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From the Kitchen

Beer Belly Deli & Pub announces closure after 10 years of service

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The owners, Lauren Monforte and Ben Tupper, did not offer specifics to why the gastropub closed but wanted to focus on the good times at Beer Belly.

After serving the Syracuse community for the past 10 years, Beer Belly Deli and Pub will be closing its doors, according to a post on their Facebook page on July 24. The restaurant’s last night will be July 28, where the establishment will be offering trivia to guests and bar service only.

Beer Belly, located on Westcott Street, opened in the fall of 2012, offering a variety of gastropub fare from beer-battered sandwiches to loaded fries and, of course, a well-varied drink menu. The pub’s owners, Lauren Monforte and Ben Tupper, held previous experience in the food and beverage industry before curating the local, well-loved eatery.

While there was no specific reason for closure cited, the changing service industry and general uncertainty about the future are what pushed Beer Belly’s management to not renew the restaurant’s lease, the closure announcement said. Though, the statement focused on the achievements and good times Beer Belly provided to the Syracuse community.

“We saw first dates that turned into weddings that turned into baby showers. We said goodbye to loved ones taken too soon. We hosted concert crowds and fed band members. Even McLovin made an appearance. We survived a pandemic. We had live music, and open-mic nights, and art shows and trivia, trivia, trivia,” the closure announcement said.



Beer Belly’s announcement ended with a positive message to patrons in the form of Henry Scott Holland poem “Death is Nothing At All”, suggesting that the restaurant’s management wants fans of the establishment to remember it fondly, despite its closure. The post received over one hundred “sad” reactions and dozens of comments echoing heartbrokenness over the decision.

For those interested in catching one last burger before the closure, Beer Belly’s doors will remain open from 3 p.m. until midnight every day this week.





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