Draconator Posted September 30 Posted September 30 The family that owns BarBill entered into an agreement with Holiday Valley to take over an old restaurant and serve BarBill style wings and 189 Burger style burgers (which is also owned by BarBill). Paywall but I'll post the article down below https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2025/09/30/bar-bill-tavern-holiday-valley-ellicottville-depot.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=ae&utm_content=BU&j=41796048&senddate=2025-09-30&utm_term=ep4&empos=p4 Holiday Valley, Bar-Bill Tavern team up on restaurant venture The Ellicottville Depot is coming back under a new ownership team with lots of experience. The team behind Bar-Bill Tavern is partnering with Holiday Valley Ski Resort to reopen the bar/restaurant at 6094 Route 219 South in Ellicottville. The venture, to be called just the Depot, will be led by brothers John and Harry Crook, who oversee finance and operations, respectively, at the three Bar-Bill locations in East Aurora, Clarence and Rochester that are owned by their parents, Clark and Katie Crook. The Ellicottville Depot closed last spring after 50 years in business and was sold to an affiliate of Holiday Valley Ski Resort in a $1.35 million deal handled by Holiday Valley Realty Co. that closed Sept. 17. The family was invited by friends on the Holiday Valley board of directors to see the space, where they met the former owner and had dinner. “We fell in love with the history of it, the vibe of the place and how quirky it was,” John Crook said. “We fell in love with the idea of continuing the Depot and the ability to bring the brand into a next generation of life.” The Crooks will operate the 1,560-square-foot restaurant, located on one acre across the street from the base of the ski resort under a lease. In a news release, Holiday Valley President and General Manger Dennis Eshbaugh said the resort has had a close relationship with the Depot over the years. “We are excited about the future and believe the Crook family will build on the history and great memories that Vicki and Moose created during their long-tenured stewardship of this very special place," he said. There have been rumors for a few years that Bar-Bill was expanding, but those rumors were quickly dispelled by the Crook family. Instead, the Depot will reopen under the same theme and brand as before. The Ellicottville Depot was operated by the Brown family for 45 years. The closure followed the death last September of Chris “Moose” Brown, who ran the restaurant with his wife, Vicky. It won’t be the first outside venture for the Crook family, who also operate 189 Burger in East Aurora next door to Bar-Bill. John Crook said they’re working to trim down the Ellicottville Depot menu. It will include Bar-Bill style wings and possibly a 189-type burger. “The different brand gives us kind of more freedom to try things we wouldn’t normally do at Bar-Bill,” he said. “We’re going to try to make her menu, but we’re going to make it a little more concise.” An opening date has not yet been determined, as the team is checking out the building and any updates or repairs. While Holiday Valley bought the land and building, the Bar-Bill team bought most of the furnishings and equipment inside from the former owner. “We purchased all of Vicky’s contents,” he said. “That was important to us. We wanted to make sure it didn’t lose the Depot flavor. The interior will feel almost the same.” Plans call for opening before year-end, pending liquor license approvals and the hiring of 15-20 staffers, including former employees who want to come back. “We hear hiring is a struggle – it’s such a small town – but we’re hoping obviously to be open by ski season,” he said. 1 Quote
Simon Posted October 1 Posted October 1 1 hour ago, Draconator said: “That was important to us. We wanted to make sure it didn’t lose the Depot flavor. The interior will feel almost the same.” Hope that ends up being the case; the place was loaded with a bunch of cool Rolling Stones memorabilia. It's also the first bar that my new puppy ever got thrown out of. Quote
Buffalo716 Posted October 1 Posted October 1 2 hours ago, Simon said: Hope that ends up being the case; the place was loaded with a bunch of cool Rolling Stones memorabilia. It's also the first bar that my new puppy ever got thrown out of. How long ago did your puppy get thrown out of the bar? I really haven't been to Holiday valley in a decade since I had season passes.. how long is the bar restaurant been closed Quote
