By Carol Fisher Linn
Time flies when we are having fun. It’s hard to believe that 41 years have passed since the Kell’s, Roushes and Barretts, all restaurant owners in Ellicottville at the time, went to a Taste of Buffalo (then in its second year) in 1985 and decided they could bring a Taste to Ellicottville. (BTW, the first Taste ever in modern American lore was in Chicago on July 4, 1980.) Mary Fox from the Barn Restaurant joined the promoters and that first year 7 of the 10 local restaurants participated (Madigan’s, Tips-Up Cafe, The Birdwalk, The Barn, Gin Mill, Balloons, the Depot and the Buffalo Ranch), and they served about 500 people. In 2025 about 4000 people enjoyed the diverse cuisine offered in our Ellicottville restaurants, pubs and our candy store, Watson’s. This year there will be over 20 vendors to visit, serving the best of the best, so pace yourselves. Then, after you’ve sampled your way through the village you can visit the restaurant that served your favorite for a complete meal later in the evenings. The Taste runs from noon to 4pm, giving the chefs time to get back to their kitchens in order to serve up the complete meals for their evening clients.
How many of you remember some of the restaurants that were in our Ellicottville lineup in 1985? Let me name a few and help you awaken your memories of some of those fun places in the “old days.” The Barn, (now Villaggio) was constructed in 1895 as a livery stable for the hotel on Washington St. Today, customers indulge in Nani Pitillo’s delicious meatballs, or Rigatoni Bolognese etc., in its original horse stalls. The Silver Fox is an old 1800’s fur barn turned into a classy restaurant and lounge and the only steakhouse in town; that magic was done by the creative Nickolson wizards; The Birdwalk, circa 1834, famous for the birth of the legendary Regatta, was also an antique shop where you could buy the table and chairs you dined on. The Crystal Palace offered “high-end white tablecloth dining,” a lot swankier than the American Legion the building once housed. It is now part of EBC. In 1981, a mid-1800’s wooden schoolhouse, then tinsmith and harness shop morphed into an Italian restaurant of the same name, The Harness Shop. The years passed and it eventually became Ellicottville’s Irish pub, Madigan’s. Tips Up is now Hidalgo Grill Mexican Restaurant and a luxury cigar lounge, Cygaro. Who remembers The Buffalo Ranch on Horn Hill? They had a booth that first year. Not a restaurant but they did serve the bison meat they became famous for. Speaking of memories, there are very few people who have visited Ellicottville who don’t have at least one crazy memory from a stop at the famous Gin Mill. It’s moved now, but it’s wall décor followed. About moving, it’s been many years since the beloved Ellicottville Depot moved to the other end of the tracks closer to Holiday Valley. It is now called Wayne’s Depot, operated by the family who owns the Bar Bill franchise in Erie County. Roast beef, anyone?
tville lineup in 1985? Let me name a few and help you awaken your memories
of some of those fun places in the “old days.”
Silver Fox is once again serving their multiple-times prize-winning Blackened Ahi Tuna and their mouthwatering tenderloin skewers with Rosemary Aioli. Watsons will serve their twice-a-year treat, baklava, and their famous rice pudding either plain, with raisins or a new surprise this year, blueberries fresh from the Burdick Blueberry Farm in East Otto. Every booth has several offerings.
Tickets are $1 apiece, sold in sheets of 10. Items cost from 1 to 5 tickets each. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time online, and at the event where tables will be set up. Ellicottville Rotary members will also be present to help with sales, directions, etc.
This year, the Taste of Ellicottville comes to our streets on Saturday and Sunday, August 8-9. Come early and be some of the first to try the delicious samples of area restaurants’ sig-nature dishes showcased by our talented local chefs. Yes, you will find healthy options and gluten free dishes. Bon Appetit!
PS: Still thinking about Ellicottville’s dining history of years gone by? Here are a few more eateries to remember: Pitillo’s Amber Goblet/Gioni’s, The Hearth, The Rusty Nail, Burke’s Holiday Haus/Whole Hog (serve yourself and enjoy the Irish singing), Cadillac Jacks, etc. There are more; can you name more?
The full map and menu items will be available soon at ellicottvilleny.com and in next week’s edition of The Villager. Bon Appetit!