Syracuse, N.Y. — It's been less than a month since Eddie Lumpkin transferred to Syracuse University, and although basketball season is still five months away, the 6-foot-11 center is already thriving off the court in his new environment.
On Saturday, Lumpkin and his friend Antoine Smith opened a temporary cloud kitchen, serving up dishes like fried catfish, fried shrimp and lamb chops served with Cajun pasta to residents on the city's north side for one night only.
Lumpkin and Smith operated under the name “We Snapping” out of the kitchen of the former Antonio's restaurant on North Salina Street, with Smith running the kitchen and Lumpkin keeping a close eye on what went on inside the restaurant.
“Can Eddie cook?” Smith repeated the question as he stirred the Cajun sauce that he was mixing with the penne pasta. “I don't think he's a cook. He's a taster. He comes up with ideas. The Eddie Lumpkin dry rub was his idea. He came up with it and I put it together.”
The duo of Lumpkin, a tall basketball player, and Smith, 37, a self-taught cook, formed last year while Lumpkin was playing for the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Smith had lived in Boulder for nine years and had bonded with Colorado's football and basketball teams through his homemade cooking.
Lumpkin became familiar with Smith's cooking as soon as he arrived in Boulder last year.
“My barber told me about him,” says Lumpkin, who went to Smith's shop and quickly became a fan. “I would go to his house every day. He makes something different every day.”
Smith began cooking after he couldn't find the Southern-style food he enjoyed growing up in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
“When I moved to Colorado, the food wasn't Southern food,” Smith says. “I wanted to change what I was eating, so I started learning more and more.”
He watched cooking videos on YouTube and Instagram, opened a cloud kitchen and started fulfilling takeaway orders.
“At first, I was cooking at home for all the players, making one main dish and one side dish each,” he says. “The day I made crab legs, Eddie decided to tap in. He pulled up and I delivered them to him. He ate a bit while I carried the rest. We got to talking, and the rest is really history.”
Lumpkin and Smith began a collaboration, with Lumpkin's input including the inspiration for Eddie's Dry Rub, which Smith describes as “a different type of lemon pepper.”
It's an alliance that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago: Until very recently, the NCAA didn't allow college athletes to conduct business or make money off of their name, image or likeness.
Now, Lumpkin and Smith have a shared goal of opening a restaurant in Syracuse.
“I've always wanted to have my own restaurant, but I don't want to cook,” Lumpkin said. “If I knew someone who could cook, I would want to own a restaurant.”
Saturday's event was a test run of sorts: Smith traveled all the way from Colorado to organize it, then returned to Boulder on Sunday.
But he expects to return to Syracuse.
“The moment I met Eddie, we clicked immediately,” Smith said. “He had the same vision as me, and that's what brought me here.”
“I wanted to see if people like it here and hopefully open a restaurant here soon,” Lumpkin said. “My goal is to find a kitchen, build it and have a proper place.”
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