A restaurant is opening in my favorite building in Downtown Buffalo – The Dun Building. I am especially happy about this because A) There was once a restaurant there when I was younger – called Cheers B) One of my favorite live music clubs once occupied the space – Soundlab C. I heard that it was going to be converted to office spaces, which would have been a shame.
Talking to Sato‘s Joshua Smith, the owner of Sato Brewpub (coming soon), I couldn’t conceal my excitement. We talked about the history of the space, both inside and out – I told him about my recollections of Cheers (visually) and Soundlab (audibly), and he told me about the condition of the interior, and how it had essentially been gutted over the years. “We want to put the bar where it once stood when it was Soundlab,” he told me. “And we want the booths to go back where they once were, on the opposite side of the room from the bar.”
That made me happy. The 3400 square foot space is basically underground, which is very unusual for Buffalo. “In NYC and Japan, it’s common to have basement and second floor restaurants,” Josh told me. “In this case, we want to use the front door and the back door as entrances to the restaurant and brew pub. We’re thinking about putting the brewing area where the bands used to rehearse – people sitting at the bar will be able to see the tanks, which I think is important.”
Joshua tapped Community Beer Works (CBW) to be his guide throughout the brewing process. He has been working with brewer/owner Ethan Cox thus far, but is also grateful to have the input and advice of CBW brewer Drew Hardin moving forward. The plan is to have small batch beers brewed in-house that will reflect the style of the food served. Joshua is currently searching for a head brewer with experience – someone who understands their needs as a restaurant and brew pub. “We want to have one signature beer year round,” said Josh. “And then seasonals. “I’m not a brewer – I’m more knowledgable about sake. We will have a full liquor license, and will be serving up our own beers, guest beers, cocktails, and sake. We recently visited a sake brewery in my wife’s hometown, and we will be carrying their exclusive lines of sakes.”
As for the food, Sato Brewpub will be a bit like a yakitori – they will have Japanese grills serving meat, seafood and veggies. “It’s sort of like Japanese tapas,” Josh explained. “A variety of small plates – some raw, sashimi, crudo, carpaccio… not traditional sushi rolls – we want people to get out of their comfort zones. I might want to serve Japanese inspired sausage one day. This will not be your authentic Japanese cuisine. A traditional izakaya in Japan is more fusion these days – this concept will give us room to experiment.”
I am so happy to see the ground floor of the Dun building come back to life, I can hardly stand it. The building is just down the street from Pearl Street Grill and Brewery. It’s close to Main Street (the Metro Rail), and the Erie Basin Marina and Canalside. At the same time, it’s kind of off on its own.
There’s a neat little pocket park in back that, hopefully, can be brightened up and used for events, or even seating if The City would ever allow. There’s even a large fountain that appears to be shut off right now (it was operational somewhat recently).
Right next door there is also the Buffalo Harbor Museum, which is spectacular – unfortunately it has been sitting in this obscure park with no commercial counterparts… until now.
Hopefully all of the puzzle pieces come into play, and this building, along with the park and the other bounding assets all combine to create an alluring destination in downtown Buffalo.
Sato Brewpub | 110 Pearl Street | Buffalo, NY 14202 | (716) 931-9146 | Facebook