CHLOE KOWALYK
Special to The Leader
With the recent closing of Wing City Grille in Fredonia, a new alehouse, Buddy Brewster’s, has come to take its place. Owned by the same family as Wing City Grille, Buddy Brewster’s is now located at the same address.
The alehouse is named after the owner Andrew Carlson’s dog, Buddy, who has passed away.
Opening the restaurant has created 50 new jobs for the community.
The restaurant is only open at 50 percent capacity in response to New York State’s COVID guidelines.
To ensure the customer’s safety, the staff at Buddy Brewster’s has implemented a new tabling system.
“Our goal is to protect the safety of our patrons here,” Carlson said.
All tables are six feet apart and every other booth is used to allow for proper social distancing.
Carlson’s staff also received an extra 30 hours of training on sanitation and other safety measures. All employees must wear masks and have their temperatures taken before starting each shift.
Since Carlson’s previous business, Wing City Grille, closed last spring, he consulted the help of SUNY Fredonia business students.
According to Dr. Susan McNamara, an associate professor of business at Fredonia, “The students performed a marketing research project on the potential rebranding of Wing City and Carlson’s vision. They surveyed over 100 people and identified the strengths of Wing City [from] which to build upon for the next project, as well as market tested several of the potential new names [and] brands.”
Fredonia students had a substantial impact on the new business.
Carlson said that the experience was a positive one and that he and McNamara “decided it would be great to have the students help in the community.”
“We are big fans of the college,” he said.
The students were able to obtain experience in their field of study and according to McNamara, “The experience for the students offered a great learning lab as well as helped build their resumes with applied experience.”
Participating students were Fredonia alumni: Scott Boehnke, Alexis Terruli, Kathryn Rowan, Andrew Masiello and Jakob Hudson.
Buddy Brewster’s is serving all 12 local drafts on tap and features a brand new bar with drinks poured at a perfect 27 degrees.
Carlson aims to have the restaurant be a place that families can enjoy, too.
The alehouse doesn’t just have a great selection of beers, but also features a variety of meals.
Their biggest seller is the pulled pork, which is house-smoked pulled pork piled high with their BBQ sauce and topped with cheddar jack cheese and onion straws.
Carlson personally recommends the Brewster’s nachos, which are loaded with fresh ingredients and the house’s own beer cheese.
Also offered are dips, sandwiches, wraps, burgers, steaks, fish, mac and cheese, fries and salads.
Carlson said that he and the staff hope to, “serve great food, offer draft selections and serve it with a smile on our faces.”
The restaurant also takes online orders, available now through the service, Toast.
Buddy Brewster’s is open Sundays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
On Thursdays, the alehouse hosts trivia nights from 8-10 p.m.
You can visit their website and view the whole menu at BuddyBrewsters.com.
You can also like their Facebook page, titled “Buddy Brewster’s Ale House.”