Wonder where she’s going? A look into Danielle Benjamin of Wandercuse

When her fingers aren’t flying furiously over the keyboard of her laptop or phone, Danielle Benjamin is on the road collecting stories.

“There’s a lot of different pieces that are moving around,” said Benjamin, writer and creator of Wandercuse, a food and travel social media blog that features hidden gems around Syracuse and Central New York. 

As a means to keep her loved ones updated on her life abroad, the Syracuse native and SU alumni started blogging while studying for her master’s in Australia.

Before jumping into blogging full-time in 2021, Benjamin overcame incidents that “flipped our worlds upside down,” she said. 

Her cousin was diagnosed with cancer and not long after, in 2020, her brother-in-law committed suicide. 

Up until then, she’d been working at the English Language Institute at SU, where she said she loved teaching international students about the area: what to do, where to go, what to eat and drink. 

Going through those losses inspired her to figure out what she wanted to do with her life and pursue her passion: Wandercuse, creating content and managing social media for the New York State Brewery Association and a board game publisher. She also puts on an annual volleyball tournament to fundraise for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  

With the mixture of job titles, sometimes Benjamin is focused on content for her personal socials, which have amassed 13,500 followers on Instagram and 4,500 on TikTok. Other times, she’s working on projects for clients. Often, she said she finds herself going in waves of anticipation for annual events. 

“Finding a balance would be ideal,” said Benjamin. “I just have to figure that out.” 

In the summer, she travels across Central New York for content, September she focuses on fundraising and the winter quiets down so she can write. For the past 12 days, she covered the New York State Fair as clients requested Benjamin to highlight their food and specials. 

Her second most viral video on TikTok (with over 800,000 views) features the chocolate chip cookies from The Bake Lab, owned by downtown Syracuse bakery Sweet Praxis, at the 2024 State Fair. Benjamin said the owner’s dad told her that kids came up to the booth wanting to try the cookies after seeing the trending TikTok video.

“[My] big angle is really promoting local and supporting local,” she said. 

One way Benjamin spotlights local gems is through her passport program, which she started around 2023. She partners with neighborhood restaurants, stores, museums, wineries and breweries to provide passport holders with an incentive, such as discounts or free admission for visiting these businesses. 

Over 100 companies are a part of the collaboration, including popular spots such as Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and Salt City Coffee. 

Benjamin said participants have told her that they never knew some of these places existed and how they’ll have to check them out. 

“People seem to have a certain trust in their local influencer in a way that they don’t just automatically trust a business,” said Alexis Colton, marketing and event manager at Talking Cursive Brewery. 

Colton handles the brewery’s social media, but has worked with Benjamin to promote special events, such as a beef contest hosted by New York Beef Council. Beyond collaboration, Colton said Benjamin will publicize the brewery through a customer lens on the Wandercuse Instagram or TikTok. She did this when Talking Cursive hosted a ‘90s themed brunch, putting the brewery in front of more people. 

“In an industry that is down overall 20-30%,” said Colton, “We’ve had two of our best years.”

Becca Flint, the community engagement and relations specialist at the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, who has worked with content creators like Benjamin shared similar insights. The Committee works to bolster businesses nestled within the 82 blocks to strengthen downtown’s economic base.  

“We’ve gotten feedback from local business owners after we’ve done a collaboration with a content creator and they’ve seen such a positive impact,” said Flint. She also added that it included increased foot traffic and online following. 

Outside of boosting the economy, Benjamin finds herself tiptoeing for balance. As someone who does both freelance and social media work, Benjamin explained how it’s all storytelling. For her it boils down to the angle she’s writing in and who she is writing for, as expectations differ depending on situation and interactions. 

“It’s like a fuzzy Venn diagram,” she said. 

No matter what hatBenjamin wears, one thing is for certain: her love of Syracuse and the continued choice to showcase the city online. 

“You can get a taste of so many different types of landscapes and lifestyles,” she said, “but still have this as your home base.”