888 Main will be Veg-Friendly
The 800 block of Main Street will soon be home to a newly renovated space. Building owner/entrepreneur, Dan Campieri, has ripped out the interior of what was once a longstanding Chinese restaurant. For 63 years this was the home of Chin's (Lucky's), and to put it mildly... Dan has his work cut out for him. This has been a real battle due to the poor condition of the floors, the ceiling, the walls... The good news is that Dan plans on finishing the project next month, and 888 Main will soon be operational as a 44 seat, white linen clad, candle-lit restaurant featuring an old world bar, burnt red/orange walls, elevated dining section, and slate floors.
What's going to be most interesting feature of 888 Main? The food. Dan is a practicing vegetarian of 15 years, and for eight of those years he was a devout vegan. That means that 888 will be very vegan/vegetarian friendly. That's good news for all of you who have been searching for veg-friendly restaurants in Buffalo. 888 will still serve a few meat dishes, but Dan plans on practicing by the book when it comes to offering veg-diners a place to call their own.
888 is spacious with 3000 square feet and a nice sized kitchen to boot. That means that there is room for two full pizza ovens in which Dan plans on preparing a variety of gourmet pizzas. 888 will also feature pasta and fish dishes, and for the meat lovers he will offer chicken, steak, etc. "I am happy to offer rennet-free cheese for the vegan population of Buffalo," Dan told me on Friday. "There will also be tofu dishes... if you're looking for good, wholesome food, that is what we are offering. I've owned a few bars in the past and now I want to concentrate on an eatery where the food means something. I am hoping that the people who work at the medical campus will frequent this place. 888 is also on the Light Rail route. I'll be open for lunch and dinner (11am-11pm), and will offer beers and wines. I've even ordered a fireplace that should be in next week. I'm still trying to figure out whether or not I will install TVs behind the bar, what do you think?"
Dan will start working on the facade of the building next week and is happy to see this section of Main Street coming alive. 888 is just down from Granite Works, next to Roxy's, a short distance from Allentown, and just down from the medical campus. So, TV or no TV? Dan really wants to know.
you have to have a couple plasmas
...TVs!!!!! Tacky. Tasteless. Tedious. Totally Not Necessary.
People can watch TV at home.
From someoe who eats out 7 days a week ....you definitly need a TV
i vote no for tv's. they fit into certain places but this place seems too classy. then again i've been nearly boycotting tv for about two years so i might be biased.
i love the new ipods you can watch TV shows and movies on. now i never have to pay any attention to the people around me, and when some short-sighted restauranteur fails to put up TVs, I just pull out my own. it sure beats satying home and eating a microwaved meal by myself!
I can't stand TVs in restaurants, but it depends how the place is laid out. If it's just one above the bar, only visible to people who are sitting right there, pointed at it and wanting to look at it, then it's not a big deal.
TVin Allentown Hardware: no problem
TVs in Frizzy's: too much
But if they've got good vegetarian food, I'll frequent no matter what.
II see no need for a TV in a restaurant, but I guess behind the bar for the people there is SOP.
TV's?.....anyway, can't wait till this place opens. It's hard to find a good vegi restaurant in town right now.
Sorry to be a downer here, but I am familiar with the "few bars" Dan Campieri has owned in the past, (along with some other real estate disasters in the city), and the track record is not great. Maybe he has matured in his approach to business management over the past 5 years or so. I'm not sure how much research is done into these pieces before a project is given the Buffalo Rising endorsement. With all due respect for Mr. Campieri's privacy, I would recommend that it may be wise to explore a little bit more before granting someone such publicity.
I've been a vegetarian longer than Dan and so is my other half. We eat out often and are his ideal customers.
There are plenty of places to watch TV in public, namely bars and taverns. But they really wreck the dining experience, which is when you need to focus on your companion(s), especially if it is a business lunch or dinner.
But hey, you want a TV, install a TV. I'll just bring one of these:
TV-B-Gone.
Kill your TV,
Does the TV-B-GONE actually work?
I can't wait for another vegetarian choice in the city! Good luck Dan!
This block of Main St. is more alive these days and can use an eating establishment such as this to join in the excitement.
sounds like a great place... good luck!! and no tv.
No to the TV
Don't know anything about this operator. A vegan place sounds a lot less roudy than any bars he may have run.
I want a TV behind the bar. I'll eat my dinner, drink a beer and watch the tube, especially if I'm dining alone. But I don't want the sound on. Just give me closed captioning and keep the sound off. Particularly at playoff time (sabres or bills, or even baseball or basketball) you will want the bar to have a tv.
On the 800 block: This block is going to look fantastic in another year or so. Not only Granite Works and this place and ZeptoMetrix but also 916 & 918 Main (next to the Red Jacket) are going to be redone by a designated developer. Lots of credit to the preservationists who prevailed in saving this block despite decades of insistence by developers that nothing could be done here cost effectively and that the old should be torn down to make way for the new.
I am so happy to hear of a new vegi-friendly place opening up. My bf and I will definitely become regulars if the food is good. We're still in mourning over the loss of Cybele's.
Now, about the TV dilema, my vote is a "no" for the TV because the money could be better used on something else, and TV's are really unnecessary. But if you decide that you absolutely must have TV's, please please please do not be showing ESPN or some other sports network. It seems like every place in this town feels some strange need to show sports 24/7. Even martini bars that are supposed to feel chic. And I'm sorry, but football just kinda kills the mood. I know this is a "spots town" but I say save the sports for sports bars, and let's get some places that create real atmosphere.
PS: QE do you know what ever happened to Beaufort from Cybele's? If your paths ever cross, could you please tell her that Buffalo really misses her from the restaurant scene?
PS Dak- I don't know if we'll see her back in biz... Cybele's closed because of some kind of tax evasion/embezellment. I used to love it too.
Good luck with the new restaurant Dan. I may just have to make it up from Nashville for the Grand Opening! (Oh, and I'd go WITHOUT the TV)