Adam Gold and his friends would sell waffles to partygoers at DIY music shows when attending Syracuse University. Now, he runs one of the city’s most important music venues.

Words By Mattea Vecera / Graphic by Lily Greco

The creation of Funk ‘n Waffles was a fluke. In his college house on Ackerman Avenue, Syracuse University junior Adam Gold played frequent shows with his band. They began serving waffles at their parties for the hungry, music-loving college students and realized quickly that they had created something special. From there, the concept was born: a waffle restaurant that doubles as a live music venue. Sixteen years later, the restaurant remains in its birthplace of Syracuse.

Gold, co-founder and owner of Funk ‘n Waffles, studied audio production at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and submersed himself into the music scene on campus. Apart from playing house parties with his band, Gold was the general manager and chief engineer of WERW and had DJ shifts at WAER, two student-run radio stations on campus.

Now, the businessman and musician keeps the rich Syracuse music scene alive with daily concerts and events for all to enjoy alongside a warm plate of waffles. Gold took time out of his busy schedule to chat with 20 Watts Magazine about his time at Syracuse University, the conception and success of Funk ‘n Waffles, and his place in the local music scene.

What was the music scene like when you were a student at Syracuse University?

Our band was just playing house parties. That's mostly what was happening — live bands at apartments off of Euclid.

I read that you started serving waffles at those parties. Why waffles? Was that just a fluke?

Yeah, it was just a random thing. We just happened to have a friend with the waffle iron, so we'd serve them at the parties.

I heard the full concept for Funk 'n Waffles came from the Whitman business competition they hold annually. Did you graduate with a Whitman degree then?

No, I was actually in the Newhouse school, and my degree was Television, Radio, and Film. It's a common misconception that I was a business student. I was just a TRF kid that entered the competition. It's called the Panasci Business Plan Competition, and anyone can enter it as long as you’re a student. So, me and my friends all tried different things, and ours was the waffle music venue.

As a TRF student, what was your initial plan? What were you thinking about doing?

I just knew I wanted to get into Newhouse. I mostly studied audio production. It's kind of a silent “A” in TRF. I was in the studio doing microphone placement, recording, and mixing engineering.

Why originally did you continue pursuing this dream of opening Funk 'n Waffles after graduation?

With my degree at Syracuse, I didn't really see a way forward that I wanted. In the TRF industry, you're basically gonna just be someone's PA for a while, which is like just getting coffee. After four years, and all the money we spent for that education, it just seemed like a long and tedious process. Rather than work for someone else, I had an opportunity to try out this concept and be my own boss. Luckily that worked, because, unless you're extremely talented, you end up being on the bottom of the food chain, per se.

Why open up this venue in Syracuse instead of back home in New Jersey?

We spent those four years building a fan base in Syracuse. We were throwing house parties our junior and senior year, and by the time we were done with the school, we had an audience here. People in New Jersey didn't know anything about Funk 'n Waffles, so we just kind of went with the market that we knew.

Syracuse is obviously a booming music city, not only with the university but also the city itself. Do you feel like it's a supportive community or more like a competition between you and the other venues?

Until recently, there weren't really many other venues. I think we're still one of the only [venues] out there as far as the genres that we have, so there's not really much competition. I think the more the merrier. The better the music scene, in general, the better it will be for everybody. That's always been my way of looking at things. It's not that we're fighting against everybody, but rather we're just trying to build a healthy music scene for everyone.

How has the reception from the community been?

I feel like we've been well received, and we've been in business 16 years. That’s a pretty long time for a restaurant.

You also briefly had a location in Rochester. Are you planning on trying to expand anytime soon?

No. Right now, we're just trying to hold down the fort and get a good staff up and trained. No plans to expand or do Rochester again. We’ve got our hands full just trying to keep this thing open.