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UPDATED: Jan. 24, 2022 at 7:42 p.m.

Thanh Nguyen, a worker at Cake Bar who helps the owner, Duyen Nguyen, decorate cakes, said deciding to accept the Off-Campus Meal Plan cards was fairly simple.

“We want to benefit SU students when they come here,” Thanh said.

The Cake Bar is one vendor in a diverse array of food selections like Jamaican, Vietnamese, Thai and soul food at Salt City Market on South Salina Street. The open space is constantly bustling with people from all over central New York who visit the market’s restaurants, which include Erma’s Island, Miss Prissy’s and Mamma Hai. Known for its delicious pastries and complex decorated cakes, Cake Bar recently announced that SU students can use the Off-Campus Meal Plan cards at the bakery.

Alena Sober, a freshman at SU, has been to Salt City Market multiple times in her first semester.

“It is an exciting atmosphere and a good place to be with friends,” Sober said. She is interested in heading back and is looking to try new pastries, including the Cake Bar’s Castella Caramel Flan.

Cake Bar offers plenty of other sweet treats, including two of its menu items that Thanh said draw repeat customers: the Lotus Biscoff Cake, made of chocolate cake with buttercream and caramel, and its original milk tea with boba. Cake Bar has been busier than usual during the past couple of weeks because of more people requesting custom cakes, Thanh said.

The Cake Bar owner hopes that SU students will be visiting regularly as they prepare for Valentine’s Day. The holiday is one of the bakery’s busiest days of the year, as it receives a multitude of design requests. Duyen also plans to create some new confections at the bakery in upcoming months.

Nguy is currently planning to open another Cake Bar location on Marshall Street which will also accept meal plan cards.
Meghan Hendericks | Photo Editor

Thanh’s goal of building a community through cake became a reality as she serves locals every day, she said. She has become friendly with many customers who work in local businesses nearby and said that it’s one of her favorite aspects of working there.

“There are always new customers, however, many shop there regularly,” she said.

SU freshman Katrina Dela Rosa has been wanting to go to the Cake Bar at Salt City Market for a while.

“(Salt City Market is) a great hangout for friends when in downtown Syracuse,” Dela Rosa said. She believes that the location is a little too far to attend on a regular basis, though.

Duyen has more in store for SU students. She’s planning to open another Cake Bar location on Marshall Street, which will continue to accept the Off-Campus Meal Plan cards. This came after Duyen realized Salt City Market isn’t very close to campus and may be inconvenient for students.

Thanh said the plan is exciting for Cake Bar, as this would be the business’s own independent location.

“This is all for the students,” she said.

CORRECTIONS: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that Cake Bar accepts SU meal plans. Car Bar accepts Off-Campus Meal Plan, a food service unaffiliated with the university but geared toward SU students. A previous version of this post also misstated that Cake Bar had a meeting with SU’s cafeteria services. The Daily Orange regrets these errors.

Published on January 24, 2022 at 1:32 am