Buffalo restaurant in Buffalo Grove closing after decades serving pancakes, burgers and more
A family-style restaurant that was founded in Chicago more than a century ago before becoming a fixture in Buffalo Grove is closing.
The Buffalo Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor, 1180 W. Lake-Cook Road, will serve its final meals March 30, owner Anthony Donato confirmed Friday.
Donato and his team announced the pending change this week with mailers that customers have since shared on social media.
“After 120 years of history & 35 years in Buffalo Grove, Buffalo Restaurant is closing,” the flyers read. “Come visit us, ONE FINAL TIME!”
The Buffalo launched at the corner of Irving Park and Pulaski roads on Chicago’s Northwest Side in the early 1900s. It remained there until the early 1990s, when it moved to a freestanding building in a shopping center on the northeast corner of Lake-Cook and Arlington Heights roads.
The brown brick building with teal awnings is highly visible to motorists crossing through the intersection and is a landmark for anyone giving directions to a destination in that part of town.
While the Buffalo has an extensive menu, it’s perhaps best known for pancakes, egg dishes, burgers and sandwiches. It also offered dishes catering to the area’s Jewish community, including bagels, lox and matzo ball soup.
But for folks with a sweet tooth, the Buffalo’s frozen treats have been the big draw. Sundaes, banana splits, shakes and malts are whipped up behind an old-fashioned counter at the back of the restaurant.
A Bannockburn resident, Donato bought the restaurant about six years ago. Visits with his daughter inspired him to buy the place.
“She loved the ice cream,” said Donato, a veteran restaurateur who’s also behind Anna’s Red Apple in Palatine.
The COVID-19 pandemic hurt business, which already had been down since the Dominick’s supermarket that was the anchor of the shopping center shuttered years earlier, Donato said. Some of the restaurant’s older customers never returned after the pandemic, he said.
While the Buffalo is shutting down, Donato said he might not be done with the site.
“This concept is not the right concept here, but something might be coming,” he teased. “It’s just a matter of putting together the pieces.”
As word of the pending closure spread this week, members of a Facebook group focused on life in Buffalo Grove shared memories of visits to the Buffalo. One woman called it a staple of her childhood. Another person told of taking his mother to the Buffalo to reveal his wife was pregnant with their first child.
Village President Eric Smith on Friday thanked Donato and the Buffalo staff for being part of the community for so many years.
“I wish the owners well in their next chapter,” Smith said through a spokesperson.
The Buffalo reduced its operating hours starting this week. It’s now only open from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.