Developer Rocco Termini has officially closed on the former Toro and Faherty’s locations on Elmwood Avenue. Termini, along with business partner Mike Shatzel, plan on combining the two restaurants into one large microbrewery restaurant called Thin Man. The name is derived from the first crash test dummy invented in Buffalo at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory (Calspan – 1948). The theme of the brewery/restaurant will be designed around Thin Man, the crash test dummy.
When asked about the excitement level of this particular project, Termini says, “I’m very excited.” The rest of Buffalo should be just as thrilled to see this section of Elmwood Avenue landing such an experienced developer-restaurateur team. Thin Man will help to shape the direction of the 400-500 block – a strip that has long struggled to keep up with other sections of the street.
The restaurant entity is is scheduled to open in the spring. The brewery is expected to open shortly thereafter. There will be a large rooftop patio – the first of its kind on Elmwood, surprisingly. The brewery is also the first of its kind for the avenue.
Work is already underway on the Thin Man project. Thin Man will be joined by a number of other notable Elmwood restaurant developments in 2016.