The grand opening of the Anchor Bar near the Eastern Hills Mall

By Ryan Esguerra

The Anchor Bar, an iconic chicken wing venue known not only to those local to Buffalo but to chicken wing lovers across the country, has opened its doors in a new location near the Eastern Hills Mall.

Open conveniently across the street from Duff’s chicken wings, the Anchor Bar has successful opened its second restaurant location in the Buffalo area to go along with its location in Ontario.

The new location features all of the classic chicken wing flavors of the Main Street location, but this Anchor Bar features four more chicken wing flavors and a new, sleek interior design.

“The buzzwords for the creation of this restaurant were modern and sleek,” said manager Taylor Schiappa, who helped plan the brand new interior. “We have had so much good feedback from our patrons and those coming in from out of town, I am proud of what we have created.”

Walking into this Anchor Bar is not at all like walking into the old one that has been around downtown Buffalo since 1935. The Main Street location is about half the size, walls draped in the iconic license plates, giving off the jumbled, look but in a controlled, graceful way. A look that has not changed in years.

This new age Anchor Bar features an expanded floor that seats 150, effectively double the size of the original, a large bar with televisions behind it, optimal for the football fan that comes in on Sundays and that modern 21^st century restaurant composition.

Walking into the Anchor Bar, you are immediately met by a hostess who directs you to either side of the V-shaped food floor lined with booth style seating.

The Booths surround the entirety of the restaurant, with what looks like pieces of booth sitting on their own lining the middle of the floor acting as tables and chairs.

“The new design is so much different than the old one,” said Eric Jacobs,a customer on his first visit to the new location. “The wings are just as good and the service was fast, but I like the more modern look and feel of this one.”

One of the biggest criticisms of the Main Street location was that it was so difficult to get Anchor Bar wings to the suburbs of Buffalo. It was a 20 minute drive for anyone who lived in the suburbs just to get to the Anchor Bar. In a world where everyone is busy, it could be difficult to drive 20 minutes for chicken wings.

“I live in the suburbs, so it is difficult for me to commute all the way to downtown Buffalo just for chicken wings,” said Jacobs. “Now I have more an excuse to come.”

The expansion is not the end of the story, the start of a trend that over the next few years, could have the creators of the chicken wing bringing their influence all over Buffalo and beyond.

“With a location already in Canada there are definitely going to be more Anchor Bars to come,” said Schiappa. “There are possibly two more that could pop up around the Buffalo and Canada area within the next few years, who knows where we could go after that.”

Late Night Dining Options on the Elmwood Strip

A lot of planning and effort goes into the college decision process: the campus life, price, location and proximity to home are all major factors in deciding on where one wants to spend the next four years of his or her life – but a factor that is overlooked but appreciated over time is the food around the area in question.

SUNY Buffalo State is located in the heart of the ElmwoodVillage, and is known for its lively nightlife and breathtaking art exhibits.

 Another huge part of the allure of the Elmwood strip is the multiple food selections it has to offer to its community and in particular, its college community.

After a long Saturday night on the Elmwood strip, the decision is made to go out and grab a bite to eat, but the question is there to service the late night snack needs of entire college campuses.

The amounts of food options available to students are: Italian, Greek, Chinese, various pizza restaurants and submarine sandwich places are all examples of the restaurants that dot  the Elmwood strip.

One such restaurant lies nearly a quarter mile from campus in a small pizza shop big enough to fit 20 people at most; Gino’s.

Gino’s is home to a variety of Italian-made dishes, but it is most famous for its pizza and calzones. Current employee and Buffalo State junior Kisha Perez has experienced firsthand what it is like to service the needs of college students who horde the restaurant during weekends.

“Dinner rush is crazy from the minute I get on my shift will when I get off at 5 a.m.” Perez said. “We get people from all over the place to get our pizza but I’d say the most customers we get are college students.”

Gino’s joins a host of restaurants open past midnight or later on weekend nights; other Buffalo State student favorites include Jim's Steak Out, Zonies, and Great Wall Chinese restaurant.

The later in the night it gets, the crazier the characters that come out.

“I have had any kind of person walk into my door once the clock turns past 12,” Perez said. “I have had a drunk guy ask me to marry him, Customers have tried to sing to me, even tried to kiss me.”

Not only do Elmwood restaurants stay open long into the night, they give the students something for everyone to enjoy.

Buffalo State sophomore Chloe Mitchell enjoys that a village that close to her campus features such a variety of restaurants.

“I think that having those options is very important to college life, more important than I ever thought before coming to Buffalo State,” Mitchell said. “Having somewhere to go and eat after I go out is a luxury to me and my friends.”