When it opens later this fall, the newest food vendor at downtown Syracuse’s Salt City Market will also be the first to serve Indian cuisine.
Masala Heaven, owned by Gary Singh, will take over the spot vacated in August by Firecracker Thai Kitchen.
It will be the second Masala Heaven in the area, joining the restaurant that opened on Frontage Road in Cicero in January. Singh also operates the Masala Heaven on Wheels food truck.
The Masala Heaven in Cicero quickly gained a reputation for its large daily buffet. The downtown location will offer “a similar but pared-down menu geared toward the Salt City Market’s fast-casual format,” according to a news release from market spokesperson CJ Butler.
It will be called Masala Heaven Express.
The Salt City Market food hall opened in January 2021 at 484 S. Salina St., across from the Marriott Syracuse Downtown hotel. The market is operated by the nonprofit Allyn Family Foundation’s Syracuse Urban Partnership.
It has room for 10 vendors, from those with full kitchens to a few smaller stands. Firecracker was one of the market’s original full-service food stands.
One of the smaller spaces is currently vacant, but should be filled with a new vendor later this year, Butler said.
Several vendors have come and gone since the food hall opened, sometimes because the owners have moved into their own standalone locations. They have served cuisines ranging from American soul food to Vietnamese, Middle Eastern, Mexican and more.
This will be the first with an Indian / South Asian menu.
“Indian food has been high on the list of cuisines customers have wanted to see since the inception of the market,” Maarten Jacobs, the market’s executive director, said in the news release. “It’s exciting to bring our first South Asian concept into the market mix while showing that we’re always listening to our customers’ wants.”
On its web site, Masala Heaven says it “offers a delightful fusion of traditional Indian flavors and modern American culinary influences.”
“I was interested in opening a location in Downtown Syracuse, and was excited to learn more about the Salt City Market,” Singh said in the news release. “When a vacancy in the market came, it felt like the perfect opportunity for our business to grow stronger.”
The Salt City Market is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday.