Mark Croce is a busy guy. The restaurateur/developer is working on, or has recently completed, six downtown projects. Work is underway on Statler City façade repairs and his boutique hotel at W. Huron and Franklin Streets. He’s also drawing up plans for the redevelopment of 505 Pearl Street and the C. W. Miller Livery Stable on W. Huron Street. I’ll have updates on those projects later this week, but here’s a look at what else has kept Mark occupied this summer. He is reinvesting in three of his downtown properties.
Buffalo Chop House
Croce recently completed a top-to-bottom renovation of the Buffalo Chop House on Franklin Street. The three month, $750,000 project involved redoing the parking lot, adding new lighting, and repointing the building’s exterior along with new carpeting, window coverings ($60,000 alone), lighting, flooring, furniture, and a rebuilt coat check room on the inside.
The restaurant now has a Frank Sinatra Rat Pack theme. Three pieces of Rat Pack artwork on the second level, inlaid wood pieces and made in Indonesia, is the centerpiece of the renovation (on left in image below).
“The Chop House has been open every day but one since 2002 and it was time for a makeover,” says Croce. That one day was Croce’s wedding day.
Buffalo Chop House was named Buffalo’s best steakhouse in ArtVoice’s best-of awards and Croce has introduced a “5 for $55” prix fixe promotion to broaden the restaurant’s reach. Guests receive an appetizer, entrée, two sides, and a desert for $55. The deal has been so well received that it has been extended through the end of the year. Croce says it allows people to experience the Chop House “without taking out a second mortgage.”
“While it was due for a face lift, we did a big overhaul. We spared no expense to take it to another level,” he says.
Statler City
Not all of the work at Statler City is on the outside. The Rendezvous nightclub in the basement of Statler City is no more. Croce closed the club earlier this summer and shifted the party to his Coliseum entertainment complex at 257 Franklin Street (more below). The Rendezvous space has been remodeled and rechristened as the Niagara Room and will be available for weddings and other events.
Croce says the demand for event space in Statler City is extremely strong. The historic building oftentimes hosts two or three simultaneous wedding receptions on Friday and Saturday nights and he’s adjusting Statler City’s mix to meet that demand.
“Rendezvous was too big and off the beaten path as an entertainment site,” says Croce. “This additional room will allow me to bring about 100 additional weddings downtown each year.”
Besides weddings, Statler City has hosted galas, luncheons, fundraisers, parties, corporate meetings, and other events. The Niagara Room can comfortably seat up to 150 people for events, smaller than Statler City’s Golden Ballroom and Terrace Room, and slightly larger than the Georgian Ballroom upstairs.
Coliseum Complex
Croce’s new LiFT Nightclub (Facebook page) had a soft-opening last weekend and is located on the second floor of the Coliseum complex in the heart of the Chippewa entertainment district. The second level had been unused as of late and housed Flash, a nite club, and Rhino Room, a cigar bar, in the early days of the Coliseum.
Croce said the renovation opened up the space to create a unique destination.
“I’ve built a lot of nightblubs and this is the best to date,” says Croce. “It is more dramatic that Rendevous with better lighting and sound. The room is breath taking; you wouldn’t believe you are in Buffalo.”
LiFT features a $50,000 chandelier (above) that was brought in from Philadelphia and required three three days to install the individual crystals. The club may be open, but the centerpiece is still on its way from Italy. A lighted liquid motion dance floor (similar to this) with LED lighting will be installed as soon as it arrives in Buffalo.
The Electronic Dance Music (EDM) events that use to be held at Rendezvous will be held in LiFT on Friday nights. A number of worldwide EDM DJs have played at Rendevous since it opened drawing EDM fans from Western New York, Southern Ontario, and beyond. Audien is taking control of the turntables this Friday night to break in the club’s sound system.
Coliseum opened in 1997 and both downtown and Mark continue to evolve. Croce’s venues have drawn tens of thousands of people into the heart of the city and there’s more to come.