716 Sports Bar

[Mr. Miyagi]

I hope to make a stop at this place. What's good there? What's your recommendation?

[WagonCircler]

The big screen is pretty amazing. The food and beer is typical of chain restaurants and overpriced.

[SpikedLemonade]

If only Jim Kelly would buy it and run it.

[BLUTO]

If only Jim Kelly would buy it and run it.
He has a bad track record with running a bar/restaurant. Many local vendors never got paid when his place in Buffalo closed.

[SpikedLemonade]

He has a bad track record with running a bar/restaurant. Many local vendors never got paid when his place in Buffalo closed.

Really?

Please tell me more.

[Skooby]

He has a bad track record with running a bar/restaurant. Many local vendors never got paid when his place in Buffalo closed.

Jim had partners, most of them worked there.

[SpikedLemonade]

Jim had partners, most of them worked there.

Anyone you know Mitch?

[OpIv37]

The big screen is pretty amazing. The food and beer is typical of chain restaurants and overpriced.

Seconded. We didn't eat there but we got a couple drinks before the Sabres game. The liquor selection was generic and it was D.C. prices in Buffalo. But the atmosphere and the big screen are great. It's worth an overpriced drink, especially if there's a decent game on to watch.

[Skooby]

Anyone you know Mitch?
What's the line Chris Berman always says about us ??

[Wally The Barber]

This is where the young girls hang out just to feel Jack Eichels muscle

[SpikedLemonade]

What's the line Chris Berman always says about us ??

A cab driver told him?

[Skooby]

A cab driver told him?
Keep going, you're getting warm.....

[Novacane]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAcwN-VFReE

[BLUTO]

Really?

Please tell me more.

From the Buffalo News -

It looks like the game is over at the Sport City Grill.
After a 2 and 1/2-year run in downtown Buffalo, Bills quarterback Jim Kelly and a group of investors have run out of plays to turn around a restaurant business plagued by uneven management and a difficult business climate.

Kelly and his brother, Dan, met with Mayor Masiello Tuesday to discuss the situation. Masiello said the Kellys and a third partner, Dan Trevino, have explored a number of options, including sale of the business, but no deals have been struck.
"They told me they have some very difficult decisions to make in the near future. They advised me things aren't going very well and there wasn't much hope for a turnaround," Masiello said.

AKA - Bankruptcy! Jim walked away clean but the suppliers (food, liquor, entertainment) were stung badly!!!

[Mace]

The bar is good. I sat at it and just ran my hands over the surface. It was primal and exciting. Eventually they made me leave when they realized I wouldn't order anything and just wanted to run my hands over the bar surface.

My recommendation is to order something if you want to stay there longer. They get weird also if you rub your face affectionately on the strangers sitting next to you.

They need to loosen up, imho.

[HHURRICANE]

Jim kelly....not a business man.

[OpIv37]

I went to Jim Kelly's restaurant once as a kid. My parents always tell the story about how I ordered apple pie a la mode for dessert and I practically ripped it out of the waitress's hands when she brought it.

The part that they don't tell is that the place had wings that were mild, medium, hot, extra hot and "call your doctor." My little brother ordered the "call your doctor."' He couldn't finish them and encouraged me to partake. I wasn't going to be outdone by my little brother, so I ate two. But my parents had already cut me off on soda refills. So, my mouth was en fuego when that dessert arrived and I desperately needed that ice cream.

As a side note, if you are ever outside of WNY and want wings, I strongly suggest finding another option. But if you insist, get the hot ones cuz they are barely a Buffalo medium. The mild sauce in most places may as well be water.

[Frenchman]

Sounds like fun and a great atomsphere over on it. Hope to go one day.

[coastal]

a restaurant business plagued by uneven management and a difficult business climate.interesting.

[stuckincincy]

The TV food chef Mario Batali said the only to eat out is because you don't want to bother with washing the dishes. Molto Mario was his show - then.

Funny, coming from a guy who has multiple restaurants now.

[Skooby]

The TV food chef Mario Batali said the only to eat out is because you don't want to bother with washing the dishes. Molto Mario was his show - then.

Funny, coming from a guy who has multiple restaurants now.
Almost like a preacher telling you to go to church on Sunday, the collection plate isn't filling itself.

[SpikedLemonade]

From the Buffalo News -

It looks like the game is over at the Sport City Grill.
After a 2 and 1/2-year run in downtown Buffalo, Bills quarterback Jim Kelly and a group of investors have run out of plays to turn around a restaurant business plagued by uneven management and a difficult business climate.

Kelly and his brother, Dan, met with Mayor Masiello Tuesday to discuss the situation. Masiello said the Kellys and a third partner, Dan Trevino, have explored a number of options, including sale of the business, but no deals have been struck.
"They told me they have some very difficult decisions to make in the near future. They advised me things aren't going very well and there wasn't much hope for a turnaround," Masiello said.

