Published: September 13, 2008 12:04 am      

BUSINESS: Swiston's sticks to what it does best: Beef & Keg

Pizza Hut serves more than just pizza, Jim’s Steakout more than just steak, and Dunkin’ Donuts more than just doughnuts.

But if you go to Swiston’s in the City of Tonawanda, don’t ask for a menu. There isn’t one. The restaurant’s full name is Swiston’s Beef & Keg, and that’s about all you get — a roast beef sandwich and chili. That’s the way it’s been for more than half of a century, and that’s the way it’s likely going to stay.

“The funniest is when we ask, ‘Would you like beef or chili?’ and they ask for a menu,” co-owner Nectarios Kollidas said the other day.

Originally located where Walgreens is now, Swiston’s eventually moved across the street to its current location, overlooking the Erie Canal. In the warmer months, the restaurant’s docks can accommodate up to 10 boats. Stairs lead up from the docks directly into the restaurant, which has outdoor seating and an enclosed patio, plus a dining room inside.

The Kollidas family of Clarence purchased the restaurant from John Swiston in 1983, the same year Nectarios, 25, was born. He runs the restaurant with his brother, Ray. The majority of the restaurant looks as it did when Swiston decorated it in the 1950s with wrought iron, shields and swords.

Their major change to Swiston’s was to mount two flat-screen televisions to the wall behind the bar.

Andy Kollidas, who emigrated to the U.S. from Greece, passed the family business on to Ray, who went to culinary school. Nectarios earned a four-year degree in psychology, but he said he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work in the family business. “I basically grew up with this place,” he said. “It’s staying in the family.”

Even when Andy Kollidas bought the restaurant 25 years ago, he decided to keep the menu the same. That’s the charm of Swiston’s. In case you haven’t been there within the past 50 years, your decisions will consist of the following: plain roll or kimmelweck, and what to drink — beer, pop or water; coffee and other hot beverages aren’t served.

Kollidas’ two sons don’t plan to make any changes under their watch, at least not yet. Nectarios Kollidas said it’s tempting to expand the restaurant’s fare, but that won’t happen any time soon, if at all.

“There’s always that thought in the back of your head,” Nectarios Kollidas said. “Maybe we’ll expand sometime in the future. All we do is the roast beef and chili, and as long as it’s the best, we’re always going to have customers.”

Among those customers is Tonawanda Mayor Ron Pilozzi, who said, “The beef is good, the chili is great, the view is nice, especially in the summertime on the back deck.

“All the way around, it’s a nice place to go for a quick sandwich. When you get a roast beef sandwich there, you know you’ve got a sandwich.”

Contact reporter David J. Hill at 693-1000, ext. 115.