Empire Grill
Known Name(s)
Empire Buffet (Secondary) Empire Restaurant (Tertiary)
Address
454 Michigan Avenue Buffalo, NY 14203
Establishment Type(s)
Grill, Restaurant
Physical Status
Demolished
Description
A building facing east on Michigan Avenue. The three-part building was orientated east to west. The main block was three-and-a-half-stories; the first floor was brick while the top two were wood frame. To the rear, there was a two-story extension. Beyond this, there was an additional second-story structure with fire walls twenty-four inches above the composition roof. In 1900, the latter part of the building was labeled a beer garden on a Sanborn map and was more ephemeral, being one story with a canvas roof.
Detailed History
454 Michigan Avenue operated as the Empire Grill (sometimes under the name Empire Buffet or Empire Restaurant) since at least 1916. Mr. Herman and Edmund D. McAden operated the site until 1938, when Max Kern became the proprietor. By 1944, Herbet Their was the owner and his father Jacob Thier worked as a host alongside bartender Leo Witter. By the end of the 1950s, Louis Edelman owned the Empire Grill. After losing its liquor license, the building suffered a fire in 1962. Unfortunately, the site was torn down in error after the building was sold to Marie Augello in 1965; Edelman had failed to tell the new owner the site was listed for demolition. Currently, the land is the parking lot for Scaefer Plumbing Supply.
