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A hush fell over the crowd at the Halloween-decorated Recess Coffee Tipperary Hill as the night’s trivia host started round two – scary movies, “just in time for spooky season.” As the host asked about Michael Myers movies and what time the clock stopped in “The Conjuring,” teams huddled over their tables. High-fives were exchanged when one team finally got the answer.

“It’s an excuse to get together with friends. Monday night, there’s not much going on. It’s a fun thing to do,” said Chuck Gwynn, a member of the winning team that evening: “Jay’s Latte.”

Syracuse Trivia Company puts on events from Monday through Thursday. The company, founded in 2011, has hosts and regulars at their many locations around Syracuse. Recess is among the 42 venues in the Syracuse area.

Brian Cocca, the president and founder of Syracuse Trivia Company, started going to trivia events with his roommates when he lived in Philadelphia. After moving to Syracuse, he couldn’t find a consistent trivia night. So in 2009, Brian decided to host trivia nights.

“Then a couple of years later, I was like ‘Well, either I stop doing this or I turn it into a business,’” Cocca said. “And I just decided to turn it into a business, and we doubled our places every year for a few years.”

Most venues approach Syracuse Trivia and tell Cocca their business is interested in hosting a trivia night. Having events four nights every week helps the venues out on their slow days and sometimes fills their space entirely, Cocca said.

Syracuse Trivia Company got its start at Coleman’s Authentic Irish Pub, where Cocca still hosts. Now, for each of their locations, the company trains new hosts and also comes up with different questions every week.

“We do once a week. Everyone knows. You can look forward to it,” Cocca said. “It’s Tuesday. It’s trivia night, and then the rest of the week keeps going.”

Each location has a different vibe, said Christina Minenna, trivia host at Green Lakes Lanes & Restaurant. At Harvey’s Garden, it can get quite loud, especially with its high ceilings, whereas Laci’s Tapas Bar has a more mellow feel, Cocca said.

Joe Zhao | Assistant Photo Editor

Syracuse Trivia’s original venue was Coleman’s Authentic Irish Pub. The company has now expanded over 40 locations.
Joe Zhao | Assistant Photo Editor

Sean Donlon, a host for every night of Syracuse Trivia at various locations, said he remembers when it started at Stingers Pizza Pub. He went to play for the first time as a middle schooler and now hosts there on Wednesdays.

“When you’re a player, you’re just there to have fun,” Donlon said. “You can take it as seriously or not as seriously as you want to. But as the host, obviously, there’s more responsibility. You’re the one who tries to make everyone there have a good time.”

Hosts also get to know the crowd, especially if their locations have regulars, Minenna said. Donlon was offered to officiate the wedding of a couple who regularly comes to one of his locations.

For attendees, it’s an alternative to sitting around at friends’ houses, Cocca said. Teams will originate from either lifelong friends, neighbors or people they met through the trivia nights.

“Airport Mom Energy” is made up of a group of friends at East Syracuse Minoa Central High School, team member Molly Lawson said. At Coleman’s, Cocca watched a different trivia team come together by simply meeting there a year ago.

The variety of questions helps appeal to a diverse audience, too. Tessa Maddaloni, a junior at Syracuse University, said there are people of all ages at Harvey’s. Being in Syracuse, it’s important to reflect the variety of players in the questions, Donlon said.

Fernanda Kligerman | Design Editor

“I feel like we can bond together, and we’re not really like interacting with them,” Maddaloni said. “But it’s just cute that there are so many different ages.”

Everyone can answer different types of questions too. Jessica Gwynn, who is a part of “Jay’s Latte,” enjoys seeing “little pockets” of everyone’s knowledge, sometimes getting into arguments over the answers.

“Sometimes you’re going to hear things, and you’re like, ‘I’ve never heard of that.’ And other people are like, ‘Are you kidding? That was the easiest question I’ve ever heard,’” Cocca said. “So we’re just trying to always keep the audience in mind.”

These questions can also be a way to start a conversation with the hosts. They create an atmosphere where people tell them about a specific trivia night, a moment Cocca refers to as “that night.”

His term “that night” may include when someone tells him about a confusing question or a team argument. Other times, people will come up to Cocca with questions they relate to, like when he asked about Santorini, Greece, and a player came up to him and told him about an amazing time they had there. Personal connections like that draw the audience to come in for trivia weekly rather than watching or playing virtually, Cocca said.

“There’s not much to do otherwise around Syracuse, especially in winter,” Minenna said. “Just the aspect of bringing everyone together is the best part for me.”

Published on October 24, 2023 at 11:09 pm

Contact Rosina: rlboehm@syr.edu