With yet another new shop opening up in downtown, Syracuse’s Café Kubal is more popular than it’s ever been.

The news comes after the announcement that the business will open up a location in the newly renovated Hotel Syracuse, bringing the budding coffee empire’s total number of shops to five and creating 10 more local jobs, according to Syracuse.com.

Café Kubal’s business strategy of tastefully capitalizing on Syracuse-oriented branding and strategic choice of location are the roots of the company’s proliferation throughout Syracuse and neighboring townships, proving that it’s possible for a small, local business to organically “make it.”

One of the most interesting points about Kubal’s expansion is its choice of venues, considering that in both past and future, they are centered around key Syracuse locations. By making its mark at the The Hotel Syracuse, Marshall Square Mall and the newest location in the new Creekwalk Commons, across from the National Grid headquarters, Café Kubal is successfully integrating itself into Syracuse culture.

By making its brand synonymous with Syracuse landmarks, Kubal has differentiated itself from other companies by simply blending in.

You go to the historic Syracuse hotel, Kubal is there. University students, many of whom are seeing Syracuse for the first time, have a Kubal within walking distance of campus just past Marshall Street. The newest café downtown is even going as far as to mimic the locally popular Art Deco–style of the National Grid building. The latter being the clearest evidence that Kubal is making a conscious effort to become an integral part of the city while driving revenue.

This gives Kubal an edge in competing with other coffee giants — including Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Tim Hortons and a few other local, independent coffee shops — by creating a business-savvy blend of uniqueness and familiarity that cannot be found in other corporate locales.

Patrons to Kubal certainly agree with this and have a reason to keep coming back.

Syracuse University junior and French major Grace Hildreth explained that Kubal “is a nice quaint place to relax and meet with people,” a primary reason why the Kubal continues to have her business and can stand toe to toe with its busier neighbor Starbucks.

This emphasis on standing out in the market has been a nearly decade-long project since the café gained early attention in the city as they were one of the first venues to bring a special brewing technique, the pour-over brewing method, to central New York.

And by building off success in Syracuse, Kubal has been able to expand past the “Salt City,” an important marker.

In addition to their daily onsite operations, the café has begun selling their special roast in wholesale packages all over the city and county appearing in a variety of local restaurants and grocers. The fact that this coffee is even viable in a wholesale market shows that the café has a strong core branding in a quality product that can be marketed to Syracuse consumers. In this way, the local location brands the product and the local product successfully reinforces the location.

It is no secret that Syracuse is packed with coffee shops, both large and small. But Kubal has navigated this successfully branding venture by taking the high road and fully embracing a source of beans that is both responsible and just.

The aptly named Fair Trade Movement focuses on cutting out the middle man of the coffee trade and returning the savings to the underpaid growers. And by taking this extra step for a positive view in the public and college student eye, Kubal has been able to stand out in a crowded market.

By remaining Syracuse-conscious throughout the chain of production, Café Kubal provides us with a prime example of all the right things a local business should do to succeed by striving to create a unique product that stands on its own among competitors.

From the café itself, to a wholesale product for people’s homes and even offering classes on their brewing method, Kubal’s newest shop is proof that the coffee shop is here to stay by engaging with the community on multiple fronts — proving that it’s possible for local businesses to thrive in recovering economies like Syracuse.

Theo Horn is a sophomore political science and public policy dual major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at tahorn@syr.edu.

Published on February 9, 2016 at 12:47 am