February 3, 2025 • 36 mins
What happens when a historic building gets a second chance and becomes a neighborhood staple? Owner Nancy Abramo joins me to share the story behind Parkside Meadow, the neighborhood pub she built from the bones of a once-infamous college bar. Nestled in Buffalo’s Parkside neighborhood, this spot isn’t just a place to grab a drink—it’s a celebration of history, community, and great food.
Nancy’s journey from a media career to owning a neighborhood restaurant is inspiring, but it wasn’t without challenges—especially opening just before the pandemic. We talk about what it means to truly know your customers, the joy of serving scratch-made meals, and why signature dishes like her shaved lamb sandwich have earned a loyal following.
We also dive into Buffalo’s ever-evolving story, from hidden historical gems inside the restaurant to the incredible moment when a 90-year-old politician discovered her campaign pin in one of the display cases.
Nancy’s passion for creating a welcoming space shines through in every detail. Join us for this episode as we talk about the heart of a neighborhood pub and the connections that make it feel like home.
Parkside Meadow
2 Russell St, Buffalo, NY 14214
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About the Host
Erik Arneth is a proud Buffalonian with a passion for promoting small local businesses through the sharing of their origin stories. He's also a real estate salesperson in the City of Good Neighbors: Buffalo, New York.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right.
Well, nancy, thank you so much,I appreciate you inviting me to
Parkside Meadow.
Yeah, thank you, and you know wetalked a little bit before this
, but really this is all aboutyour story.
You know how you got startedhere, what you were doing before
.
You know some of the thingsthat you're offering now, some
(00:20):
of your hopes and dreams for thefuture.
Whatever it is that you want toshare about that story, we'll
get into all that, but why don'twe start with just a little
introduction of who you are andyour history in Buffalo and all
that?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Well, I'm from Buffalo, born and raised.
I was married in 89 and wemoved into the Parkside
neighborhood in 89.
And we've always loved thisneighborhood.
With the park and the zoo it'sjust a nice little community.
But it's grown over the yearssince we moved in and we're
(00:56):
finding that there was a big,big need for a little local
neighborhood pub.
There was nothing in this area.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
And when did you notice that need?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
I would say pretty early on, we would say 2000,
2005.
And the reason I say that isbecause we saw this emergence of
young couples with familiesmoving in, buying houses and the
housing values were going upbecause people wanted to be next
to the zoo and the park andgood values, because these homes
(01:32):
were turning over and theycould fix them up.
And they're large and they'rehistoric.
Some of them are justabsolutely gorgeous.
So we actually went fromCrescent to Summit and we went
to Summit.
We noticed the Darwin MartinHouse was in disarray.
I mean, it wasn't even theywere just starting to fund it to
(01:53):
get it going.
And I took a docent class justto learn more about the house.
Who did you take the classthere?
I took it right through.
I went there to the MartinHouse.
Oh, okay, geez, I don't evenremember some of these names.
It was so long ago.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
I would say a good 20 years ago, because we've been
in the neighborhood 25,technically 30, almost.
So, to make a long story short,I was interested in that house
and tourism, house and tourismand I saw it grow with buses and
people from all over and morethings were being done to the
(02:30):
house to bring it back to theoriginal.
Yeah, and you know you'd hear,oh, m&t funded the fireplace,
all mosaic, just gorgeous, andit was really exciting and then.
But then it was more like, well, where do you go for lunch and
dinner?
Or walkable neighborhood, it'sa walkable community, but
there's nowhere to go.
And there was a little walkableneighborhood it's a walkable
community, but there's nowhereto go.
And there was a little coffeeshop, but it really wasn't a
coffee shop then either so youhad the zoo, you had a little
(02:52):
coffee shop, yeah, you got alittle little things going on
one little place was in and out.
once it's a pizzeria, then itwas something else and nothing
really lasted here and thisbuilding was in terrible
disarray.
It was really bad.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Was it an old bar?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
It was an old bar called the Park Meadow Okay, I
renamed it Parkside Meadow, okay.
But the Park Meadow was just abig party bar in the 70s for the
Canisius college kids.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
I think that's actually a really cool idea that
you took the old name and youkind of paid homage to that old
name.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, I didn't want to lose the historic landmark
that it was, even though it wasnegative to the neighborhood
Because they were here until 2,3 in the morning.
There were a lot of problemswith bar patrons and the
neighborhood.
Okay, so they had to surrendertheir liquor license in 1992,
(03:52):
and then the owners leased thisbuilding to many different
restaurants.
That failed and it was just nota pretty sight.
It was a horrible-lookingbuilding and there's a lot more
information on the website ofwhat my husband's dream was to
recreate this, so we bought thebuilding in 2012 yeah, yeah we
contacted the owner I kind ofknew him from different places
(04:14):
and and we just made an offerand he said okay, and then next
thing you know, three yearslater, we opened the restaurant.
Took three years, one year inthe basement because we had to
take all the debris out,disinfect.
He painted the basement floors,he built the liquor room, he
(04:36):
built the cooler, built the prepkitchen, he redid all this
stuff Like, oh my God, we had somuch electrical and plumbing
and carpentry.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
It was a much bigger project than you, carpentry and
you know it was a much biggerproject than you anticipated.
It was such a big project, yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
And he's like, well, we're going to open next year.
And now we're up here and he'sbuilding the bar and he redid
the entire bathrooms and well,we'll open in next year.
And he kept thinking we'regoing to open the following year
and it never happened until2015.
So, from 2012 to 2015, in themeantime, of just gutting and
(05:10):
remodeling and everything music,sound system, ceilings, lights,
windows, everything he wascollecting all these artifacts
Because the whole theme anddecor is original Buffalo decor
of the turn of the century.
This is the history whichdovetails on the Darwin Martin
(05:31):
house, because they're seeing ahouse that was built between
1903 and 1905.
When they're done with thattour, they're coming here for
lunch and it's just dovetailinginto more history.
Yeah, so that was the dream ofmy husband and I liked the whole
idea myself.
I was working full time in mymedia career, which was close to
(05:52):
30 years, and I enjoyed it.
It was a wonderful career ofselling advertising on the cable
stations, helping clientsproduce TV commercials, you know
entertainment, sabers, billsand just a wonderful career.
But it couldn't last.
(06:13):
If you're gonna do this, youknow it's either one or the
other.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
I got to imagine that in those three years there must
have been times when youthought are we ever going to
open, are we?
Speaker 2 (06:24):
ever going going to open.
Now we're draining our moneybecause it's our own you know
it's lens blood, sweat and tearsand our and our personal
savings right that we investedyeah and never gave up hope that
this was going to be it.
The nuts.
It was it and it was becausepeople came.
The first year was great.
Then the neighborhood startedto explode with tons of people
(06:47):
and we have that loyal base ofneighbors.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
And we have bus tours from the Martin House.
They go to either the BPO orthe Martin House for a tour and
then they come here for lunch.
We have referred lunch people,so they're done with the tour,
and they ask them hey, where dowe go for lunch?
We have um referred lunchpeople, so they're done with the
tour, and they ask them, hey,where do we go for lunch?
And then they just find it ontheir phone like, oh, we'll walk
yeah, or maybe they'll take abunch of people and drop off in
(07:15):
a car.
It's so much easier than takinga car and moving it up to maybe
hurdle or elmwood you know, andwe love that there's more
business to pick from.