AKA - Bankruptcy! Jim walked away clean but the suppliers (food, liquor, entertainment) were stung badly!!!

I wonder what they meant by uneven management?

[SpikedLemonade]

Jim kelly....not a business man.

NOR a leader of his team when they needed leadership during Super Bowl Week.

[swiper]

Couldn't win a Super Bowl. Couldn't run a restaurant.

[Blondie]

I thought Jim Kelly was a HERO in Buffalo??

[YardRat]

Oh goodie. The regular season has brought out the trolls with it.

[Skooby]

Oh goodie. The regular season has brought out the trolls with it.
It's time to circle the wagons about how these things were ran.

[SpikedLemonade]

Oh goodie. The regular season has brought out the trolls with it.

Discussing Jim Kelly and his former bar/restaurant is trolling?

Why not just prepare us an agenda of items you would like us to discuss?

[Historian]

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/nPgAAOSwax5Yty6j/s-l1600.jpg

I still have a denim shirt from there....

[Skooby]

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/nPgAAOSwax5Yty6j/s-l1600.jpg

I still have a denim shirt from there....

Nice !!

[WagonCircler]

A 200 seat restaurant in Downtown Buffalo in 1993.

What could go wrong?

[SpikedLemonade]

Uneven Management could go wrong.

[swiper]

A 200 seat restaurant in Downtown Buffalo in 1993.

What could go wrong?

Wow. You certainly knew that idea was fraught with issues. I think most people would have a hard time thinking that would fly for long. I was never in that place, but I remember Razors. Rob Ray had a smaller venue with $2.00 mixed drinks. That is more Buffalo than the upper crust, big places. Buffalo is working class. It's not Chicago. The 1990's were certainly good times in Buffalo and those guys gave us lots of exciting football, but let's be honest here for a minute. Kelly's business adviser's failed him. wouldn't you say? I'm sure you know a lot more about it than most of us.

[Mace]

I wonder what they meant by uneven management?

In the hopes of catching customers unprepared and vulnerable, the supervisory staff were distributed toward the weak side of the crowd. Savvy patrons however soon learned the better managed part of the location was where the crowd wasn't, forcing management to repeatedly adjust scheme as the customers shifted and stunted.

I remember remaining in the middle and watching the staff hurrying back and forth, followed by the patrons, with the cycle endlessly repeating. It was the last stand for the uneven management offense and I remember Kelly saying his biggest regret was not being able to audible an effective placement of managers to exploit customer defense.

[SpikedLemonade]

In the hopes of catching customers unprepared and vulnerable, the supervisory staff were distributed toward the weak side of the crowd. Savvy patrons however soon learned the better managed part of the location was where the crowd wasn't, forcing management to repeatedly adjust scheme as the customers shifted and stunted.

I remember remaining in the middle and watching the staff hurrying back and forth, followed by the patrons, with the cycle endlessly repeating. It was the last stand for the uneven management offense and I remember Kelly saying his biggest regret was not being able to audible an effective placement of managers to exploit customer defense.

Who would teach and coach such a thing Mace?

[Homegrown]

I remember remaining in the middle and watching the staff hurrying back and forth, followed by the patrons, with the cycle ....

Nope - those were the bats in your basement. ....

[WagonCircler]

Wow. You certainly knew that idea was fraught with issues. I think most people would have a hard time thinking that would fly for long. I was never in that place, but I remember Razors. Rob Ray had a smaller venue with $2.00 mixed drinks. That is more Buffalo than the upper crust, big places. Buffalo is working class. It's not Chicago. The 1990's were certainly good times in Buffalo and those guys gave us lots of exciting football, but let's be honest here for a minute. Kelly's business adviser's failed him. wouldn't you say? I'm sure you know a lot more about it than most of us.


The thing that the amateurs who are posting about here that's so funny is that they are utterly clueless about what went on in both Rayzors and Network/Sport City Grill.

Yes, Jim's partners not only failed him, but they stole from him. He bought them out late in the game in order to make things right. It was those partners who caused the whole "The Ice Man never got paid!!!" hysteria. Jim came out of pocket BIG TIME to make these people whole, but the Pittsburgh partners buried invoices, so many of the vendors (who were aware of this) kept resubmitting invoices that had already been paid, then claimed that they were stiffed.

The whole deal was a desperate Hail Mary to try to save the Main Place Mall, and the lease was backloaded in such a way that made any long term success completely impossible. The NHL lockout in 1994 hastened the demise of the money pit that was Sport City Grill. The Nightclub (Network) made money like we were printing it ourselves, but it wasn't enough to cover the losses in the restaurant. And since the two were one corporation, both had to go, even though the nightclub stayed open for an extra 6 months.

