A Syracuse-based restaurant chain is set to open a new location in Upstate New York.
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que will open its first-ever suburban location at 4245 McKinley Parkway in Hamburg, N.Y., on Dec. 3, at 4 p.m. The BBQ joint will be “just minutes from” the Buffalo Bills’ Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park and near Southtowns’ McKinley Mall.
"The setting feels more neighborhood hangout than downtown roadhouse, but the heart, smoke, and sauce are all one hundred percent Dinosaur Bar-B-Que,“ the restaurant’s website says. “Hamburg may be our first stop in the suburbs, but it is still the same Dino you know and love, built on friendship, fueled by smoke, and ready to serve up the best BBQ in Buffalo.”
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que previously had a location in downtown Buffalo, but closed the restaurant after its lease expired in February. The Hamburg BBQ joint is the chain’s sixth location.
All of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que’s restaurants are located in in New York state, including in Syracuse, New York City, Rochester and Troy. The company once had as many as 10 locations, including in Chicago, Baltimore, Connecticut and New Jersey, but has since closed its out-of-state restaurants.
Founder John Stage and his friend Mike Rotella opened the first Dinosaur at 246 W. Willow St. in Syracuse in 1988. The brand has been featured on national TV multiple times and now offers multiple products, including a cookbook, signature sauces, and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que flavored potato chips.
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que CEO Mike Nugent told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that the Hamburg location, in a former Perkins restaurant, could mark a major turning point.
“All our locations have always been in what you might call urban locations,” Nugent said earlier this month. “This one is suburban, with a smaller footprint. It will probably be oriented to more takeout. It actually has parking.”
The Hamburg restaurant will feature popular menu items like brisket, ribs, pulled pork, wings, and homemade sides. But it may also serve as a testing ground for expanding again outside of the Empire State.
“So we’ll take a look at how this goes and then see if it can be a model for the future,” Nugent said.