Salt City Coffee Selected by Le Moyne as Barb’s Bistro Partner in the McNeil Firehouse
Le Moyne College has selected Salt City Coffee as its partner to operate Barb’s Bistro that will open in the McNeil Firehouse in late summer. Thanks to the generosity of Dan McNeil III ’77 and additional funds provided by New York State Senator Rachel May, the College is currently renovating the building. Officially called “Barb’s Bistro – Where Everybody Belongs,” the space will pay tribute to Barb Karper, who has made a tremendous impact at Le Moyne in a variety of roles over the past 50 years and is a close friend of Dan McNeil.
The first floor of the McNeil Firehouse will include Barb’s Bistro and indoor and outdoor space for public events and programming, while the College’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate program will be located on the second floor, along with a multipurpose room. The McNeil Firehouse will be an integrated community-oriented hub for mental health, wellness and the arts that will be open to members of the College community and the general public. Plans for the McNeil Firehouse were developed by a steering committee of faculty, administrators and students that reviewed a variety of possible uses for the building.
In selecting a partner, the College sought a company that would sell coffee, beverages and food in Barb’s Bistro, while creating a sense of community as well. Founded by Aaron and Maria Metthe in 2017, Salt City Coffee’s motto is “inspiring curiosity, creativity and community.” The College and Salt City Coffee will partner to provide programming for the community including music, art displays and neighborhood events. Salt City Coffee is the anchor tenant of the Salt City Market on Salina Street in Syracuse and has four other locations in the region.
The renovation of the McNeil Firehouse and its use as a gathering place for the Le Moyne community and Salt Springs residents builds on the College’s July 2023 acquisition of 20 houses in the neighborhood. In 2024, the City of Syracuse announced a 10-year, multi-million dollar investment strategy in the neighborhood for housing and other initiatives. As a neighborhood anchor institution, the College has worked to strengthen its relationships with the Elmcrest Children’s Center, H.W. Smith Elementary School and the Soule Branch Library.
Built in 1929, the McNeil Firehouse, located on the western edge of Le Moyne’s campus, has a storied history. Operating for decades as a functioning firehouse, in the mid-1970s Le Moyne bought the property from the city. For 22 years starting in 1977, the firehouse housed the College’s Theatre Program until it moved to the W. Carroll Coyne Center for the Performing Arts in 1999. In 2003, an individual purchased the firehouse and the building remaining largely unchanged until the College reacquired it in 2019.