But this is why we're here toaccommodate the neighborhood,
the tourism.
And then we got that walkablecommunity.
You know runners and walkersand kids in the park and it's
(07:37):
just amazing that there's somany people that come in
strollers, you know, and weaccommodate the families.
We're really a familyrestaurant.
We're not open late.
So when the kitchen closes, thebar's open for maybe another
hour, an hour and a half, andeveryone's home in bed by 11,
because we promised ourneighbors that we would never be
(07:59):
what the PM was in the 70s and80s, which was destructive to
the neighbors.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Was there concern from neighbors?
Speaker 2 (08:05):
yes, we went to our meeting to get our liquor
license and everybody was on ourside because they knew us,
because we lived in neighborsyeah, for so long that helps but
there was still like hey, wedon't want that late night bar
yeah and we assured them andwe've lived by it and it's good
because you know they rememberbeing here and the it was loud,
(08:28):
it was right you know they were.
It was just a lot of things.
I won't describe what thesekids were doing at the time.
But what's funny is, uh, someof them come back here now, you
know, 50 years later, and say,yeah, I used to be here, and
then they're presidents ofsomething or executive directors
of something else and you knowthey made it through kinesias
and have a career, but theyremember yeah being here in
(08:51):
those crazy times yeah so it'sturned out to be a local, good
little local spot and it's likea staple of the community now we
make so much from scratch.
We, you know, we don't order,you know, pre-made frozen.
Yeah, yeah, of course, somefrench fries.
You have to do that.
But you know, it's just,everybody knows your name.
(09:11):
It's kind of like a littlecheers.
It's a Parkside Cheers.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Yeah, I thought of cheers when you said that, yeah,
it's fun and it's.
It's great too that yourlocation is right across the
street from the zoo, so maybeyou don't have all people coming
from the tours nearby.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Right.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
But you also have this huge draw to the zoo from
all over western New York.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Especially in the summer.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
These people are searching for places to eat
while they're at the zoo.
Yeah, and here you are, rightacross the street Right.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
And when we first opened, the zoo really wasn't as
aggressive in marketing.
Zoo really wasn't as aggressivein marketing.
And you know, as time went onthey were getting to get some
really cool attractions in.
Yeah, so the events they do allyear, oh my god, they're
fabulous zoo imagination, yeah,packed so when we have to take
(09:59):
reservations for that night andin addition there's walk-in so
we have to juggle that so.
So we're busy June, July andAugust and even a half of
September with Zoo Imaginationand again, that's kind of fairly
new the past three years.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Rather than years ago , when, you know, I went to the
zoo when it was free as a kid.
I grew up right here in NorthBuffalo.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
And we never paid.
We just walked right in and wehad a ball as kids.
But it's, you know, they needto fund it.
They need to pay their billstoo.
Right, right, um, because inthe past people would park on
the street.
They didn't even want to payfive bucks to park.
They don't buy food or toyslittle stuffed animals yeah,
they go home.
Now you're getting.
They're paying 20 bucks to getin they're buying the suckers
(10:44):
and the stuffed animal.
They're Googling restaurantsnearby.
Oh yeah, the Parkside Meadow,we can walk.
They leave their car in the lotand they'll walk in.
They'll set up the stroller,whatever.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
So you grew up in Buffalo as well, I did.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Okay, I grew up on North Park.
I never left the city.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
I always lived in the city Went to three different
schools.
My grade school was StMargaret's, then I went to
Bennett, and then I went to BuffState, okay, and then I went to
work.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
I went to elementary and part of middle school at the
museum At the Science MagnetSchool that they have there.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Elementary and part of middle school at the museum
at the science magnet schoolSure.
The magnet school Sure.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
And then we moved to Tonawanda, and now I've been in
Tonawanda, kenmore, for most ofmy life.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
It's funny that you said Tonawanda Kenmore, because
we get a ton of people fromTonawanda Kenmore and the reason
is when they get off the 33from downtown they get off at
Parkside to come all the way upand then they find their way,
meander into Town of Wanda,kenmore, town of Wanda.
If you live in Orchard Park,you're passing it.
The south towns pass it.
(11:51):
The deep north towns take likethe 290 and all that.
But yeah, that's something Idiscovered not long in that they
stop at the light and go, oh,because I've always done
advertising.
I have a TV commercial.
Of course I was in the TVbusiness, why not?
I believe in it.
They stop at that light and go,oh, that's it.
(12:13):
So I'm going to have to go insometime.
So it's the best advertising tohave a signal there to have them
stop.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
That's my route.
You know when I'm coming fromdowntown or from anywhere in
that area, you know I get off.
I take the 33, 198, downParkside over to Colvin.
Yeah, they can enter in.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
It's the route, so we're lucky to have that
drive-by traffic and signageoutside so we could see you know
.
And then Jam Coffee Shop.
They're fairly new, maybe sixyears.
Traffic and signage outside sowe could see you know and then
jam coffee shop.
They're fairly new, maybe sixyears yeah they've been around
for a little bit yeah, yeah.
So you know they get theirvisual too yeah and they're
doing good.
and then we've got a coupleother little businesses that are
(12:56):
nice.
Yep, meg's got this girl,she's's great a bookstore,
children's bookstore, calledAlice Ever After, okay, and she
helps me too with marketing.
I put up her flyers.
Then I got Buffalo Seamery andthat's Liz who does a fantastic
job of selling good buffalolittle items.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Those are the kind of people and you know, people
like you that I like to talk to,because I found that it's.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
They have a good story.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Yep, it's one thing to if I were to come in here as
someone on social media and havea sandwich and take a picture
of it and say, oh, you got totry this sandwich, that's one
thing.
But to sit with you and hearyour story In Buffalo we even
talked about this a little bitbefore we started there's kind
of like two degrees ofseparation between everyone.
I hear you Even the guy thatwas just dropping off beer here
(13:45):
you found out that you knew hisfamily and that's just how
Buffalo is.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
That's how Buffalo is .
I love it.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
And there's a sense of community pride here and we
love our small businesses.
We like shopping local.
So to hear the story of how youstarted and all the things that
you went through, to get towhere you are now.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Now, when people come and have that sandwich, there's
purpose behind it and there's agood connection.
Yeah, I agree, and it's beenvery rewarding from that end.
It's a struggle.
This is a very challengingbusiness to be in.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
But when my neighbors say, you know, know, thank you
so much for being here.
Like I called her, I needed toborrow a cat carrier because we
couldn't find hers and she'slike, oh yeah, I got it.
And then she you know, myhusband picked it up.
It was cross street and thenshe called me back to see how I
was doing with my knee yeah and,uh, she goes.
you know, I want to say again,thank you so much for being here
(14:43):
.
We love that we could just walkand they come in.
They have a certain thing theyorder and we make it special,
like we cater to anybody's likesand dislikes, you know, like no
problem, so-and-so.
He wants double order wings nocarrots and celery no blue
cheese.
All right, well, that saves us.
(15:04):
Oh, no, blue cheese no bluecheese, but he, he makes it
clear.
We know okay, he's here, mel'shere, we save on our little
condiments yeah, but I mean likethere's little things you know,
or he wants this on the side,or whatever I love that too, you
make it happen.
Do you remember um?
Speaker 1 (15:20):
dimitri's on Sheridan , the little breakfast place I
do, they used to do like a $2.99breakfast.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
How long ago was that , I don't know.
