Whiskey Coop brings Nashville chicken and whiskey to Syracuse

SYRACUSE — A trip to Tennessee and some Nashville hot chicken inspired chef Cheryl Chaif to create The Whiskey Coop. Now, she’s bringing that chicken and a whiskey menu to Armory Square. Chaif opened her first location in Sackets Harbor in 2020. “It was inspired by a trip to Nashville in 2017,” she recalls. Chaif loved the whole Nashville scene, replete with spicy fried chicken and its own whiskey heritage. “We did a deep dive on what makes it so unique,” she says of that spicy poultry. Working from a base recipe from Thomas Keller, Chaif began tweaking things. “We just sort of took that and made it our own.” From there, Chaif tested out the sandwiches at the Syracuse location of The Hops Spot, a burger bar she operates at 116 Walton St., before launching The Whiskey Coop in Sackets Harbor in the middle of the pandemic. Now that same Syracuse crew has been hard at work helping Chaif open The Whiskey Coop Syracuse, just a few doors down at 120 Walton St. The space was vacant, Chaif says, among several other empty spaces, and that’s not good for business.

“We’re just last man standing, and that’s not good for our business,” she says. “We needed to do something to help ourselves here.” In 2023, Chaif signed a lease for 7,000 square feet. “It’s such a beautiful space,” she says, full of old Syracuse architecture. “It’s definitely going to have its own vibe.” The new eatery represents a $1.1 million investment with a complete floor-to-ceiling rebuild. While her Sackets Harbor location of The Whiskey Coop is small — with room to seat about 25 people and a tiny kitchen — this larger Syracuse space has allowed Chaif to get creative with both the design and the menu. “We’re going to have a few more menu options,” she says. She also designed the menu so it won’t compete directly with The Hops Spot, but so the locations can complement each other. “It’s lending itself to such a nice, balanced menu.” On the whiskey side, the restaurant currently has about 300 whiskeys on its menu but expect that list to change and grow, Chaif says. “We’re very bourbon focused,” she says. Bourbons are typically released just two times a year, so it will take some time to curate the collection she would like to offer. Some of the current offerings include Tennessee whiskeys, of course, and some Canadian spirits, but there are also options from unexpected places including Korea and Japan. “We’re really seeking out what’s trending,” Chaif says. “We will slowly be building on our bourbon list.” Those libations are served from a bar that includes an old wooden bar at least 200 years old and 24 feet long. But the bar top itself will eventually be a custom brass bar that was still on order at press time. A brass shortage has delayed delivery of the custom piece, and a temporary zinc piece is topping the bar in the meantime. Table tops and booths were made to order in New Jersey and custom lighting fixtures made from bourbon-barrel rings. The restaurant also includes a retail space that features a mural by a local artist. The Whiskey Coop Syracuse opened on Aug. 20. Chaif has a starting staff of about 20 full-time employees and between 15 and 20 part-timers.