Hungry Chuck’s up for lease, only open for special events

The building that houses Hungry Chuck’s is officially up for lease, Christopher Snyder of University Hill Realty confirmed with The Daily Orange. The bar will still be open, but only for special events, Snyder said.

After the bar’s original location at 727 South Crouse Avenue closed in 2017, owner Steve Theobald reopened the bar in August 2022 at 135 Marshall Street, just steps from its old home. Since the Marshall location opened, the bar has struggled financially.

“It’s a tough time,” Theobald previously told syracuse.com. “I thought that once all these bans on restaurants and bars doing business (during the pandemic) were over, things would come back with a roar. But that’s not happening.”

In a presentation Snyder sent The D.O., the current Hungry Chuck’s space could be divided up for three different tenants. None of the plans show that the bar’s neighbor, Insomnia Cookies, would be impacted by Chuck’s closure.

Theobald created a GoFundMe titled “Save Chuck’s Future” in April, but it failed to reach its summer goal of $150,000. The final goal for the fundraiser was $550,000, but as of Wednesday, the fund has only raised $1,105 over 24 donations. Theobald did not respond to The D.O. after multiple requests for comment.

“Once we re-opened, markedly reduced attendance at Dome games, and Covid-changed socializing patterns of the student body, resulted in revenues that failed to match projections based on historic revenue figures,” the bar wrote on its GoFundMe page.

Hungry Chuck’s faced even more financial trouble in July when the UFC sued the bar, claiming it was illegally broadcasting fights. On January 20, the bar posted a “UFC Fight Night” flyer on its Instagram, charging a $5 cover. The post is still online as of Aug. 23. The UFC is looking for $110,000 in damages from both the bar and Theobald, syracuse.com reported in July.