This nonsense about "Jim Kelly couldn't run a restaurant" or "He was a poor businessman" is patently absurd. He never cared about any of that ****. He entered into a glorified endorsement deal that went sideways. As with most things, the way it was portrayed in the press was wildly inaccurate.

But it gave *******s like Spikey something to stroke themselves over and pontificate about.

I just read it and laugh now, because they really have no idea how stupid they sound to those who know the real story. But idiots like Spikey love to pretend they're experts about things, when in reality, they're completely ignorant.

And Rob Ray didn't have anything more than a deal with a very good friend of mine who actually owned Rayzor's. Ray owned nothing. He got a percentage for the use of his name (nickname) and for making appearances at the bar. Ray was horrible at keeping his end of the bargain, BTW.

[swiper]

You make the point that it is very difficult for anyone to own a restaurant or night club without having their nose in the books constantly to make sure such people don't take advantage. As I'm sure you would agree the temptation for the associates to try to get away with those things is large. Not just for Kelly, but in most of those arrangements.

[Skooby]

The thing that the amateurs who are posting about here that's so funny is that they are utterly clueless about what went on in both Rayzors and Network/Sport City Grill.

Yes, Jim's partners not only failed him, but they stole from him. He bought them out late in the game in order to make things right. It was those partners who caused the whole "The Ice Man never got paid!!!" hysteria. Jim came out of pocket BIG TIME to make these people whole, but the Pittsburgh partners buried invoices, so many of the vendors (who were aware of this) kept resubmitting invoices that had already been paid, then claimed that they were stiffed.

The whole deal was a desperate Hail Mary to try to save the Main Place Mall, and the lease was backloaded in such a way that made any long term success completely impossible. The NHL lockout in 1994 hastened the demise of the money pit that was Sport City Grill. The Nightclub (Network) made money like we were printing it ourselves, but it wasn't enough to cover the losses in the restaurant. And since the two were one corporation, both had to go, even though the nightclub stayed open for an extra 6 months.

This nonsense about "Jim Kelly couldn't run a restaurant" or "He was a poor businessman" is patently absurd. He never cared about any of that ****. He entered into a glorified endorsement deal that went sideways. As with most things, the way it was portrayed in the press was wildly inaccurate.

But it gave *******s like Spikey something to stroke themselves over and pontificate about.

I just read it and laugh now, because they really have no idea how stupid they sound to those who know the real story. But idiots like Spikey love to pretend they're experts about things, when in reality, they're completely ignorant.

And Rob Ray didn't have anything more than a deal with a very good friend of mine who actually owned Rayzor's. Ray owned nothing. He got a percentage for the use of his name (nickname) and for making appearances at the bar. Ray was horrible at keeping his end of the bargain, BTW.
Sounds like you had skin in the game & needed to defend it (and yourself). Did you have your hand in the register as well ?? If Jim could make money, he could lose money. Also, having your name associated with a failure like this is never easy and it usually costs you, whether it be money / reputation or both. People are only going to remember the famous name on the ticket, not the guy saying hi at the door.

[WagonCircler]

Sounds like you had skin in the game & needed to defend it (and yourself). Did you have your hand in the register as well ?? If Jim could make money, he could lose money. Also, having your name associated with a failure like this is never easy and it usually costs you, whether it be money / reputation or both. People are only going to remember the famous name on the ticket, not the guy saying hi at the door.

No, as s_hole, I'm the one who caught the thieves.

But, again, idiots like who, who don't have any idea what really happened, will continue to stroke yourselves and bloviate. You're an insane whack-job in your mother's basement who spends 23 hours a day making up new internet message board characters. Grow up. Get a life. There's a whole world out there beyond your keyboard.

And most of all, if you don't know what you're talking about, why not give shutting the **** up a try?

[Skooby]

No, as s_hole, I'm the one who caught the thieves.

But, again, idiots like who, who don't have any idea what really happened, will continue to stroke yourselves and bloviate. You're an insane whack-job in your mother's basement who spends 23 hours a day making up new internet message board characters. Grow up. Get a life. There's a whole world out there beyond your keyboard.

And most of all, if you don't know what you're talking about, why not give shutting the **** up a try?
Touchy touchy.

[SpikedLemonade]

Does YardFat have his finger on the button on this thread as well?

[daryls61]

Didn't Kelly have a stake in Network nightclub downtown? Maybe they were in the same building? I loved going to Network. It was like a big city nightclub.

[WagonCircler]

Didn't Kelly have a stake in Network nightclub downtown? Maybe they were in the same building? I loved going to Network. It was like a big city nightclub.

Read post #37, Daryl.

[daryls61]

Read post #37, Daryl.


Thanks Wagon. I missed that when reading through the thread.