The Eagle House

By: Katherine Guenther

              Before Oziel Smith, the original owner of Williamsville’s Eagle House, could open his doors in 1827 he had one major problem:
“Actually the day before the restaurant was supposed to open it burned to the ground. Basically, he had to start from scratch,” said one of the restaurant’s current owners, Tricia L. Browne. The Eagle House began as a simple inn and tavern in a small community.

“We were a stage coach stop between the big city of Buffalo being built and Batavia,” she said.
A small fire set by workers got out of control and consumed the entire building before it could even open. A devastating setback but one that Smith, a frontiersmen, was able to get through quickly.

 “He owned a lot of things in the area. He had holding in the limestone quarry, and the sawmills. He was definitely like a pioneer – a founding father of Williamsville,” Browne said of Smith.

“The basement is stacked limestone- which is from the quarries around here,” said Browne.

“A lot of this stuff is all old original foundation from when the building was actually a stage coach stop.”

A series of underground tunnels connects several
buildings on Main Street.
Unfortunately many of the tunnels
are now permanently sealed. 

                  The basement is suspected of being part of the Underground Railroad, although this is a fact Browne is still unable to prove. However, Browne showed a reporter the remnants of underground tunnels that she explained connected to multiple buildings on Main Street. The tunnels are currently sealed.
Smith was able to create an established business on the property, one that would switch owners many times throughout its lifetime.

“There’s been a lot of ownership. It’s changed hands a lot,” said Browne. Currently, the restaurant is owned by the Hanny family.

“My family has owned it for a little over 30 years,” said Browne. The early Eagle House was quite different from the current restaurant that now sits on one of Buffalo’s busiest streets.

“There was a lot more woods around us. More like a wild frontier if you will,” said Browne, “I like to think of it as stagecoaches going up and down the street. And we have a horse tie out front so – I envision horses and stagecoaches and wagons being tied up in the front around Main Street.”

A Taste of the Past 

                  This old world charm is something that the Eagle house prides itself in preserving. The restaurant is adorned in dark woods that cover parts of the walls and the bar area. In the dining section, an old brick fireplace ads a different texture to the scenery. By the bar area, there are still reminders of the modern day, including big screen TVs and electronic cash registers, but they are hidden from the view of the diners.

                The restaurant is decorated in memorabilia from Buffalo’s history. Some of the artifacts hanging on the walls were given to Browne from customers and some are family heirlooms. One wall displays a series of old menus from different Buffalo restaurants dating back to the 1930s. These items, Browne explained, were part of her grandmother’s collection. On a wall in the other dining room a 1940s newspaper declaring Germany’s surrender hangs on the wall. This item Browne explained was a gift from a patron. On the wall across from this, actor Fatty Arbuckle can be seen in a photo with two young women that Browne explains are her great aunts.

Many of the Eagle House’s decorations are Hanny family heirlooms.
This large wood carving, however, was donated by a friend
who found it in his garage. 

“I am a fourth generation in the hospitality industry in Buffalo,” said Browne, “So a lot of things have been handed down to me from my grandparents, and my uncle and my father.” This not only includes family heirlooms but also recipes.

“Something my grandparents always served in their restaurants is something called welsh rarebit,” she said.
“It’s made with Canadian very sharp black diamond cheddar cheese. Which you get around the northern parts of the United States more so, and it’s made with stale beer- which is left to sit out and get flat. It’s kind of like a fondue if you will.”

Giving Back

Upstairs in the Eagle House
there is a room dedicated to
St. John Neumann
who rented the room many years ago
when it was still a tavern. 

                 In addition to family recipes, the Eagle House still proudly serves more traditional Buffalo items like Buffalo chicken wings and beef on weck. The restaurant also tries to keep a local Western New York connection.

“We always have New York State wines.” Browne said, “We’ll do some wine specials with things from the Niagara- some ice wines stuff during different times in the season.” One of the Eagle House’s local best sellers is Dr. Franks’ Salmon Run Riesling. In addition to local wine the Eagle House also tries to help out local farmers.

“There’s a farmers’ market out back every Saturday. That starts in May,” she said.

“This summer, we’re going to start a thing called “Farmers’ Market Saturday” and we’re either going to create an entrees or an appetizer, with things that we solely go over to the Farmers’ market and create,” she said.
             The Eagle House has participated in several local events over the years, including the Taste of Williamsville and Wines in the Wild at the Buffalo Zoo. However, Browne is especially proud of her restaurant’s involvement with Hospice Buffalo.

 “There’s about 10 restaurants in Buffalo and every month we take a turn doing ‘A Dinner to Remember’” she explained, “and we bring dinner to hospice – and we do dinner for all the families and all their patients.”
“We bring it all in and then we clean it all up,” she added, “so it’s a nice treat for everybody.”