By Bill Burk
Crank up your search engines.
Now Google Count Basie, Lena Horne, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Buddy Rich, Old Blue Eyes (Frank Sinatra), Sammy Kaye, Ozzy Nelson (of Ozzie and Harriet fame), Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman.
You’ve just surveyed the most famous entertainers from the 1930’ and 40’s, world renown performers of music and theater, classical big bands, jazz musicians, stand-up comedians, multi-talented entertainers. People who could book and fill any arena in the country from coast to coast, Carnegie and Radio City Music Halls, The Cotton Club, The Biltmore.
One of the prize bookings of these famous artists was The Village Casino, right here in Bemus Point, New York. Every person from the above list, among others, performed in that building.
renown performers of music and theater, classical big bands,
jazz musicians, stand-up comedians, multi-talented entertainers;
people who could book and fi ll any arena in the country from
coast to coast, Carnegie and Radio City Mu-sic Halls, The Cotton
Club, The Biltmore also sought prize bookings at The Village
Casino, right here in Bemus Point, New York
It’s a behemoth, “The Casino”, sitting lakeside like a fortress, guarding the middle of Chautauqua Lake on the Bemus side, the natural half-way point for vehicle and boat travel between Mayville and Jamestown, New York, on a prime spit of land. As you enter the narrows from the water, its unmistakable profile welcomes you to the recreation focal point of the lake. It was built in 1930, purportedly on old local Indian tribal meeting grounds, next to the Bemus Village Park. Pittsburgh industrialist James Selden had the recreation center constructed for the Village of Bemus Point, riding the momentum and popularity of the Celoron Park movement, huge hotels rimming the lake and steamboats transporting people up and down Chautauqua. Like the Celoron pavilion, he equipped it with a dining presence, a dance hall, and bowling alleys on the second floor. During the 1930’s and 40’s that building was one of the most “if these walls could talk” venues in all of New York State.
middle of Chautauqua Lake on the Bemus side, the natural half-way point
for vehicle and boat travel between Mayville and Jamestown, New York, on a
prime spit of land.
Through the years, The Village Casino has gone through several iterations, but always comes back to defining itself as a place for food, drinks and entertainment. In the fifties and sixties, it had a carnival park atmosphere as a beach house and bowling alley. In the 80’s, back to a bar and restaurant, accessible by lake traffic. Entertainment picked up again and the facility hosted popular bands like Rusted Root and The10,000 Maniacs.
And then came the chicken wings.
In 1982, as the wing became popular in Western New York as a meal, rather than waste, the Casino jumped on that phenomenon. At least 14,819 chickens sacrificed the gift of flight so that 29,638 of their wings could be eaten in a twenty-four-hour period. It was a Guinness World record at the time and restored Bemus Point on the map of popular culture, if only that particular slice that enjoys a spicy chicken wing and eccentric world records.
In 1999 the Carlson family took charge of the restaurant, bar and entertainment. They did a comprehensive remodel, added a game room, ice cream parlor, a deck for lakeside dining of about 120 guests, inside and bar seating for another 200. There are forty dock slips and waitstaff restaurant service right out to your boat. The banquet hall where the legends from the past performed is available for events and seats another 300.
Bemus Point has been the summer entertainment mecca on Chautauqua Lake for decades. It’s the product of its central location, especially with the Veterans Memorial Bridge as an east-west access conduit. The Village Casino has served as the anchor for Bemus, sitting hard on the shores with a rich history of service to patrons that stretches back as far as can be remembered.
It’s owned and operated by local entrepreneur Andrew Carlson, and still hosts live entertainment by local and regional acts every Friday and Saturday evening through Labor Day. As their web site states: We continue our commitment to be the area’s best and most affordable in casual waterfront dining, with an environment that allows you to relax, enjoy, make new friends, and reacquaint with old friends!
The Village Casino is located at 1 Lakeside Drive in Bemus Point. For more information call 386-2333 or visit www.bemuspointcasino.com.
Postscript: In 2018, when the sober esteem of 1982 Guinness record had worn off, the Carlson family served up another 42,210 chicken wings breaking their own record. It was not a good day for poultry in Chautauqua County. They will again be hosting the contest next weekend, August 3-4 which you can read more about in the “Bemus Point Lake Days” article in this week’s Villager.