Ask Cindy Baker if she misses McShane’s, the bar and restaurant in East Syracuse she owned and operated for more than a decade, and her answer is a decided “no.”
She doesn’t miss juggling the duties of running both a restaurant and a bar. She doesn’t miss trying to draw diners to a restaurant off the beaten path in the eastern suburbs of Syracuse. She doesn’t miss worrying about the restaurant’s future.
She does miss planning menus and dinner specials, greeting customers who became friends and the satisfaction that comes with getting a “thumbs up” from diners when they taste McShane’s secret recipe chicken or her traditional, tangy sauerbraten. For her next chapter, Baker will take a piece of McShane’s on the road — the signature seasoned chicken, along with some new dishes — as The Chicken Bandit, a food truck in progress.
Baker and her partner, Dennis Souva, are in the final stages of preparing The Chicken Bandit for its first season on the summer circuit in Central New York. They purchased a 19-foot former utility truck, which has spent the winter being gutted and remodeled at Master Chef, in Brooklyn, to include a custom kitchen, ventilation system and service windows on each side. Next stop is Voss Signs, for final exterior touches, including an eye-catching vehicle wrap.
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“It’s coming together,” Souva says. “Cindy has been testing recipes… I’ve been tasting the recipes.”Souva has been designing signs and menu boards and handling many of the “mundane business details,” including permits, applications and licenses, that come with getting a food truck road ready.’ Several regular locations for Chicken Bandit presence are pending, and they have booked several private parties already.
Margaret McCormick is a freelance writer and editor in Syracuse. She blogs about food at http://eatfirst.typepad.com. Follow her on Twitter at @mmccormickcny