BUFFALO, N.Y. — "It's been a lot, it's been a roller coaster."
With that one sentence, Swan Street Diner General Manager Amanda Amico summed up working in the restaurant industry in a pandemic. But despite the ups and downs, the old-fashioned diner in Larkinville is coming off its most successful summer ever.
"I have to give props to our staff, the people that work here," Amico told 2 On Your Side. "There's people that have worked here since we opened for years ago."
She chalks it up to loyal staff, plus regular customers, and innovative safety measures, such as their new way to wait for a table.
"People could walk around the neighborhood and get a text or be in their car if they're more comfortable things like that."
With the remote world giving people more flexibility in their schedules, the diner staff has found that going out for breakfast isn't just for Saturdays and Sundays anymore.
"You know every day of the week has been almost like a weekend day," she said.
That combination of a loyal staff and new technology, not to mention plenty of room for outdoor seating, is what helped Breezy Burrito Bar ride out the first year of the pandemic on the corner of Elmwood and Potomac Avenues. They were so successful that when the restaurant next door became available, formerly home to Ashker's Fresh Market + Cafe, they opened a second business.
"I grew up above my parents restaurant, which is a Tex-Mex bar and grill, so I just always saw my parents working hard," Briana "Breezy" Hunter told 2 On Your Side. "Any challenges that they were faced with, they just kind of pivoted."
It's that mentality that drove Hunter to grind through the curbside pickup and patio-only days, to ultimately see her Elmwood empire grow. She and her husband, Daniel, teamed up with partner Corey Moscato to open The Beer Keep in September. It's part bar, part beer store.
"There's nothing like this on Elmwood," Moscato said. "With a lot of the beer stores closing, Village Beer Merchant, we wanted to offer somewhere for people to go that has a more diverse craft focused selection."
“It's been wonderful," Hunter said. "People come in, they watch the Sabres games, we always have the Bills games on. It’s like, we're back!"
One of downtown Buffalo's newest restaurants is an expansion as well. Steven Butler's soul food restaurant Ike and BG's has been an East Side staple since the 90's.
"We were already a takeout establishment on Genesee Street, so it wasn't nothing that we really had to adjust to, just keeping everyone safe," Butler recalled about the early days of Covid.
"I think that’s what ultimately contributed to our success during the pandemic," he said. "We’re already in the line of serving comfort food. People called on Ike & BG’s and we served them up."
As of three weeks ago, their second location is up and running in Niagara Square.
"We find food as a way to put a smile on people's faces, so we took advantage of that," Butler said.