Conlon's Bar & Grill serving homemade, affordable food

 Conlon’s Bar & Grill serving homemade, affordable food

Dan Conlon has been in the restaurant business since he was 16.

“I started as a dishwasher and slowly worked my way up to executive chef.  It’s been my passion for about eight years now to open my own place,” he says.

Conlon’s Bar and Grill is now open at 382 Abbott Road in South Buffalo, serving homemade soups, salads, appetizers, sandwiches, and entrees. 

The process of opening a bar and restaurant has been a challenge, with delays in everything from city permits to a liquor license, which was just approved.  Since last summer, Conlon worked on getting the building ready and scouting out local vendors, including local wineries.

He says his restaurant “is not just your neighborhood bar serving your typical stuff,” Conlon says. “I’m trying to cater to the people in the area. Definitely trying to keep it at a reasonable price.  Buffalo is a meat-and-potatoes kind of town.  So I went for simple, hardy kinds of food,” he says.

The food is all homemade by Dan Conlon himself, and includes a Rueben sandwich, BBQ pulled chicken, burgers, fish ‘n chips, Sheppard’s pie, veggie pasta, ribs, homemade potato chips, loaded baked potatoes, “not Joe Mama’s Mac N Cheese”, corned beef and cabbage, spinach and house salads, toasted ravioli (with meat) and other items, including the very popular jalapeno corn bread.

All menu items are also available to go. 

Although starting a business is a challenge for anyone, Dan says “If you’re going to work that many hours you may as well make money for yourself.  And I’ve worked in the business long enough that I learned the good ways and the bad ways about running a restaurant.”  Conlon’s business partner is his wife, Emily, a school teacher, and his sister, Kat, helps out at the restaurant.  Photographs of Ireland, taken by Kat, line the walls.

Conlon’s Bar and Grill opened in November, and an official grand opening is planned for Saturday, January 30^th, from 12-5, with a ribbon cutting at 1 p.m.  Everyone is invited to attend. There will be a complimentary pig roast.

Specials are also planned for Super Bowl Sunday, with drink specials and 35-cent wings; Valentine’s Day, and the annual worldwide Guinness Toast, February 19^th.

Conlon’s Bar and Grill has three flat screen TVs, a dart board, and pool table.  Hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 11:00 a.m. to midnight, Fridays 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 a.m., and Saturdays 3:00 p.m. – 3:00 a.m.  Sundays are seasonal.

For more information, visit www.conlonsbarandgrill.com, visit them at 382 Abbott Road, call 716-725-6072, or call the Greater South Buffalo Chamber of Commerce at 824-9942.