It was probably 15 years agonow.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
But it was.
It was like $2.99, eggs, bacon,toast and coffee for $2.99.
And I remember, my goal was tobe a regular, like I just wanted
to be able to come in and belike hey, want the ooze, you
know the ooze, and so it wasalways every time I went there
it was the number two over easywith rye.
And then I remember one time Iwent in there and I ordered and
(15:53):
the waitress said some thingsnever change.
And I go yes, I've arrived, I'ma regular now.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
You're a regular.
Yeah, Absolutely yeah.
Our bartender too.
She's great, Sarah.
She'll see our friends walkingup and they have a reservation
and she starts making theirdrinks.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Love it.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
And then when they walk in, they bring them to the
table and they're there.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
And they don't even have to order because we know.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
You.
They don't even have to orderbecause we know.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Yeah, you know, that's incredible customer
service.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Yes, totally it doesn't happen for everybody,
but when it happens, thesepeople are just so happy and
they love the coziness, theylove the atmosphere, they love
the vibe, they like the prices.
You know we're a neighborhood,true neighborhood pub.
That's what my website says,because we really are.
We can't if you're downtown,you're going to pay more Because
(16:45):
it's a whole different dynamic.
So I don't want to be thatplace that you come to four
times a year.
My people come once a week.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Twice a month.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Right.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
And that's business, that's good business.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
What are some of the dishes that you're most
well-known for?
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Oh, our signature sandwich is a shaved lamb.
So we buy the New Zealand legof lamb and we marinate it,
roast it, chill it to slicebecause you have to slice it
later and then it's kind of puton a little white bread,
(17:26):
griddled, melted Havarti, and alittle mayo that has got a hint
of mint, and it just gives it anice little burst, brings out
the lamb and that's the shavedlamb sandwich.
That's our signature.
And then underneath that Iwould say, um, we have a
luscious reuben, because we doour corned beef brisket here in
(17:49):
house.
We make it okay slice it.
We do all our meats like that.
We don't want to buy just coldcuts.
You know that's not who we arewe make everything from scratch
most everything.
And who we are.
We make everything from scratchmost everything.
And we are noted for the11-ounce burger and it's a very
good price.
But I will tell you you willnot find an 11-ounce out there
(18:10):
and if you do, you won't.
You won't because you're payingprobably the same price for 8
ounces, so it's a little toobeefy for me, but people love it
and they can eat it.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
I'm amazed there was a place on Kenmore Avenue
Vizzy's that was open for awhile.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Yeah, he had the monster, and they were known for
their big burger and Grover'sand places like that.
Grover's, I think, hasdifferent sizes but I think
Vizzy's did have the one-sizemonster.
Yeah, Years ago I went there Igot a salad I one-size-monster.
Yeah, Years ago I went there, Igot a salad.
I couldn't eat that either, butmy husband loved it.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Everything was huge.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Everything was huge and we do have big portions and
we have a great fish fry.
We get that skinless haddock.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
And we change our fryer oil very, very frequently,
like every eight days, okay,and some restaurants don't.
But however, you want to run it, that's okay.
But I, I need it clean, yeahand um, our fish fries are
delicious and never greasy okay,gotta have a good fish fry as a
neighborhood pub in buffalo werun it thursday and friday all
(19:14):
year round.
Lent we had wednesday for lentthose six weeks we we had a
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Yeah, we sell a lot of fish.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
I'm sure you do.
What about, you know, maybewalk me through some of the like
biggest challenges that youface as a restaurant owner?
Especially you started just acouple years before the pandemic
.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
I can tell you what it's not.
It is not the customer.
The customer is the greatestthing, component of the business
.
I'm lucky to have greatemployees.
My biggest challenge are foodcosts and the payroll for the
employees.
So it's not just the minimumwage, it's you want to pay them
(19:57):
well enough so they don't take asecond job or look for another
job.
And then there's taxes, payrolltaxes and fees and New York
State and everybody wants it.
It's like you drown.
You could drown in thefinancials of running a
restaurant, and again it's foodcost and payroll.
(20:20):
Those are in labor.
You can't.
It's labor and food and youneed both, or else you can't
keep your door open.
So the juggle that's a struggleto juggle, cutting shifts.
We're not busy, all right,don't schedule.
We got busy all of a sudden.
Guess what?
I'm jumping in and I'm doingthis.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Those are my challenges.
And then you have a lot ofmistakes too.
You know this is differentAfter COVID.
I find that a lot of businesses, vendors, you get the wrong
thing.
And now you got a call.
Now you're out of the thing youwanted.
You still don't have it and yougot to figure call now.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
You're out of the thing you wanted.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
You don't, you still don't have it and you gotta
figure out how you're gonna getthat.
So you gotta wait.
They gotta come and make a swapand I did have one situation
and they took care of it thenext day.
So I was thrilled.
But you know, these are thethings that happen, but they're
happening more often.
There's more room for mistakes,human error, than I've ever
(21:22):
seen in the nine years nine anda half, I'm open I've seen more
mistakes in the past two really.
Yeah, I don't know why.
I think people are just burntout, or they're tired, or they
didn't sleep, or worried, andyou know we're always stressed
out and worried now these daysyeah, but you got, you've got to
deal with that, and that is achallenge.
(21:43):
Yeah, because it takes you awayfrom.
You were doing this.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Right.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
And now you've got to straighten out this.
Before COVID we did pretty goodtoo.
During COVID, we stayed alivebecause we did takeout.
Only we wore our masks.
We did six-feet separation.
It was so hard.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Oh my gosh, that was the biggest challenge of
anything I just mentioned.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
I'll never want to go through that again.
Oh my gosh.
Yeah, I mean every person thatI talked to that's in a similar
situation running a business,running a restaurant situation
running a business running arestaurant, COVID.
It took so much creativity andgrit to get through that time
and to figure out a way throughand to stay open.
Through it, so many businessesclosed.
But what I've also seen on theother side is so many businesses
opened because of COVID.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Maybe they lost their job, Maybe weren't able to do
the thing that they were doingbefore there was some money
available based on well, theprotection for payroll was
different, so you had to be open, but I know what you mean.
There were some, maybe grants,a lot of grants available so
they could start up.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
I had two different people in my neighborhood sign
over their stimulus check to me.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
No way To support Yep .
They donated their money.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
It's like 800 bucks.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Yeah, twice, yeah, geez.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Yeah, I was very, very fortunate.
But see, when you're inbusiness a few years and you've
definitely made a mark foryourself of who we are and what
we're doing here for you, we'rehere for you.
Even in blizzards people wouldwalk.
We'd be open for them.
And I think another moving partthat's important is to be here
and give the customer service inperson.
(23:31):
Like I will make rounds and Iask all my customers how's
everything?
Yeah, you know what?
I thought I was going to getthis and I'll just you know what
.
No problem, I'll take care ofthis.
Or they was going to get thisand I'll just you know what.
No problem, why don't you takecare of this?
Or they're going to say this isgreat and I'll say thank you so
much, thanks for coming.
If it's a birthday and I findout about it, I comp a birthday
dessert I'll give them a choice.
(24:02):
It's all the little things thatmake such a big difference.
It's all my personality comingfrom sales.
I think and I expect that whenI go places I don't mean just
restaurants, I mean everywhere,and there is a little bit of a
lack now of customer service outthere?
