When Salvatore “Sal” Buscaglia opened the doors to Snooty Fox Lounge on Delaware Avenue, almost 10 years ago, his desire was to create a chic, cozy Enoteca-style restaurant lounge. By creating a Buddha Bar vibe with an emphasized on “chill out” Ibiza style music, he felt that professionals would frequent the establishment after a long day at the office.
I find it hard to believe that it has already been 9 years since I first visited Snooty Fox. At the time, I wrote an article highlighting the menu for BRO. Looking back, I remember that Sal infused the same passion into his food as he did into the newly renovated space. When I caught up with him recently, he too couldn’t believe it had been almost 10 years since he flipped the light on for the first time. He told me that his desire was to get back the roots of the bar/restaurant, instead of reinventing the place.
Behind the velvet ropes, clientele will enjoy a VIP bottle service experience, maintaining the venue’s inherent exclusive yet accessible feel.
I think that that is a good direction to go, especially because the establishment has got such great bones and a solid history. Some owners try to come up with new concepts to keep their restaurants from becoming stale. Although he is getting back to his roots, he has completely renovated 50% of the restaurant space over the last 5 months, while staying open for business. In the process, he added the Fox Den – a cozy, chic, intimate room complete with a fully-stocked bar, in the rear of the restaurant (lead image). Designed and built by Buscaglia’s own master woodworking talents, The Fox Den exudes a sort of modern day “supper club meets old school lounge” flair. To top it off, Sal is also renovating the rooftop and creating a “bourbon open-air rooftop lounge” to be unveiled in the spring of 2017 (see top inset image).
Light dining menu and late night bites.
Salvatore’s overarching emphasis, per our discussion, is to return to the original vibe he created when he first opened for business. He recently closed shop for a couple weeks to give the place a good cleaning and to finish updating all the lighting. He then spent the majority of this down time reflecting on the original game plan that was the root of his early successes. It all came down to the vibe – the atmosphere, the music, the lighting… it was all tied in together. Over the years, some of that changed because he felt that a restaurant needed to change with the times. Looking back, it was that initial vision that worked, and that’s what he intends to get back to. After all, if it ain’t broke…
Moving forward, the main emphasis is going to be returning to the original chill vibe.
In the process of revamping, Snooty Fox Lounge has downsized its menu while also mixing it up by adding a few of Sal’s favorites – chicken meatballs, lasagna and pasta fagioli. On Wednesdays, think pasta – sauce and meatballs – there will be ½ off bottles of wine or bring in your own bottle ($20 uncorking fee). On Fridays, the lounge will be hosting bands from 4:30 to 7:00pm and 9:00 to 11:00pm. The official reopening is Tuesday (November 22) at 5pm. Sal will be offering a sneak peek of the new menu and atmospheric changes, with live music by Mirage.
Get ready for “Snooty Fox Redux”.
Snooty Fox Lounge | 445 Delaware Avenue | Buffalo, New York | (716) 843-3699 | Facebook