Emerald Cocktail Kitchen brings new offerings to Tipp Hill

SYRACUSE — For nearly 20 years, her father Jerry Roesch ran George O’Dea’s Pub in Syracuse’s Tipperary Hill area, but when Michele Roesch bought the business from him in 2019, she knew she wanted to put her own stamp on the place.

Initially, she even tried to sell the building, located at 1331 W. Fayette St., but the sales never went through.

“Something just told me I was supposed to stay and vamp up the building,” Roesch says. Knowing the building’s history, and that it used to have two more floors before they burned down many years ago, she started thinking.

“My dad’s customers always used to say it was the best view in the city,” from the roof of the pub, she says, so she began investigating whether the building could support a rooftop bar.

Roesch worked with in-ARCHITECTS to design her vision and Smith Structures, Inc., to bring it to life. “I can’t say enough positive things about either of them,” she says of the two companies.

Over the next two and a half years, the existing space was renovated and two new floors were added. Work included installing new plumbing and electric, structurally reinforcing the building, and adding an elevator. Roesch worked with M&T Bank on financing for the more than $2 million project and praised the Onondaga Small Business Development Center for its help along the way.

On June 18, Roesch’s vision was realized when Emerald Cocktail Kitchen opened for business.

The bar, which Roesch co-owns with her mother Nora Roesch, is 9,000 feet spread over the four floors and can accommodate 200 people. Each floor has its own theme, with a stone wall uncovered during renovations now highlighted on the first floor. The second floor, in a nod to redoing the entire building, features secondhand items as part of the design, Roesch says.

Then there is the crowning piece, literally — the rooftop bar. It features a covered bar, some covered seating, and plenty of tables and umbrellas.

Some might question a rooftop bar in a city known for its snowy winters, but “I think our city is beautiful in all seasons,” Roesch says. “A lot of people have said to us they just don’t feel like they are in Syracuse” when they are on the rooftop.

With the word right in the name, Emerald focuses on cocktails, bringing a new element to the area’s nightlife, she says. While there are several other drinking establishments in the area, each one has its own focus. It all adds to the nightlife scene, helping draw people to the area, she adds.

Emerald is also a nod to Tipperary Hill’s Irish history and Roesch’s own Irish ancestry.

Along with classic and custom cocktails, Emerald Cocktail Kitchen also serves up sharable plates and treats. The bar currently employs between 40 and 50 people.

Roesch also just launched the 1331 Food Truck, a take-out area in the bar offering grab-and-go foods. The name is a nod to Emerald’s 1331 W. Fayette St. address.

“I would love to open more places in the future,” Roesch says of her future plans in Syracuse. Roesch and her mother have also operated The Brasserie Bar & Bistro in Township 5 in Camillus for about eight years.

“I really do love Syracuse,” she says. “I think there’s so much potential for growth. I think Syracuse is really blossoming.”

Emerald Cocktail Kitchen is open Wednesday through Monday from noon until 1 a.m. It’s closed on Tuesdays.