For almost 20 years, Matt Friedman has come back to Syracuse University for the WJPZ Birthday Banquet & Reunion Weekend. Each year, Friedman and other alumni of the student-run radio station have a standing reservation for brunch at Cosmos Pizza & Grill as a cap to the end of the weekend. And he looks forward to one item in particular — the toasted honey bun.

Friedman a 1994 alumnus of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and alumnus of WJPZ-FM, known around campus as Z89 Radio. Although he will no longer be able to have the toasted honey bun at Cosmos, as the infamous restaurant closed last May, Friedman and his fellow WJPZ alumni will not be completely at a loss — toasted honey buns are now available at Varsity Pizza.

Diana Hester, the manager of Varsity Pizza, said she was aware that Cosmos had the buns on their menu and a lot of people wanted them back.

“I said, ‘Well, maybe we should try it here,’” Hester said. “Regulars that used to go to Cosmos said they’d love them, so we thought we’d carry on the tradition.”

Varsity’s honey buns are ordered from Brighton Bakery, the same place as Cosmos, and made in a similar fashion — they are sliced in half, buttered and stuck on the grill for a treat that is available to customers for $2.

Brian Saum, a line cook at Varsity, said the owner wanted to put the toasted honey bun on his menu because “it looked delicious.”

“It’s easy to execute, and it’s like a donut,” Saum said. “People like donuts. It’s glazed, it’s cooked — it’s just delicious.”

Friedman followed the news surrounding Cosmos throughout the summer and said he started to realize that part of his history was changing. He said what started as a cheap, great tasting dessert soon became part of a shared experience with his friends and colleagues.

The toasted honey bun stood as a beacon of nostalgia for his days as an undergraduate.

As much as he enjoys the food at Varsity, Friedman said he’ll always miss Cosmos’ menu items such as the crinkle fries, the State Fair Cheese Steak Sandwich and, of course, the toasted honey bun. But Friedman said he’s glad one classic is here to stick around.

“If the owner of Varsity called me and said, ‘We can save one thing,’ I would’ve said the THB,” Friedman said.

Juniors Erica Bodt and Kelly Cross are long-time customers of Varsity. They had never heard of the toasted honey bun, but said they’d both be interested in trying it.

“I think that’s a bold move for them to take it from them,” said Bodt, an English and textual studies major. “But if it’s really popular, like, why not, you know? Why not keep the tradition?”

Cross, a public relations major, said she loves eating out for breakfast and she’d love to get the toasted honey bun during her next brunch trip to Marshall Street.

Since the closing of Cosmos, Friedman said Varsity has become the standard of tradition on Marshall Street.

“A lot of alumni are really happy to have that comfort still around when we go back,” Friedman said. “The new chain places could be anywhere — it doesn’t feel like you’re in Syracuse. But when you’re in Varsity, you know where (you) are. It feels like home.”

Published on October 28, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Madysan: mgfoltz@syr.edu | @madysangabriele