Jimmy Mac’s will be back as the Thirsty Buffalo

Tag : Bar Furniture

The longtime site of Jimmy Mac’s, a popular drinking anddining spot along Buffalo’s Elmwood Strip, will come back tolife this September as the Thirsty Buffalo.
The owners of Average Joe’s, an Amherst bar and restaurant,have signed a lease to open a new venture at the 555 Elmwood Ave.site, according to attorney Patrick Noe, who is a partner in theventure.
“We want to do a casual neighborhood bar/restaurant in thesame vein as the old Jimmy Mac’s,” Noe said. “Wewant it to be a place where you can have decent meal, but stillhave some fun at the bar.”
Chris DeBernardis and Greg Andreozzi, who run Average Joe’son Sweet Home Road, and Noe tossed around several ideas for what tocall the new venture. Ironically, they found their naminginspiration hanging on the wall just inside the venue’s frontdoor.
“There’s this giant, fuzzy buffalo head mounted on thewall and one of us said ‘Hey, he looks kind ofthirsty.’ So there was our name — ThirstyBuffalo,” Noe said.
The trio will make moderate physical improvements to thebar/restaurant. The layout will stay the same, but there will benew furniture and a lighter color scheme. The new operators willalso install flat-screen TVs in the bar area, so sports fans cancatch a glimpse of their favorite teams.
“This isn’t going to be a sports bar, but it’s aBuffalo bar, so people want to watch their Sabres and Bills, andother sports when they’re having an evening out,” Noesaid.
The menu will be flavored with a mix of burgers, wraps and salads,plus heartier steak, chicken and fish entrees. “It’sgoing to be very similar to what people were used to at JimmyMac’s, with fun new twists,” he added.
Jimmy Mac’s, once a cornerstone of the Buffalo bar andrestaurant scene, debuted in 1981, attracting what would become aloyal mix of downtown politicians and yuppies, and neighborhoodresidents. Owner Rick Naylon threw in the bar towel in October 2004after an unsuccessful battle against Erie County’s smokingban, which he said severely reduced revenues.
Veteran restaurateur Mark Supples, owner of Mother’sRestaurant on Virginia Place, took a swing at reviving JimmyMac’s in May 2005, but closed the doors after 16 months. Anout-of-town operator began renovations last fall with plans for aneclectic restaurant featuring Mexican, Asian and American foods,but abruptly abandoned the concept.
A fresh lease with the Thirsty Buffalo notwithstanding, theBrooklyn-based owner of 555 Elmwood is pushing ahead with effortsto sell the property. Krinsky & Associates put the building on themarket in February, asking $1.3 million.
The Jimmy Mac’s site is being offered as a package deal withthree other Buffalo properties with a $3.1 million price tag. TheLesches Group, a Brooklyn real estate firm, recently startedadvertising the bundle on Loopnet.com, a national real estate Website.
In addition to Jimmy Mac’s, the bundle includes thethree-story building housing Elmwood Lounge Restaurant Bar, at 522Elmwood Ave., and the two-story structure that is home to theKing’s Court Restaurant and Bar, at 189 Delaware Ave.
Sam Gikas, owner of the Elmwood Lounge and King's Court, said todaythat while he has had discussions with a Lesches Group agent, hehas not officially put his properties on the market.
slinstedt@buffnews.com