Despite Reports and Rumors, King David's-Chipotle Deal Not Yet Complete

King David's Restaurant, a familiar Marshall Street sight for the past 36 years, has been in the Univeristy news lately with rumors floating that Chipotle, a popular Mexican food restaurant chain, would be taking over the coveted Marshall Street location.

"We haven't made a deal yet," owner Milad Hetem said. "We're almost there, but not yet. We're studying the lease agreement still, we have been since May. But no, we haven't come to an agreement."

That's good news for the loyal patrons of the middle-eastern restaurant that's been on Marshall Street since 1974 when Mr. Hetem stopped his dry-cleaning business and decided to try out owning a restaurant. What emerged from this departure has been, with the exception of Varsity and the University itself, a constant in Syracuse amid its constant change. This center of gravity has meant a lot to the University itself, adding to the culture and ethos of an updating Marshall Street.

Mr. Hetem, now 76 years old, has grown his family and his business around this location, and a few years ago opened a stand-alone restaurant in Fayetteville. He admits he prefers a location that stands alone, because Marshall Street is terrible for parking and he feels that a location that was the restaurant's alone, with a parking lot, would be good for business, like in Fayetteville. He owns the building on Marshall Street, and though it's sad to think of being elsewhere, business-wise, leasing the location makes sense.

His profits on Marshall Street have gotten smaller in the past few years as most people are paying with credit and debit these days, he says. The charges that credit card companies impose on businesses add up over time and it's quite different from the cash-heavy business he used to see in the early days of King David's.

Estimates vary that between 80 and 90% of undergraduates carry credit cards. In an $827 billion revolving credit-debit market, a market that only became viable in the late 1980s when credit card companies opened exponentially higher numbers of cards each year, credit has become a necessity to business. Today, there are more than 610 million credit cards in the United States alone, and their prevalence has affected many small businesses who now have to pay fees to get their payments processed. With supplier costs rising and credit charges increasing, small businesses feel the pinch as the market shifts to adapt to these new trends.

Hetem loves the business, though. He loves to make food, to see the same people, to have a relationship with an area as diverse as the University. Sometimes, however, businessmen have to make business savvy choices, and negotiating a lease with an outside source is smart. He laments that Chipotle would come in and remodel the whole building, erasing the 36-year familiarity of the location.

"I would prefer a smaller business with a similar menu," he said. "My customers don't want Chipotle to come in." But come in it may, depending on negotiations of said lease.

But don't worry, he assures people, King David's will still be a part of Syracuse. "I'm not closing the business, I'm just moving."