By Jill Keppeler<br><a href="mailto:keppelerj@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Jill</a>
The Tonawanda News
June 29, 2009 10:51 pm
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Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the Tonawanda News’ “Progress” edition May 1.
Business at Crazy Jake’s is going, well, crazy.
About eight months after the restaurant opened on Webster Street in North Tonawanda, manager Jim Fingerlow says business is booming.
“We’re doing fine. We’re even expanding,” he said. “Just getting bigger and bigger, busier and busier.”
Mike Parker, one of the restaurant’s owners, said they’re looking forward to the eatery’s first summer.
“We’re pretty excited about the canal concerts, and we’re also going to have live music right here,” he said. Entertainment in the new courtyard multiple days a week will begin soon.
The eatery’s patio opened in April on a “weather-permitting” basis, and will probably be open full-time during Memorial Day weekend, Fingerlow said.
Despite the economic downturn, he said, customers don’t seem to be turning away.
“I don’t know if the economy is stopping anyone from coming out to eat — or if it’s just making them come out to drink more,” he said.
There will be more for them to drink, too: The restaurant’s 38 beers on tap will soon be bumped up to 50.
Other upcoming plans also include a Mother’s Day buffet and a Father’s Day tailgate party. The restaurant has a different theme planned each day for Canal Fest, which runs July 19 to 26.
For example, one day will have a Mexican theme, with a live mariachi band and a Mexican buffet, Fingerlow said. On parade day, there will be a Mardi Gras theme with a Dixieland band, a New Orleans-inspired menu — and a float in the parade.
Fingerlow said more plans are in the works to capitalize on NT’s summer events.
“If the economy is affecting us — well, I’m scared for how it would be if it weren’t,” he said. “Because we’re very busy.”
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