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Yeah, do you feel that it was a lot more
commonplace for the owner to bethere to walk around to see how
everything's doing?
Speaker 2 (24:13):
It was almost like Russell, he built his empire.
Yeah, yeah, he built an empireon being there.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
He made me.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
All right, so let's see.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
This is like fresh air on NPR.
Have you ever listened to that?
Speaker 1 (24:29):
I have yes.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Yeah, she's a good interviewer.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Yeah, I mean, that's why I like the just
conversation-based content,because I think people are
getting used to that kind ofthing.
It's just these casualconversations.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
It's interesting, your neighborhood pub.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Which we are.
I mean, I know who I am and youknow you can't compare me to
Frankie Primo's downtown.
You know everything is justdifferent their pricing and
their menu.
It's a whole different dynamicthere.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Right.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
I like the one actually in North Tonawanda.
I mean, I just like that onebecause you go to the mid for a
show.
That's a good thing.
See, you always want somethingthat you can dovetail off of.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Yeah, absolutely, and that's why this is a success.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
It's not just the neighborhood, it's not just the
zoo, it's not the Martin House,it's all of it.
And then there's a big event.
You know, at the zoo, for threemonths the summer there's
always something going on, andMeg too, alice Ever After she
does a ton of promotion.
And then I get the lunch.
Part of it.
It's wonderful.
(25:40):
But you know, for so many yearsnothing was going on here.
That corner was not reallydoing anything.
It was like a fram shop.
So, it didn't have like a buzzevery day like a coffee shop
does.
The zoo wasn't, as I mentioned.
They just were not aggressivein marketing and the Martin
House was starting to pick upwith funding.
(26:02):
So there was nothing hereexcept this nasty bar from the
70s and 80s and now look at it'sa really a little district.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
It's a business district you know, even if it's
your first time coming into thisrestaurant, it seems like
there's a nostalgia to it, youknow because of all the things
that you have that kind of showour history and there's a lot of
pride in Buffalo in our historyand the initial boom that we
experienced, even though wedidn't make it again to the
super bowl.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I know people come in here and say, oh my god, that's
my grandfather's place right orby.
I remember my grandparentstaking me to this bar whatever,
we have matchbook covers from.
Oh my god, when the telephonenumbers were only like two
letters and four numbers.
Yeah, and every little tavernin buffalo.
There were so many taverns inbuffalo yeah but everybody knows
(26:56):
something about it and I had apolitician come in here.
She was in her 90s, alfredaslominski okay, it sounds like a
yeah.
And she walked in and she sawher pin.
We have a little collection ofpolitical pins in here from the
old days.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Oh my gosh, she saw her pin.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
And Len happened to somehow connect with her and he
had a good conversation and shewas thrilled.
She sat with her family, had awonderful meal and was just
almost in tears of joy becausethis was the highlight of her
year to go out to dinner withher family.
But come in and not planned,just happened to see her button
(27:39):
when she was running.
It was a beautiful moment ofhistory to a woman who was in
her 90s that she just thoughtshe was coming to a little
neighborhood place and here wasthe best night of her life, yeah
, yeah, and buffalo is a placetoo, where I mean my like.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I grew up right near lincoln park for the most part,
uh, from like 12 years old andon.
My parents still live over bylincoln park in tonanda, and my
dad grew up right across LincolnPark in one of the storybook
homes.
If you're familiar, they werethese post-World War II homes
After the war.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Yeah, yeah, I know the size the shelf.
They're small.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Yeah, they're very small, call them shoeboxes
sometimes, but there's thisshelf that opens up and it turns
it from a three bedroom and theshelf is on hinges and it opens
up to turn it into a twobedroom home with a larger
living room.
Cool no, it's this cool likebig shelf that acts as a wall
for the third bedroom.
Wow, so they made theseversatile homes that they could
(28:41):
just slap up and because kidsare being born three better yeah
and you know my grandparentsgrew up here.
My grandpa tells, tells mestories.
I don't know how many are true,but he said that he was the
first customer at Louie's HotDogs on Sheridan.
He just happened to be going byand he walked in and he was the
first customer.
He tells stories of when he wasin the Navy and they jumped off
(29:02):
the Grand Island Bridge intothe river.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Oh my.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
God, and so there's so, so much history, and no
matter how long you've been inbuffalo, there's always
something new to learn about it,or a story to hear, or you know
a connection that somebody hasright and um, there is there's
always a connection yeah if yousit with someone long enough, it
(29:25):
does become two degrees, notsix.
Yeah, I'd like to test thattheory, you know.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
I actually my house, Get two strangers together and
just see how they like.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Eventually you'll get to the point where they know
somebody who knows somebody.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Yeah, eventually you will.
There's cool things.
There's cool things about evenmy own family, my father, my
grandfather, my mother's side.
He was churning cream in thebasement of his west side house
and he died of stomach cancer.
But his partner completed thecream business and it became
bison.
I could have been the chip dipqueen.
(30:02):
So you know little things likethat.
He was a bootlegger.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
And they came from.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Italy Arranged marriage.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
You, you know it was just yeah cool, cool stuff to
know and those, those immigrantstories are still happening too
which is very cool.
I I talked with anastasia withanastasia's bread.
She's in north tonawanda and fora while she was doing farmer's
markets and she makes theseincredible loaves and bagels and
different things.
And she shared her story storywith me about how she came here
(30:32):
as a first generation immigrantwith her family and she just
couldn't find good bread thatreminded her of home so she
started making it herself andthen through you know the
growing popularity of that breadshe started selling it at
farmer's markets and now she'sgot a brick and mortar in North
Tonawanda.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
Oh, she does have brick and mortar.
That's wonderful.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Yeah, just opened it up and you know, I've met with
first generation farmers whostarted an organic farm, I think
in Java, and now they're atfarmer's markets and they're
driving their truck all over theplace and they just had to
figure it out on their own.
They had this dream of openinga farm.
It wasn't a family business,they started it and it's the
(31:12):
start of those stories now wheremaybe it'll be passed to their
kids and their kids.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
There has to be, and Len didn't.
My husband didn't do that.
He did not start off.
When we opened up, it was oneday off, tuesday.
The reason why we weren't opentuesday is because the darwin
martin house wasn't open ontuesday that was their day off
so we were open monday,wednesday, through sunday.
We did a sunday brunch and evena friend of mine said you know,
(31:37):
you should just do, you know,lunch and dinner and maybe grow
into brunch.
But nope, so we did not do it.
I would have gone baby steps.
I would have said, hey, let'sdo dinner and let's open up for
lunch and then.
But he went full throttle andyou learn so much.
Yeah, when you do baby stepsand it allows you to feel
(31:59):
comfortable in your growth.
And we didn't, we just went infull pain well, it seems like
it's worked out so far.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
It's been quite a journey, but lucky he's lucky.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
He's a lucky guy, he's got good karma, he's very
brilliant, he is very talented.
Um, this wouldn't be here if itwasn't for him, because I'm not
the one that said hey, let'sbuy this building and turn it
into a restaurant yeah I'm theone that said yeah, it's a
pretty good idea.
Let's buy this building andturn it into a restaurant.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Yeah, I'm the one that said yeah, it's a pretty
good idea.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
Let's call John who was the owner Right, yeah, and
we did, and we did it.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
Well, Nancy, I wish you the best of luck.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Oh, thank you so much .
