Strong Hearts Cafe

About the Business

Specialties

We are Syracuse's only 100% vegan restaurant. We serve breakfast (all day), sandwiches, salads, desserts, a homemade daily soup, coffee, tea, and are renowned for our delicious milkshakes, of which we have 33 different flavors. Our hours are extremely long and most days we are open until midnight and until 2am on Friday and Saturday. We are conveniently located a few blocks from Syracuse University and downtown Syracuse with easy highway access as well. We also have free wi-fi access.

History

Established in 2008.

After seeing a few vegan restaurants in Syracuse come and go, my business partner, Nick Ryan, and I, wanted an all vegan restaurant in Syracuse and decided the only way to get one, and have it be done right, was to do it ourselves. Without any prior experience owning a business or even working in the food service industry, we put our heads together and planned intensely for a few months. What we lacked in business experience, we made up for with 22 years combined experience living a vegan lifestyle and desire to create a space that was welcoming to all different kinds of people, while staying true to our ethics and values of compassion for all living, sentient creatures. After looking at our current location on E. Genesee St, we fell in love with the spot and worked tirelessly to make our dream a reality. After countless hours of preparation and planning, we served out first customer on May 21st, 2008. We've learned a lot since that first day and continue to improve on a daily basis.

Meet the Business Owner

Business owner information

Joel C.

Business Owner

I'm actually the co-owner of the cafe but since Yelp didn't have an option for that in the drop down menu, I had to put "Business Owner". Nicholas Ryan is my business partner and the other owner of Strong Hearts.I'm a vegan straight edge hardcore kid from Syracuse. I grew up here and in my early twenties, moved away and got wild a lot. My main focus back then was radical animal rights activism and traveling the world. I've since returned to Syracuse and while I still believe in animal liberation, I am also glad to be introducing people to the more compassionate lifestyle choice of vegansim through the food we serve at the cafe.While running the cafe takes up most of my time, I still believe in having a good time and enjoying life to the fullest. I love watching and playing sports as well as photography and the occasional poker game. I love Syracuse and am excited for the future of this city.I live with my girlfriend and we have 4 cats, one of which looks like Wilford Brimley.

Strong Hearts Cafe also recommends

Roji Tea Lounge

146Bubble Tea, Coffee & Tea, Asian Fusion

Joel C. says, “Roji is run by great people who serve extremely good tea and snacks in an awesome environment. They help make Syracuse a place worth living in!”

Recess Coffee House & Roastery

231Coffee & Tea, Coffee Roasteries, Breakfast & Brunch

Joel C. says, “Recess is run by some other cool dudes in Syracuse. They roast & serve their own amazing coffee. They believe in Syracuse and the power of community!”