Hurricane Bar on Oliver Street in North Tonawanda has been open for a month, since owners Robert and Wieslawa Orefice returned to their native Western New York a year ago.
After years raising their family in Florida, Robert, a third-generation restaurateur, his wife and two kids have each pitched in to get the place off to a fast start.
“This is our version of Florida,” Robert Orefice said while guiding a recent tour of the rear dining room. “Anybody having a bad day, especially with the economy — you can’t be (angry) when you’re in here.”
The new owners of the establishment at 485 Oliver St. had lived in the Sunshine State for as many as 30 years, until a car accident forced Robert Orefice to consider a career change. But the change to restaurant ownership, it turned out, isn’t too different after all.
For years, he worked as an executive chef for waterfront properties there, before switching into a sales position for a liquor company. His grandfather, who died 18 years ago, ran Velenti’s at the corner of Kenmore and Delaware for some 35 years.
After looking at about 100 other properties in four states, he said the draw to Oliver Street had a lot to do with high traffic volume on the corner directly across from Wilson Farms.
And the building fit the bill.
“Where else in the country can you actually live up above your building”” he said. “Especially now in the economy the way it is ... it’s almost guaranteeing that you can make it. You’re not driving to work anymore. You’re saving costs all the way along the line. You wake up in the morning, go downstars and go to work.”
Downstairs, it’s pretty straight forward — several televisions, a large bar and a pool table front and center — except for the huge emphasis on decorations alternately paying homage to almost every conceivable sport as well as an undeniable island theme in the back, where a good number of tables and booths can handle a number of customers.
“Everything’s under $9.99. That way, the average guy can afford it. We actually keep the kitchen open until 1:30 a.m.,” he said.
On Friday, he said the fish fry was flying out the door.
“We’ll go through probably about 100 to 150 pounds. What’s key, too, is we do a lot of late-night business.” he said.
Before opening, his 15-year-old son Rob and 14-year-old daughter Victoria — both students in North Tonawanda — each pitched in to help remodel the place. A strong red-and-white theme is based on the same colors used in the universal symbol for a hurricane, a symbol displayed on the establishment’s overhead sign and appropriate to the tropical decor.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served daily. While a more complete menu is in the works, already offered are many if not all local favorites, from kielbasa to beef on weck in addition to reubens, salads, burgers and finger foods.
Meatloaf, chicken and rice, various alfredo dishes and more round out a “limited” menu of nearly 30 items.
Robert Jr. is the executive chef, having grown up around the industry. He said he’s had plenty of time to learn how to run a kitchen.
“I always helped him cook and stuff,” he said. “I’ve been cooking with him since I was a kid. He showed me all the techniques,” he said.
Just moments before, Robert Sr. had pointed out one of his son’s other accomplishments: He personally laid the wood flooring in the main bar room.
Victoria is the dining room manager at the other end of the building’s ground floor.
In the end, Robert sums it up as casual dining anchored around a sports bar that’s always looking to expand the menu. Coming up, he said they’re working on specialty ethnic menus like a Polish menu in honor of one of the city’s most prevalent ethnic populations.
Contact reporter Neale Gulleyat 693-1000, ext. 114.
Business
Related Photos
-
DOUG BENZ/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Discussion
November 8, 2009
NORTH TONAWANDA: New business blows in
- Business
-
-
Police probe scrap copper theft
Security camera offers a few clues to the crime.
-
LIFESTYLE: Good things still brewin' for Tonawanda native Jon Luther
Jon Luther might now be the pride of the City of Tonawanda, but it took him quite a while to ascend to the peak of his profession.
-
NORTH TONAWANDA: New business blows in
Hurricane Bar on Oliver Street in North Tonawanda has been open for a month, since owners Robert and Wieslawa Orefice returned to their native Western New York a year ago.
-
Antoinette D. Tirabassi
-
BUSINESS: Even in the middle of a recession, Wireless Zone continues to grow
Lockport Wireless Zone opens at 10 a.m. Friday, and within five minutes the business is already full of customers.
-
BUSINESS: More Mudds
Anyone passing along Niagara Street in the City of Tonawanda recently may have noticed there’s a new place to get some grub along the river.
To be more specific, it’s an old place with a new face. - BUSINESS: Steel Development Co. pulls out of Orleans County A Mississippi-based steel producer and recycler has decided against setting up shop in Orleans County.
-
LIFESTYLE: Hungry for change
There’s growing sentiment that this is something the whole $75 billion casual dining industry needs to do. We know their names — such as T.G.I. Friday’s, Chili’s, Applebee’s — but over the years, too many of the nation’s 81,000 casual dining restaurants have come to look, taste and feel the same.
-
ONE YEAR LATER: Ethanol plant still going strong
With Western New York Energy LLC in the market for millions of bushels of corn for ethanol, farmers in the Orleans County area have done their best to supply.
-
LIFESTYLE: Video rental biz a tale of two sales forecasts
As far as the video rental business goes, it is the best of times, and it is the worst of times.
It is the best of times for the Family Video franchise, which is building a store a week across the country, and Redbox, which continues to deepen its niche in the video rental market.
And it is the worst of times for Blockbuster Video, which has lost $4.5 billion since 2001 and is closing a good number of its 7,500 locations but is rebranding itself in an attempt to stay afloat. - More Business Headlines
-
Police probe scrap copper theft
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