Speaker 1 (32:41):
It was fun it seems like you have created kind of a
cheers type atmosphere herewhere people come in and it
feels nostalgic, it feels likeyou're kind of coming home and
you being here walking aroundsaying hello to people building
that community, that just addsto that.
I answer the phone, I likeanswering the phone too.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
I think that's a good connection to people yeah
because when you make areservation at a restaurant, you
can go online or you could calland talk to uh, maybe a hostess
that you don't know.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Right.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
But here, when you call, that line jumps to my cell
.
So I take every call.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Well, thanks for sharing your story.
Hey, yeah, and I hope to seeyou again soon All right, thank
you.
All right.
Well, nancy, thank you so much,I appreciate you inviting me to
Parkside Meadow.
Yeah, thank you, and you know wetalked a little bit before this
, but really this is all aboutyour story.
You know how you got startedhere, what you were doing before
.
You know some of the thingsthat you're offering now, some
(00:20):
of your hopes and dreams for thefuture.
Whatever it is that you want toshare about that story, we'll
get into all that, but why don'twe start with just a little
introduction of who you are andyour history in Buffalo and all
that?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Well, I'm from Buffalo, born and raised.
I was married in 89 and wemoved into the Parkside
neighborhood in 89.
And we've always loved thisneighborhood.
With the park and the zoo it'sjust a nice little community.
But it's grown over the yearssince we moved in and we're
(00:56):
finding that there was a big,big need for a little local
neighborhood pub.
There was nothing in this area.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
And when did you notice that need?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
I would say pretty early on, we would say 2000,
2005.
And the reason I say that isbecause we saw this emergence of
young couples with familiesmoving in, buying houses and the
housing values were going upbecause people wanted to be next
to the zoo and the park andgood values, because these homes
(01:32):
were turning over and theycould fix them up.
And they're large and they'rehistoric.
Some of them are justabsolutely gorgeous.
So we actually went fromCrescent to Summit and we went
to Summit.
We noticed the Darwin MartinHouse was in disarray.
I mean, it wasn't even theywere just starting to fund it to
(01:53):
get it going.
And I took a docent class justto learn more about the house.
Who did you take the classthere?
I took it right through.
I went there to the MartinHouse.
Oh, okay, geez, I don't evenremember some of these names.
It was so long ago.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
I would say a good 20 years ago, because we've been
in the neighborhood 25,technically 30, almost.
So, to make a long story short,I was interested in that house
and tourism, house and tourismand I saw it grow with buses and
people from all over and morethings were being done to the
(02:30):
house to bring it back to theoriginal.
Yeah, and you know you'd hear,oh, m&t funded the fireplace,
all mosaic, just gorgeous, andit was really exciting and then.
But then it was more like, well, where do you go for lunch and
dinner?
Or walkable neighborhood, it'sa walkable community, but
there's nowhere to go.
And there was a little walkableneighborhood it's a walkable
community, but there's nowhereto go.
And there was a little coffeeshop, but it really wasn't a
coffee shop then either so youhad the zoo, you had a little
(02:52):
coffee shop, yeah, you got alittle little things going on
one little place was in and out.
once it's a pizzeria, then itwas something else and nothing
really lasted here and thisbuilding was in terrible
disarray.
It was really bad.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Was it an old bar?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
It was an old bar called the Park Meadow Okay, I
renamed it Parkside Meadow, okay.
But the Park Meadow was just abig party bar in the 70s for the
Canisius college kids.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
I think that's actually a really cool idea that
you took the old name and youkind of paid homage to that old
name.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, I didn't want to lose the historic landmark
that it was, even though it wasnegative to the neighborhood
Because they were here until 2,3 in the morning.
There were a lot of problemswith bar patrons and the
neighborhood.
Okay, so they had to surrendertheir liquor license in 1992,
(03:52):
and then the owners leased thisbuilding to many different
restaurants.
That failed and it was just nota pretty sight.
It was a horrible-lookingbuilding and there's a lot more
information on the website ofwhat my husband's dream was to
recreate this, so we bought thebuilding in 2012 yeah, yeah we
contacted the owner I kind ofknew him from different places
(04:14):
and and we just made an offerand he said okay, and then next
thing you know, three yearslater, we opened the restaurant.
Took three years, one year inthe basement because we had to
take all the debris out,disinfect.
He painted the basement floors,he built the liquor room, he
(04:36):
built the cooler, built the prepkitchen, he redid all this
stuff Like, oh my God, we had somuch electrical and plumbing
and carpentry.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
It was a much bigger project than you, carpentry and
you know it was a much biggerproject than you anticipated.
It was such a big project, yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
And he's like, well, we're going to open next year.
And now we're up here and he'sbuilding the bar and he redid
the entire bathrooms and well,we'll open in next year.
And he kept thinking we'regoing to open the following year
and it never happened until2015.
So, from 2012 to 2015, in themeantime, of just gutting and
(05:10):
remodeling and everything music,sound system, ceilings, lights,
windows, everything he wascollecting all these artifacts
Because the whole theme anddecor is original Buffalo decor
of the turn of the century.
This is the history whichdovetails on the Darwin Martin
(05:31):
house, because they're seeing ahouse that was built between
1903 and 1905.
When they're done with thattour, they're coming here for
lunch and it's just dovetailinginto more history.
Yeah, so that was the dream ofmy husband and I liked the whole
idea myself.
I was working full time in mymedia career, which was close to
(05:52):
30 years, and I enjoyed it.
It was a wonderful career ofselling advertising on the cable
stations, helping clientsproduce TV commercials, you know
entertainment, sabers, billsand just a wonderful career.
But it couldn't last.
(06:13):
If you're gonna do this, youknow it's either one or the
other.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
I got to imagine that in those three years there must
have been times when youthought are we ever going to
open, are we?
Speaker 2 (06:24):
ever going going to open.
Now we're draining our moneybecause it's our own you know
it's lens blood, sweat and tearsand our and our personal
savings right that we investedyeah and never gave up hope that
this was going to be it.
The nuts.
It was it and it was becausepeople came.
The first year was great.
Then the neighborhood startedto explode with tons of people
(06:47):
and we have that loyal base ofneighbors.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
And we have bus tours from the Martin House.
They go to either the BPO orthe Martin House for a tour and
then they come here for lunch.
We have referred lunch people,so they're done with the tour,
and they ask them hey, where dowe go for lunch?
We have um referred lunchpeople, so they're done with the
tour, and they ask them, hey,where do we go for lunch?
And then they just find it ontheir phone like, oh, we'll walk
yeah, or maybe they'll take abunch of people and drop off in
(07:15):
a car.
It's so much easier than takinga car and moving it up to maybe
hurdle or elmwood you know, andwe love that there's more
business to pick from.
But this is why we're here toaccommodate the neighborhood,
the tourism.
And then we got that walkablecommunity.
You know runners and walkersand kids in the park and it's
(07:37):
just amazing that there's somany people that come in
strollers, you know, and weaccommodate the families.
We're really a familyrestaurant.
We're not open late.
So when the kitchen closes, thebar's open for maybe another
hour, an hour and a half, andeveryone's home in bed by 11,
because we promised ourneighbors that we would never be
(07:59):
what the PM was in the 70s and80s, which was destructive to
the neighbors.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Was there concern from neighbors?
