Johnny D’s opens in iconic Hyatt Regency space in Buffalo

A hole appeared in downtown Buffalo after it closed in 2017. National chain Morton’s Steakhouse filled the void until 2020, leaving the legendary restaurant at the Hyatt Regency hotel vacant for the past few years – until now, as Johnny D’s prepares to open in the same space.

Opened under the direction of veteran restaurateur Chris Harter at the Hyatt Regency at 2 Fountain Plaza, the restaurant will feature steak and live piano, just like the old days, and many new features, such as a new patio, mocktails and sushi. The interior will be recognizable to past EB Green customers, but will also feel updated and modern.

“Everyone mentions EB Green’s and everyone gets a little glint in their eye when they talk about it,” Harter said. “I think it’s because there’s a lot of family history…I feel honored to be in this iconic space right now.”

Harter hopes to attract a diverse crowd to the renovated 345-person restaurant space, from hungry hotel guests in need of a quick bite, to locals out for a celebratory dinner, to people stopping by bar to have a drink and listen to the piano. He doesn’t want it to feel like a pretentious hotel restaurant, which sometimes has a reputation for overpriced and mediocre food. There is no dress code.

“I know if we create a restaurant for locals, then we can attract hotel guests,” Harter said.

Working with Hyatt Regency developer and owner Douglas Jemal, Harter renovated and expanded the space. A bright new “garden room” to the side of the restaurant will provide guests with a separate entrance to the hotel and a more casual dining space which Harter considers particularly suitable for lunch. He also built a new patio that seats 100 people where he plans to host happy hours, live music and ticketed public events such as clam bakes, lobster nights and barbecues.

Chef Kenneth Legnon, former executive chef of the Marriott Harbor Center, is in charge of the kitchen. Michael Gallisdorfer, formerly of Patina 250 and the Richardson Hotel, runs the room.

The menu features all the foods you’d expect from an upscale American restaurant, from several kinds of steaks, pastas, seafood and salads to more creative dishes like a beef Wellington corn dog and baked brie. fig oven. The eight sushi rolls will likely stand out, given Legnon’s experience as chef of the highly respected and since-closed sushi restaurants Seabar and Yoshi.

Costs range from $10 to $24 for appetizers and sushi, $18 to $38 for entrees, and $32 to $85 for grilled meats.

The bar program will include five mocktails, for which Harter sees a growing desire in the community, as well as 10 rotating signature cocktails.

Harter grew up in New Jersey, the son of Houston Astros president Robert Harter, and began working in the restaurant industry at age 16 as a dishwasher. Harter, a self-described “career restaurateur,” owned his own restaurants before entering the corporate world, where he served as president of five different restaurant companies.

He arrived in Buffalo in 2019 to work as president of Patina Restaurant Group of Delaware North and fell in love with Buffalo’s architecture, friendly people and lack of heavy traffic.

Johnny D’s has been in the works for a few years. The initial deal for the restaurant fell through, Harter said, prompting him to accept a new role in Atlanta. When Jemal called him back with renewed interest, Harter jumped at the chance to return to Buffalo.

Much of EB Green’s success comes from his entertainment. Known affectionately as Buffalo’s “Piano Man,” the late Jackie Jocko attracted locals and out-of-town visitors with his engaging, old-school piano performance where he made them feel like they were ‘they knew him and that they counted.

Jocko’s Piano, where the late artist’s handwritten notes are still recorded above the keys, will return to its rightful place near Johnny D’s bar. Harter honors EB Green’s legacy with daily live piano performance from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., played by one of Jocko’s protégés, Howard Goldman.

“Everyone told me the same story: ‘Oh my God, they had a great piano player every night,’” Harter said. “It just put it in my head.”

Jocko’s ability to play the piano with charisma inspired Goldman to learn the rare art of bar piano. (Jocko wasn’t the only famous local artist who trained Goldman. The late Andy Anselmo, nicknamed the “singing teacher to the stars,” taught him to sing.)

Goldman will play piano at Johnny D’s full time, about four nights a week, while his wife, former Buffalo News critic Mary Kunz Goldman, will fill the remaining evenings.

“I was preparing for this and hoping I could find myself in that room,” Goldman said.

Not that Goldman has gone far. He regularly has a concert every Friday evening in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency, about 50 feet from where he will be at the restaurant. He chats, sings and greets each guest, encouraging them to join his legion of “lounge cadets,” who crowd around the piano to mingle over glasses of wine.

He plans to bring his engaging number from “Lounge Academy” to the restaurant every Friday night and continue to film and stream the music live on Facebook.

“We consider ourselves conservatives. Just like preservationists help preserve buildings, we keep old music and that old culture alive,” Goldman said. “It’s a great American institution.”