{"id":2076,"date":"2018-09-28T09:00:12","date_gmt":"2018-09-28T13:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2076"},"modified":"2018-09-28T15:59:31","modified_gmt":"2018-09-28T19:59:31","slug":"the-fish-friar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2076","title":{"rendered":"The Fish Friar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bringing Fresh Seafood Downtown<\/em><\/h1>\n

By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Steven J. Pallone<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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When The Fish Friar co-owner, Giovanni Giardina, began his career in the Syracuse restaurant industry at Alto Cinco, he was asked why he wanted to join the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to open up my own restaurant one day,\u201d he answered.<\/p>\n

He spent the next several years learning the ins and outs of the industry and, in 2013, helped open Otro Cinco in downtown Syracuse.<\/p>\n

Then, in April 2017, his dream became a reality when he opened The Fish Friar at 239 E. Genesee St., Syracuse.<\/p>\n

With a simple menu of fresh seafood cuisine paired with craft beer and wines, the restaurant\u2019s mission is \u201cto bring super-fresh, wild-caught seafood from the coast of Maine to Syracuse,\u201d according to its website.<\/p>\n

Along with influence from his family and upbringing, Giovanni was drawn to specializing in fresh seafood because he found that locally \u201cthere\u2019s nowhere to get fried fish and sit down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Once the location was found, Giovanni and co-owner Phillip Kelly got to work creating the design and atmosphere of the eatery. They aimed to keep things clean and simple, complimenting the existing tin ceiling with dark wood floors, wooden tables crafted from countertops and white walls.<\/p>\n

In terms of the menu creation and sourcing, Giovanni knew the foundation of the menu would be breaded fish, shipped a couple times a week from Maine and never frozen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat gives people who want fresh seafood the sense that this is pure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Fish Friar\u2019s unique specialty is what brought the restaurant\u2019s general manager, Derek Spanfelner, on board.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was part of my appeal for joining up here,\u201d he said, \u201cthat there was a niche that hadn\u2019t been explored in Syracuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Derek brought knowledge of craft beer and fine wines to the table when he joined the team. He\u2019s worked to create relationships with local brewers, which have led to pairing events at the restaurant. Check The Fish Friar\u2019s Facebook page for upcoming events.<\/p>\n

When the team opened the restaurant, they strove to create a place not just customers would love, but staff, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one big team,\u201d Derek said, explaining that they aim for as little separation as possible between staff who create the food and those who serve it.<\/p>\n

Many members of the team are even cross-trained, including prep cook Lauran Faes.<\/p>\n

Lauran actually became familiar with The Fish Friar as a customer. She loved the environment so much that she eventually asked to join the team.<\/p>\n

What drew her was the \u201cthe whole idea: the fresh seafood, the sustainability of it,\u201d she said. \u201cI just loved the whole infrastructure of it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Lauran and the team make everything from menu items to the restaurant\u2019s specials, which are often based on what they find at the market that morning.<\/p>\n

They also partner with other downtown restaurants to create off-menu specials. It\u2019s a community of neighbors they\u2019re excited to collaborate with.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cool because we\u2019re helping each other grow. We\u2019re here doing this together. It doesn\u2019t feel competitive to me,\u201d Derek said. \u201cWe\u2019re all building downtown together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s helping each other,\u201d Giovanni agreed. SWM <\/em><\/p>\n

The Fish Friar is located at 239 E. Genesee St. in downtown Syracuse. For menus and specials, hours, events and more, visit thefishfriar.com<\/a> or facebook.com\/thefishfriar<\/a>. You can also connect with them on Instagram @thefishfriar.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bringing Fresh Seafood Downtown By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Steven J. Pallone\u00a0 When The Fish Friar co-owner, Giovanni Giardina, began his career in the Syracuse restaurant industry at Alto Cinco, he was asked why he wanted to join the team. \u201cI want to open up my own restaurant one day,\u201d he answered. He spent…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[133,695,134,175,262,696,694],"class_list":["post-2076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-lorna-oppedisano","tag-october-2018","tag-steven-j-pallone","tag-syracuse-eats","tag-syracuse-woman-magazine","tag-the-fish-friar","tag-the-pink-edition"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_0082.jpg?fit=5760%2C3840&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1825,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1825","url_meta":{"origin":2076,"position":0},"title":"Daniella’s Steakhouse","author":"Staff","date":"May 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Story of the Small Steak House\u00a0 By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Steven J. 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