Speaker 2 (08:05):
yes, we went to our meeting to get our liquor
license and everybody was on ourside because they knew us,
because we lived in neighborsyeah, for so long that helps but
there was still like hey, wedon't want that late night bar
yeah and we assured them andwe've lived by it and it's good
because you know they rememberbeing here and the it was loud,
(08:28):
it was right you know they were.
It was just a lot of things.
I won't describe what thesekids were doing at the time.
But what's funny is, uh, someof them come back here now, you
know, 50 years later, and say,yeah, I used to be here, and
then they're presidents ofsomething or executive directors
of something else and you knowthey made it through kinesias
and have a career, but theyremember yeah being here in
(08:51):
those crazy times yeah so it'sturned out to be a local, good
little local spot and it's likea staple of the community now we
make so much from scratch.
We, you know, we don't order,you know, pre-made frozen.
Yeah, yeah, of course, somefrench fries.
You have to do that.
But you know, it's just,everybody knows your name.
(09:11):
It's kind of like a littlecheers.
It's a Parkside Cheers.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Yeah, I thought of cheers when you said that, yeah,
it's fun and it's.
It's great too that yourlocation is right across the
street from the zoo, so maybeyou don't have all people coming
from the tours nearby.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Right.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
But you also have this huge draw to the zoo from
all over western New York.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Especially in the summer.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
These people are searching for places to eat
while they're at the zoo.
Yeah, and here you are, rightacross the street Right.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
And when we first opened, the zoo really wasn't as
aggressive in marketing.
Zoo really wasn't as aggressivein marketing.
And you know, as time went onthey were getting to get some
really cool attractions in.
Yeah, so the events they do allyear, oh my god, they're
fabulous zoo imagination, yeah,packed so when we have to take
(09:59):
reservations for that night andin addition there's walk-in so
we have to juggle that so.
So we're busy June, July andAugust and even a half of
September with Zoo Imaginationand again, that's kind of fairly
new the past three years.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Rather than years ago , when, you know, I went to the
zoo when it was free as a kid.
I grew up right here in NorthBuffalo.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
And we never paid.
We just walked right in and wehad a ball as kids.
But it's, you know, they needto fund it.
They need to pay their billstoo.
Right, right, um, because inthe past people would park on
the street.
They didn't even want to payfive bucks to park.
They don't buy food or toyslittle stuffed animals yeah,
they go home.
Now you're getting.
They're paying 20 bucks to getin they're buying the suckers
(10:44):
and the stuffed animal.
They're Googling restaurantsnearby.
Oh yeah, the Parkside Meadow,we can walk.
They leave their car in the lotand they'll walk in.
They'll set up the stroller,whatever.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
So you grew up in Buffalo as well, I did.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Okay, I grew up on North Park.
I never left the city.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
I always lived in the city Went to three different
schools.
My grade school was StMargaret's, then I went to
Bennett, and then I went to BuffState, okay, and then I went to
work.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
I went to elementary and part of middle school at the
museum At the Science MagnetSchool that they have there.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Elementary and part of middle school at the museum
at the science magnet schoolSure.
The magnet school Sure.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
And then we moved to Tonawanda, and now I've been in
Tonawanda, kenmore, for most ofmy life.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
It's funny that you said Tonawanda Kenmore, because
we get a ton of people fromTonawanda Kenmore and the reason
is when they get off the 33from downtown they get off at
Parkside to come all the way upand then they find their way,
meander into Town of Wanda,kenmore, town of Wanda.
If you live in Orchard Park,you're passing it.
The south towns pass it.
(11:51):
The deep north towns take likethe 290 and all that.
But yeah, that's something Idiscovered not long in that they
stop at the light and go, oh,because I've always done
advertising.
I have a TV commercial.
Of course I was in the TVbusiness, why not?
I believe in it.
They stop at that light and go,oh, that's it.
(12:13):
So I'm going to have to go insometime.
So it's the best advertising tohave a signal there to have them
stop.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
That's my route.
You know when I'm coming fromdowntown or from anywhere in
that area, you know I get off.
I take the 33, 198, downParkside over to Colvin.
Yeah, they can enter in.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
It's the route, so we're lucky to have that
drive-by traffic and signageoutside so we could see you know
.
And then Jam Coffee Shop.
They're fairly new, maybe sixyears.
Traffic and signage outside sowe could see you know and then
jam coffee shop.
They're fairly new, maybe sixyears yeah they've been around
for a little bit yeah, yeah.
So you know they get theirvisual too yeah and they're
doing good.
and then we've got a coupleother little businesses that are
(12:56):
nice.
Yep, meg's got this girl,she's's great a bookstore,
children's bookstore, calledAlice Ever After, okay, and she
helps me too with marketing.
I put up her flyers.
Then I got Buffalo Seamery andthat's Liz who does a fantastic
job of selling good buffalolittle items.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Those are the kind of people and you know, people
like you that I like to talk to,because I found that it's.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
They have a good story.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Yep, it's one thing to if I were to come in here as
someone on social media and havea sandwich and take a picture
of it and say, oh, you got totry this sandwich, that's one
thing.
But to sit with you and hearyour story In Buffalo we even
talked about this a little bitbefore we started there's kind
of like two degrees ofseparation between everyone.
I hear you Even the guy thatwas just dropping off beer here
(13:45):
you found out that you knew hisfamily and that's just how
Buffalo is.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
That's how Buffalo is .
I love it.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
And there's a sense of community pride here and we
love our small businesses.
We like shopping local.
So to hear the story of how youstarted and all the things that
you went through, to get towhere you are now.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Now, when people come and have that sandwich, there's
purpose behind it and there's agood connection.
Yeah, I agree, and it's beenvery rewarding from that end.
It's a struggle.
This is a very challengingbusiness to be in.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
But when my neighbors say, you know, know, thank you
so much for being here.
Like I called her, I needed toborrow a cat carrier because we
couldn't find hers and she'slike, oh yeah, I got it.
And then she you know, myhusband picked it up.
It was cross street and thenshe called me back to see how I
was doing with my knee yeah and,uh, she goes.
you know, I want to say again,thank you so much for being here
(14:43):
.
We love that we could just walkand they come in.
They have a certain thing theyorder and we make it special,
like we cater to anybody's likesand dislikes, you know, like no
problem, so-and-so.
He wants double order wings nocarrots and celery no blue
cheese.
All right, well, that saves us.
(15:04):
Oh, no, blue cheese no bluecheese, but he, he makes it
clear.
We know okay, he's here, mel'shere, we save on our little
condiments yeah, but I mean likethere's little things you know,
or he wants this on the side,or whatever I love that too, you
make it happen.
Do you remember um?
Speaker 1 (15:20):
dimitri's on Sheridan , the little breakfast place I
do, they used to do like a $2.99breakfast.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
How long ago was that , I don't know.
It was probably 15 years agonow.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
But it was.
It was like $2.99, eggs, bacon,toast and coffee for $2.99.
And I remember, my goal was tobe a regular, like I just wanted
to be able to come in and belike hey, want the ooze, you
know the ooze, and so it wasalways every time I went there
it was the number two over easywith rye.
And then I remember one time Iwent in there and I ordered and
(15:53):
the waitress said some thingsnever change.
And I go yes, I've arrived, I'ma regular now.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
You're a regular.
Yeah, Absolutely yeah.
Our bartender too.
She's great, Sarah.
