the local food industry. She’s worked at restaurants including Lemon Grass, Bangkok Thai, Alfa Bar and Dining Room, and at The Century Club and Bellevue Country club. She plans to serve up traditional Thai street food at Salt City Market.

Sleyrow Mason is one of the new food vendors at Salt City Market.Provided photo/Black Cub Productions

Sleyrow Mason: Southern cuisine. Mason is currently a chef for the Hotel Syracuse’s Eleven Waters restaurant. He was born in Brooklyn but moved to Syracuse in 1992.

He has a passion for Southern food, including St. Louis-style ribs with sage and apple chutney. He’s the oldest of seven children who spent hours learning to cook in his mother’s kitchen. When his mother died, he turned to cooking to keep her memory alive. He graduated from a culinary program through the city’s Johnson Vocational School in 2002.

The marketed is expected to open in November.

“Seeing the outpouring of support from the greater Syracuse community every step of the way has been so encouraging,” said Maarten Jacobs, director of community prosperity for the Allyn Foundation. “Now the concrete is being poured, the steel will soon be erected, and with our eight entrepreneurs selected, they are on a path to opening up their own stall that will showcase their talents and the rich culture present here in Syracuse.”

Marnie Eisenstadt is a reporter who writes about people and public affairs in Central New York. Have an idea or question? Contact her anytime: email | twitter| Facebook | 315-470-2246

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