Whole in the Wall, a restaurant at 43 South Washington
Street in the Southbridge section of Binghamton, has been serving up dishes
that make its customers salivate since 1980. Co-Founder and senior partner Eliot Fiks
has taken an approach that emphasizes buying quality ingredients from local
vendors. Whole in the Wall is adding a new wrinkle to their restaurant:
starting December 4th, their hours of operation will change to
Wednesdays through Saturdays from 11 AM to 10 PM to accommodate greater demand
from customers.
Some of the menu items at Whole in the Wall have become
especially popular, says junior partner Stacey Gould. She holds up their creamy
mushroom soup as a fan favorite. Indeed, the author can confirm that the soup
is delicious. In addition, the restaurant boasts that it makes delicious
whole-wheat garlic balls on-site.
Stacey insists that a big part of Whole in the Wall’s
success is the quality of their food. Whole in the Wall's menu is
comprised entirely of unprocessed items. Instead of using processed white rice
and corn syrup, Whole in the Wall uses brown rice, local honey and maple syrup.
According to Stacy, these “good, clean ingredients” are “good for you, but also
delicious.”
In addition to the restaurant, Whole in the Wall has
operated a pesto business since 1994. The pesto business has been very
successful; Fiks and Gould have been making sales all over the U.S. Whole in
the Wall does most of its pesto sales on the Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest.
One reason for opening the pesto business was to diversify Whole in the Wall’s
revenue streams, says Stacey.
In addition to the pesto business, Whole in the Wall is
attempting to start selling its soups and garlic balls online. Stacey says many
Binghamton University students who ultimately move from Binghamton after
graduation will want to continue to eat Whole in the Wall’s flavorful meals.
Setting up an online retail operation will make it much easier for students to
keep patronizing the restaurant, even if they’re hundreds of miles away.
Eliot Fiks started Whole in the Wall in 1980 after attending
Binghamton University. Eliot had made 200 bagels daily by hand and delivered
them by bicycle to the Binghamton University Food Co-Operative. Right off the
bat, Eliot was committed to buying local; he went to local farmers for his
eggs. “He was ahead of his time,” says Stacey. To this day, Whole in the Wall
remains committed to buying local.