She'll see our friends walkingup and they have a reservation
and she starts making theirdrinks.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Love it.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
And then when they walk in, they bring them to the
table and they're there.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
And they don't even have to order because we know.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
You.
They don't even have to orderbecause we know.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Yeah, you know, that's incredible customer
service.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Yes, totally it doesn't happen for everybody,
but when it happens, thesepeople are just so happy and
they love the coziness, theylove the atmosphere, they love
the vibe, they like the prices.
You know we're a neighborhood,true neighborhood pub.
That's what my website says,because we really are.
We can't if you're downtown,you're going to pay more Because
(16:45):
it's a whole different dynamic.
So I don't want to be thatplace that you come to four
times a year.
My people come once a week.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Twice a month.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Right.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
And that's business, that's good business.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
What are some of the dishes that you're most
well-known for?
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Oh, our signature sandwich is a shaved lamb.
So we buy the New Zealand legof lamb and we marinate it,
roast it, chill it to slicebecause you have to slice it
later and then it's kind of puton a little white bread,
(17:26):
griddled, melted Havarti, and alittle mayo that has got a hint
of mint, and it just gives it anice little burst, brings out
the lamb and that's the shavedlamb sandwich.
That's our signature.
And then underneath that Iwould say, um, we have a
luscious reuben, because we doour corned beef brisket here in
(17:49):
house.
We make it okay slice it.
We do all our meats like that.
We don't want to buy just coldcuts.
You know that's not who we arewe make everything from scratch
most everything.
And who we are.
We make everything from scratchmost everything.
And we are noted for the11-ounce burger and it's a very
good price.
But I will tell you you willnot find an 11-ounce out there
(18:10):
and if you do, you won't.
You won't because you're payingprobably the same price for 8
ounces, so it's a little toobeefy for me, but people love it
and they can eat it.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
I'm amazed there was a place on Kenmore Avenue
Vizzy's that was open for awhile.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Yeah, he had the monster, and they were known for
their big burger and Grover'sand places like that.
Grover's, I think, hasdifferent sizes but I think
Vizzy's did have the one-sizemonster.
Yeah, Years ago I went there Igot a salad I one-size-monster.
Yeah, Years ago I went there, Igot a salad.
I couldn't eat that either, butmy husband loved it.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Everything was huge.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Everything was huge and we do have big portions and
we have a great fish fry.
We get that skinless haddock.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
And we change our fryer oil very, very frequently,
like every eight days, okay,and some restaurants don't.
But however, you want to run it, that's okay.
But I, I need it clean, yeahand um, our fish fries are
delicious and never greasy okay,gotta have a good fish fry as a
neighborhood pub in buffalo werun it thursday and friday all
(19:14):
year round.
Lent we had wednesday for lentthose six weeks we we had a
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Yeah, we sell a lot of fish.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
I'm sure you do.
What about, you know, maybewalk me through some of the like
biggest challenges that youface as a restaurant owner?
Especially you started just acouple years before the pandemic
.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
I can tell you what it's not.
It is not the customer.
The customer is the greatestthing, component of the business
.
I'm lucky to have greatemployees.
My biggest challenge are foodcosts and the payroll for the
employees.
So it's not just the minimumwage, it's you want to pay them
(19:57):
well enough so they don't take asecond job or look for another
job.
And then there's taxes, payrolltaxes and fees and New York
State and everybody wants it.
It's like you drown.
You could drown in thefinancials of running a
restaurant, and again it's foodcost and payroll.
(20:20):
Those are in labor.
You can't.
It's labor and food and youneed both, or else you can't
keep your door open.
So the juggle that's a struggleto juggle, cutting shifts.
We're not busy, all right,don't schedule.
We got busy all of a sudden.
Guess what?
I'm jumping in and I'm doingthis.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Those are my challenges.
And then you have a lot ofmistakes too.
You know this is differentAfter COVID.
I find that a lot of businesses, vendors, you get the wrong
thing.
And now you got a call.
Now you're out of the thing youwanted.
You still don't have it and yougot to figure call now.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
You're out of the thing you wanted.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
You don't, you still don't have it and you gotta
figure out how you're gonna getthat.
So you gotta wait.
They gotta come and make a swapand I did have one situation
and they took care of it thenext day.
So I was thrilled.
But you know, these are thethings that happen, but they're
happening more often.
There's more room for mistakes,human error, than I've ever
(21:22):
seen in the nine years nine anda half, I'm open I've seen more
mistakes in the past two really.
Yeah, I don't know why.
I think people are just burntout, or they're tired, or they
didn't sleep, or worried, andyou know we're always stressed
out and worried now these daysyeah, but you got, you've got to
deal with that, and that is achallenge.
(21:43):
Yeah, because it takes you awayfrom.
You were doing this.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Right.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
And now you've got to straighten out this.
Before COVID we did pretty goodtoo.
During COVID, we stayed alivebecause we did takeout.
Only we wore our masks.
We did six-feet separation.
It was so hard.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Oh my gosh, that was the biggest challenge of
anything I just mentioned.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
I'll never want to go through that again.
Oh my gosh.
Yeah, I mean every person thatI talked to that's in a similar
situation running a business,running a restaurant situation
running a business running arestaurant, COVID.
It took so much creativity andgrit to get through that time
and to figure out a way throughand to stay open.
Through it, so many businessesclosed.
But what I've also seen on theother side is so many businesses
opened because of COVID.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Maybe they lost their job, Maybe weren't able to do
the thing that they were doingbefore there was some money
available based on well, theprotection for payroll was
different, so you had to be open, but I know what you mean.
There were some, maybe grants,a lot of grants available so
they could start up.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
I had two different people in my neighborhood sign
over their stimulus check to me.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
No way To support Yep .
They donated their money.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
It's like 800 bucks.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Yeah, twice, yeah, geez.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Yeah, I was very, very fortunate.
But see, when you're inbusiness a few years and you've
definitely made a mark foryourself of who we are and what
we're doing here for you, we'rehere for you.
Even in blizzards people wouldwalk.
We'd be open for them.
And I think another moving partthat's important is to be here
and give the customer service inperson.
(23:31):
Like I will make rounds and Iask all my customers how's
everything?
Yeah, you know what?
I thought I was going to getthis and I'll just you know what
.
No problem, I'll take care ofthis.
Or they was going to get thisand I'll just you know what.
No problem, why don't you takecare of this?
Or they're going to say this isgreat and I'll say thank you so
much, thanks for coming.
If it's a birthday and I findout about it, I comp a birthday
dessert I'll give them a choice.
(24:02):
It's all the little things thatmake such a big difference.
It's all my personality comingfrom sales.
I think and I expect that whenI go places I don't mean just
restaurants, I mean everywhere,and there is a little bit of a
lack now of customer service outthere?
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Yeah, do you feel that it was a lot more
commonplace for the owner to bethere to walk around to see how
everything's doing?
Speaker 2 (24:13):
It was almost like Russell, he built his empire.
Yeah, yeah, he built an empireon being there.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
He made me.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
All right, so let's see.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
This is like fresh air on NPR.
Have you ever listened to that?
Speaker 1 (24:29):
I have yes.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Yeah, she's a good interviewer.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Yeah, I mean, that's why I like the just
conversation-based content,because I think people are
getting used to that kind ofthing.
It's just these casualconversations.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
It's interesting, your neighborhood pub.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Which we are.
