Sunday News: New Remedy House owners find a union workforce helps grow business
Somewhere Jackie Jocko is smiling, meet Zelalem Gemmeda at Ethiopian 101, and where to find Turkish groceries
Remedy House, the wedge-shaped coffeehouse at Rhode Island and West Utica streets is one of the main attractions making Five Points a West Side people magnet.
It faces Butter Block, the Paris-level patisserie, and Five Points Bakery, the whole-grain community center. A block west is Extra Extra Pizza, the worker-owned Brooklyn-style slice shop. A block east is the newly added Dalfonso’s Italian Imports, offering sandwiches on puccia bread.
At 429 Rhode Island St., Remedy House started building its egg-on-a-roll and lavender latte reputation in 2017. Its workers formed a union in 2023 after having paychecks bounce and other unpleasant working conditions. When Remedy House closed suddenly earlier this year, many fans feared the worst.
Then ownership changed, as former Marble + Rye owner Christian Willmott partnered with Brett Martone to buy the business. Martone worked with Willmott at Marble + Rye before going on to work at, then manage, Remedy House for most of its existence.
The new bosses like running a union shop. “All in all, it’s a positive thing,” Willmott said. “We’re fully in support.”
Business owners are uneasy about unions in general, but these owners see the benefits of defining humane working conditions and employee rights.
Under union conditions, more workers have a chance to “make a career of the restaurant industry, not just a stepping stone to the next thing,” Willmott said. In a time when restaurants struggle to keep workers, he said, employee retention pays dividends to the business and its customers.
“It doesn’t hurt us in any way, shape, or form in this business,” Willmott said. “If anything, it helps us, setting reasonable expectations for business and its personnel practices. At Remedy House, he said, “It’s just part of the business plan to treat your employees well.”
Remedy House, 429 Rhode Island St., 716-248-2155, remedyhouse.co
Hours: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. daily
REVIEW: Starting in 2015 with a food truck named the Blue Balls Bus, Zina Lapi built an operation that gives Buffalo diners a chance to enjoy elevated Mexican cuisine at the corner of Allen and Elmwood. Casa Azul makes its own tortillas, ladles 40-ingredient mole verde over enchiladas, and crowns its best-in-town chicken taco with chicken skin chicharrones. The rooftop patio in the works would only raise Casa Azul’s stature. (Later today, for patrons.)
Jackie Jocko is smiling: A modern steakhouse called Johnny D’s is coming to the former EB Green’s space in the Hyatt.
Working with owner and general manager Chris Harter, and Michael Stanley Gallisdorfer as front of house manager, veteran chef Ken Legnon, ex-SeaBar, Casa Azul, and Panorama on Seven, will guide the kitchen as culinary director.
Even better, Howard Goldman, Jackie Jocko’s disciple and spiritual successor, having played piano for a crowd of hardcore keyboard-tickling fans called Lounge Academy in the Hyatt lobby for years, will play Jocko’s piano there. Johnny D’s promises live piano nightly. It won’t always be Goldman, but still.
Other attractions include a garden room filled with natural light, live plants and chandeliers, and a large patio, seating up to 100 with soft seating, fire pits and live music. The patio will host occasional ticketed events, like clambakes, pig roasts, and paella nights, Legnon said.
If all goes well, he said, Johnny D’s could open by the end of May.
EVENTS: Zelalem Gemmeda’s first restaurant was in a Yemeni refugee camp. Her second is Abyssinia Ethiopian Cuisine, in Downtown Bazaar, 617 Main St. Both are dedicated to her children’s education.
In Yemen, as a refugee, Gemmeda spent her restaurant earnings on English lessons for her son Solomon. When they got to Buffalo, Solomon got a full scholarship to Park School, a bachelor’s in neuroscience, and a job in DC. Her daughter Feben is working on her degree, too.
Plus, as it turns out, Gemmeda is a terrific cook.
Don’t take my word for it. Join us 5 pm May 21 for Ethiopian 101 at Downtown Bazaar.
The $35 ticket includes dinner and my mini-seminar on Ethiopian culture and cuisine. Gemmeda will greet guests with a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Buy tickets here.
ASK THE CRITIC
Q: Do you have a recommendation for Middle Eastern market in the area? I’ve been making a lot of Israeli, Palestinian, and Turkish dishes, and want to know the best place I can go to get specialty items. - Erin S., Buffalo, via Substack message
A: Absolutely. Go to Buffalo Fresh, 284 Ontario St., in Riverside. Have a wander around the aisles. If there's anything on your shopping list you can't find there, let me know. It has the most comprehensive array of those sorts of groceries in one place, and a lovely bakery and prepared foods counter in the back.
More reading from Michael Chelus:
Mr. Galarneau wrote about the word class pizza that can be found at Jay's Artisan Pizza [Four Bites]
Chef Lamont Singletary II offers Korean-Cajun fusion at Far East Bayou [Four Bites]
Chef Michael Dimmer, owner and chef of Marble + Rye, wrote about his kitchen cheat code [Buffalo Spree]
Resurgence Brewing Company and Nick Charlap's are coming to Canalside [Buffalo News]
Graylynn will host Cocktail Collective on 5/19 [Buffalo Spree]
Have a look at some tucked away café patios around WNY including the Statler Café at the Martin House, Wonder Coffeehouse and more [Buffalo News]
Buffalo lost a beloved restaurateur this week - Tommy Cowan, owner of Doc Sullivan's and Forty Thieves [Buffalo News]
Brett told us how Shalooby Loofer Brewing Company is brewing beer for a cause [Step Out Buffalo]
Johnny D’s is slated to open in the former E.B. Green’s space with Chef Ken Legnon at the helm [Buffalo News]
#30#
“When they got to Buffalo, Solomon got a full scholarship to Park School, a bachelor’s in neuroscience, and a job in DC. Her daughter Feben is working on her degree, too.” The American dream personified.