Draconator Posted October 1 Author Posted October 1 5 hours ago, Mike in Horseheads said: Sounds like a couple of crooks to me. Try the veal Quote
Augie Posted October 1 Posted October 1 10 hours ago, Buffalo716 said: How long ago did your puppy get thrown out of the bar? I really haven't been to Holiday valley in a decade since I had season passes.. how long is the bar restaurant been closed That’s your first question. Mine would be, what’s kind of tally has the pooch run up now? If that was the “first bar”, how many followed? Was the dog ejected? Or the dog’s OWNER? We have some serious questions….. 🤷♂️ 1 1 Quote
Draconator Posted October 1 Author Posted October 1 11 hours ago, Buffalo716 said: How long ago did your puppy get thrown out of the bar? I really haven't been to Holiday valley in a decade since I had season passes.. how long is the bar restaurant been closed One of the owners of Ellicottville Depot, the husband, passed away about a year ago, and his wife/co-owner shut it down about 6 months ago. 1 Quote
Simon Posted October 1 Posted October 1 18 hours ago, Buffalo716 said: How long ago did your puppy get thrown out of the bar? I really haven't been to Holiday valley in a decade since I had season passes.. how long is the bar restaurant been closed That was from last Oct/Nov. I think they shut down in early spring, right after ski season. 7 hours ago, Augie said: That’s your first question. Mine would be, what’s kind of tally has the pooch run up now? If that was the “first bar”, how many followed? Was the dog ejected? Or the dog’s OWNER? We have some serious questions….. 🤷♂️ This was sort of funny so I'll expound. A small crew of us go up for their beer fest every fall and afterwards typically walk down to the Depot for food and more beers. Last year I stopped by the house and grabbed the puppy after the beerfest then walked into the Depot with her in my shirt and went right to our table(s), shielding her from the bar area so they couldn't see her. I managed to have a couple beers while everybody in the place was laughing about it before a very cranky, unpleasant server saw her head sticking out of my shirt. Things then went like this: Cranky server: You need to get that dog out of here right now! Simon: What dog? Cranky server: The dog in your shirt, sir Simon: There's no dog in my.... <looks down> Aaaaghhhhh, what the hell?!?! How did that get in there?! Which one of you jackasses put a dog in my shirt?!?! <gets up and starts staggering toward door> Oh My God, it's trying to bite my throat!!!! <starts dramatically spinning around trying to get dog out of shirt> Aaaaaggghhhh, get it off, get it off!!!! <heading out door still wrestling with dog> For the love of God, somebody call Animal Control!!!!! 4 Quote
Augie Posted October 1 Posted October 1 6 minutes ago, Simon said: That was from last Oct/Nov. I think they shut down in early spring, right after ski season. This was sort of funny so I'll expound. A small crew of us go up for their beer fest every fall and afterwards typically walk down to the Depot for food and more beers. Last year I stopped by the house and grabbed the puppy after the beerfest then walked into the Depot with her in my shirt and went right to our table(s), shielding her from the bar area so they couldn't see her. I managed to have a couple beers while everybody in the place was laughing about it before a very cranky, unpleasant server saw her head sticking out of my shirt. Things then went like this: Cranky server: You need to get that dog out of here right now! Simon: What dog? Cranky server: The dog in your shirt, sir Simon: There's no dog in my.... <looks down> Aaaaghhhhh, what the hell?!?! How did that get in there?! Which one of you jackasses put a dog in my shirt?!?! <gets up and starts staggering toward door> Oh My God, it's trying to bite my throat!!!! <starts dramatically spinning around trying to get dog out of shirt> Aaaaaggghhhh, get it off, get it off!!!! <heading out door still wrestling with dog> For the love of God, somebody call Animal Control!!!!! Oh Goodness! I’m just glad you lived to tell the tale. 🤣 Quote
Simon Posted October 1 Posted October 1 8 minutes ago, Augie said: Oh Goodness! I’m just glad you lived to tell the tale. 🤣 The only perilous part was waiting at the house for the boss to get back to see if she was going to be mad that I used her little Princess as a prop for mayhem. And I'm still standing! 1 1 1 Quote
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