Walking around the north end of Syracuse on a snowy day, Adam Sudmann was struck by the variety of cultures he saw. He realized he could do something to help incorporate these cultures into the community.

And the way that he would do this is through food.

Soon after arriving in Syracuse in late 2013, Sudmann started his own business. My Lucky Tummy hosts potluck-style parties where people cook and share the distinct cuisines of their home countries.

Now, he has been hired by the Onondaga Community College Food Service Management Program to run Penpal, a restaurant that features a rotating menu of international cuisines. The program has received a grant to help train people for jobs in permanent growing industries, and they are hoping the restaurant will do just that.

Sudmann originally came from the event and restaurant business, with his career consisting of planning high-status luxury events in New York City. When he moved to Syracuse, he found inspiration in the refugee community and specifically the cuisines they had brought from their home countries, and decided to create My Lucky Tummy.

My Lucky Tummy started out small, but eventually began to attract hundreds of people to the various potlucks. Sudmann said the events are great because they draw a diverse collection of people and bring them together over food.

Now, Sudmann is taking My Lucky Tummy’s mission a step further. Penpal is projected to open in the beginning of August, with construction finishing in early July.

The name of the restaurant, Sudmann said, refers to the idea of a “correspondence between cultures.” The first cuisine offered at the restaurant will be Pakistani, and the menu is set to change every six months.

The restaurant is going to draw many of its employees from refugee resettlement organizations. Sudmann said:

Refugees often get into very low-level jobs that they typically never move up from, Sudmann added. He wants to take some of these people who have a desire to be in the food industry and teach them the skills they need for living-wage jobs.

They will be cross-trained for different jobs within the restaurant and also assisted with their English skills along the way if necessary.

Additionally, Sudmann said he wants Penpal to be an “entrepreneur incubator.” He will be looking for individuals who want to start their own restaurant but maybe have had trouble gaining their footing in the transition to a new country.

He also hopes to fight the negative stigma surrounding refugees and immigrants by creating an atmosphere of “culture and conversation” within his restaurant.

“The refugee narrative is toxic right now,” Sudmann said.

Many refugees have been displaced by bad circumstances or warfare, he said, and so his business wants to help them find something valuable about their culture that they can find the confidence to share with others.

Sudmann believes people tend to be confused by, frightened of and separate from other cultures. He wants the restaurant to be a place where people from diverse backgrounds and experiences, different countries of origin and various points on the economic ladder can cross paths and get out of their “bubble” of comfort.

Said Sudmann: “It’s about making us a little less scared of each other, and a little more interested in each other, and seeing each other as a little more valuable.”

Published on May 1, 2016 at 9:17 pm

Contact: ajboghos@syr.edu