I mean, I know who I am and youknow you can't compare me to
Frankie Primo's downtown.
You know everything is justdifferent their pricing and
their menu.
It's a whole different dynamicthere.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Right.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
I like the one actually in North Tonawanda.
I mean, I just like that onebecause you go to the mid for a
show.
That's a good thing.
See, you always want somethingthat you can dovetail off of.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Yeah, absolutely, and that's why this is a success.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
It's not just the neighborhood, it's not just the
zoo, it's not the Martin House,it's all of it.
And then there's a big event.
You know, at the zoo, for threemonths the summer there's
always something going on, andMeg too, alice Ever After she
does a ton of promotion.
And then I get the lunch.
Part of it.
It's wonderful.
(25:40):
But you know, for so many yearsnothing was going on here.
That corner was not reallydoing anything.
It was like a fram shop.
So, it didn't have like a buzzevery day like a coffee shop
does.
The zoo wasn't, as I mentioned.
They just were not aggressivein marketing and the Martin
House was starting to pick upwith funding.
(26:02):
So there was nothing hereexcept this nasty bar from the
70s and 80s and now look at it'sa really a little district.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
It's a business district you know, even if it's
your first time coming into thisrestaurant, it seems like
there's a nostalgia to it, youknow because of all the things
that you have that kind of showour history and there's a lot of
pride in Buffalo in our historyand the initial boom that we
experienced, even though wedidn't make it again to the
super bowl.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I know people come in here and say, oh my god, that's
my grandfather's place right orby.
I remember my grandparentstaking me to this bar whatever,
we have matchbook covers from.
Oh my god, when the telephonenumbers were only like two
letters and four numbers.
Yeah, and every little tavernin buffalo.
There were so many taverns inbuffalo yeah but everybody knows
(26:56):
something about it and I had apolitician come in here.
She was in her 90s, alfredaslominski okay, it sounds like a
yeah.
And she walked in and she sawher pin.
We have a little collection ofpolitical pins in here from the
old days.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Oh my gosh, she saw her pin.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
And Len happened to somehow connect with her and he
had a good conversation and shewas thrilled.
She sat with her family, had awonderful meal and was just
almost in tears of joy becausethis was the highlight of her
year to go out to dinner withher family.
But come in and not planned,just happened to see her button
(27:39):
when she was running.
It was a beautiful moment ofhistory to a woman who was in
her 90s that she just thoughtshe was coming to a little
neighborhood place and here wasthe best night of her life, yeah
, yeah, and buffalo is a placetoo, where I mean my like.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I grew up right near lincoln park for the most part,
uh, from like 12 years old andon.
My parents still live over bylincoln park in tonanda, and my
dad grew up right across LincolnPark in one of the storybook
homes.
If you're familiar, they werethese post-World War II homes
After the war.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Yeah, yeah, I know the size the shelf.
They're small.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Yeah, they're very small, call them shoeboxes
sometimes, but there's thisshelf that opens up and it turns
it from a three bedroom and theshelf is on hinges and it opens
up to turn it into a twobedroom home with a larger
living room.
Cool no, it's this cool likebig shelf that acts as a wall
for the third bedroom.
Wow, so they made theseversatile homes that they could
(28:41):
just slap up and because kidsare being born three better yeah
and you know my grandparentsgrew up here.
My grandpa tells, tells mestories.
I don't know how many are true,but he said that he was the
first customer at Louie's HotDogs on Sheridan.
He just happened to be going byand he walked in and he was the
first customer.
He tells stories of when he wasin the Navy and they jumped off
(29:02):
the Grand Island Bridge intothe river.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Oh my.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
God, and so there's so, so much history, and no
matter how long you've been inbuffalo, there's always
something new to learn about it,or a story to hear, or you know
a connection that somebody hasright and um, there is there's
always a connection yeah if yousit with someone long enough, it
(29:25):
does become two degrees, notsix.
Yeah, I'd like to test thattheory, you know.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
I actually my house, Get two strangers together and
just see how they like.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Eventually you'll get to the point where they know
somebody who knows somebody.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Yeah, eventually you will.
There's cool things.
There's cool things about evenmy own family, my father, my
grandfather, my mother's side.
He was churning cream in thebasement of his west side house
and he died of stomach cancer.
But his partner completed thecream business and it became
bison.
I could have been the chip dipqueen.
(30:02):
So you know little things likethat.
He was a bootlegger.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
And they came from.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Italy Arranged marriage.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
You, you know it was just yeah cool, cool stuff to
know and those, those immigrantstories are still happening too
which is very cool.
I I talked with anastasia withanastasia's bread.
She's in north tonawanda and fora while she was doing farmer's
markets and she makes theseincredible loaves and bagels and
different things.
And she shared her story storywith me about how she came here
(30:32):
as a first generation immigrantwith her family and she just
couldn't find good bread thatreminded her of home so she
started making it herself andthen through you know the
growing popularity of that breadshe started selling it at
farmer's markets and now she'sgot a brick and mortar in North
Tonawanda.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
Oh, she does have brick and mortar.
That's wonderful.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Yeah, just opened it up and you know, I've met with
first generation farmers whostarted an organic farm, I think
in Java, and now they're atfarmer's markets and they're
driving their truck all over theplace and they just had to
figure it out on their own.
They had this dream of openinga farm.
It wasn't a family business,they started it and it's the
(31:12):
start of those stories now wheremaybe it'll be passed to their
kids and their kids.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
There has to be, and Len didn't.
My husband didn't do that.
He did not start off.
When we opened up, it was oneday off, tuesday.
The reason why we weren't opentuesday is because the darwin
martin house wasn't open ontuesday that was their day off
so we were open monday,wednesday, through sunday.
We did a sunday brunch and evena friend of mine said you know,
(31:37):
you should just do, you know,lunch and dinner and maybe grow
into brunch.
But nope, so we did not do it.
I would have gone baby steps.
I would have said, hey, let'sdo dinner and let's open up for
lunch and then.
But he went full throttle andyou learn so much.
Yeah, when you do baby stepsand it allows you to feel
(31:59):
comfortable in your growth.
And we didn't, we just went infull pain well, it seems like
it's worked out so far.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
It's been quite a journey, but lucky he's lucky.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
He's a lucky guy, he's got good karma, he's very
brilliant, he is very talented.
Um, this wouldn't be here if itwasn't for him, because I'm not
the one that said hey, let'sbuy this building and turn it
into a restaurant yeah I'm theone that said yeah, it's a
pretty good idea.
Let's buy this building andturn it into a restaurant.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Yeah, I'm the one that said yeah, it's a pretty
good idea.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
Let's call John who was the owner Right, yeah, and
we did, and we did it.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
Well, Nancy, I wish you the best of luck.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Oh, thank you so much .
Speaker 1 (32:41):
It was fun it seems like you have created kind of a
cheers type atmosphere herewhere people come in and it
feels nostalgic, it feels likeyou're kind of coming home and
you being here walking aroundsaying hello to people building
that community, that just addsto that.
I answer the phone, I likeanswering the phone too.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
I think that's a good connection to people yeah
because when you make areservation at a restaurant, you
can go online or you could calland talk to uh, maybe a hostess
that you don't know.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Right.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
But here, when you call, that line jumps to my cell
.
So I take every call.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Well, thanks for sharing your story.
Hey, yeah, and I hope to seeyou again soon All right, thank
you.
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