A Quick Story At Faegan’s Pub, The Perfect Spot For Students, Faculty, And Townspeople
Most school days for a Syracuse graduate student consist of going to class, listening to the professor lecture for an extended amount of time, then moving on with the rest of the day. More often than not, we are forced to learn in confined spaces such as classrooms and lecture halls, as there are certain benefits from putting inquisitive people all in one room to learn from an expert. Luckily for me and my EDU 603 classmates, Professor Susan Thomas likes to think outside the box, allowing us to interact in the Syracuse community while advancing our understanding of qualitative research.
Professor Thomas tasked us to take observation field notes with a partner in any part of Syracuse within walking distance of the classroom. Two of my classmates and I decided to conduct this exercise at Faegan’s Café and Pub, as it was a mere three or four minutes away from Whitman. Once we arrived at Faegan’s we all decided to sit at the bar, as there was no open seats available to spread out- it was pretty packed!
The best way to describe the layout of Faegan’s would probably involve explaining the types of seating available to customers: bar top, tables, or booths. Each of these seating arrangements (that you would typically find in most other restaurants that serve alcohol) had a mundane look to it, as all tabletops and chairs were primarily made of wood, giving a boring, brown aesthetic. But this look did not seem to bother or influence any customer’s experience, as many people were coming and going after being served and paying out. Depending on the group size, customers had a plethora of different experiences.
At the bar, you either saw a person casually eating/drinking alone or two people talking to each other over some drinks. Those who were alone were always looking at their smartphones in between bites/sips, probably enjoying some solitude after a long day. The bartenders were less likely to offer refills to those who were alone, even though there was no verbal conversation to interrupt when interacting with them. Like myself, alone customers typically rejected refills, as they weren’t trying to drink too much.
On the flip side, people at the bar who had a friend/partner to talk to were more easy going, and happy to interact with the world outside their smartphone. Rather than immediate rejection, people among friends at the bar would actually hesitate before answering if they wanted a refill, more often than agreeing to another drink. This could likely be due to the fact that alcoholic drinks act as a social lubricant, and interacting with friends over a beer leads to more fun conversations. Perhaps this could be good insight for a bartender to gather further research on, as it could drive sales and gratuity their way.
At the tables, I typically observed larger groups (3-4 people) sitting together over some food, probably eating dinner. The specific group of people sitting behind me were all Caucasian men at least 35-years-old and above, chatting it up with their winter coats off (those who sat at the bar or booth usually kept their coats on). It was pretty loud so I was unable to eavesdrop on their conversation successfully, but they seemed to be relaxed, meaning the conversation must have been laid back. To my understanding, people who sat at tables were more social, and even stuck around the restaurant longer than those at the bar.
At the booths, I mainly observed people sitting alone. Unlike bar sitters, booth sitters brought a personal laptop and remained focused on that screen, convincing me to think they were doing homework or were busy. Booth sitters who had a friend with them seemed more reserved than table sitters, almost as though the booth facilitated a more intimate scene.
Altogether, these seating arrangements provide Faegan’s with a dynamic eating experience that makes all types of customers in this college town satisfied. As I was drinking my own glass of red wine and documenting my field notes, the bartender didn’t bother me once asking if I wanted another drink or if I was all set. Rather, I believe he assumed I was a college student casually getting some work done on a Wednesday evening. The Faegan’s staff and their ability to adapt their customer service to different segments shows they are pretty aware of their market, and the various activities I took note of helped my understanding of this.
Overall, I felt reluctant to leave my comfort zone and conduct this trial of gathering field notes in an actual communal space. After sitting down and truly dissecting the intricacies of how the Faegan’s environment was shaped, I feel more prepared to conduct observational research on DOodle the NEWS, my own multimedia educational startup. My field site will differ completely than the likes of Faegan’s, but the process of gathering qualitative data on a subset of people is a transferable skill I am happy I had the opportunity to earn. It’s lessons like these that truly show you the power of qualitative research, and I hope to find even more astounding phenomena in my own area of interest.
If you ever need a place to relax, get some work done, or chat it up with friends, Faegan’s is the right place for you. If you want a reliable source of bite-sized, revolutionary journalism, check out DOodle the NEWS! We just updated our site layout. Let us know what you think!
He has been published across a wide variety of media outlets, including Sports Illustrated, the Cornell Daily Sun, SportTechie, Clutchpoints, Cavs Nation, the Cornell Chronicle, and many more.
Tobe has a plethora of hobbies, including writing, athletics, drawing, acting, and collaborating with others about ideas and startups working in the multimedia space.