16-05-2025
Osteria 166 to end dining services, shift to event-focused model
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Osteria 166, the fine dining restaurant in downtown Buffalo known for its Italian dishes, will end its regular dining services and shift to an event-focused business model, restaurant owners said Friday.
The restaurant will remain open throughout the summer for dinner on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays before shifting to the event-based model. They plan to serve private dinners, happy hours, parties and other events.
'We have pivoted and shifted so many times in the past few years to keep our dream – our baby – going. This decision is another necessary pivot,' owners said in a social media post Friday. 'The dining and hospitality landscape has shifted dramatically, especially in downtown Buffalo. We have to shift with that moving tide or get completely washed away.'
Osteria 166 has been open for 12 years on Franklin Street. They added that the popular Meatball Street Brawl will continue this fall, and gift cards will remain good at Osteria 166, Villaggio in Ellicottville and at Occasions in downtown Buffalo.
This closure follows a trend in downtown Buffalo in recent months. Southern restaurant Toutant closed after a decade in business earlier this year, Nick's Place closed its Amherst Street location in February, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que closed its Franklin Street location in January in favor of a location in Hamburg, and Pour Taproom on Pearl Street suddenly closed in March.
'We are blessed to work with the absolute best team in the world, and we owe it to them to keep our Osteria family doing what we do best – serving the guests who make our Osteria family complete,' owners added. 'That's what this decision is all about.'
Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.
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