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By Jim Fink
Buffalo Toronto Public Media
Despite its location on the edge of Niagara Falls State Park, the historic Niagara Club building has sat largely vacant or underutilized for decades. Now, owner Babu Patel has a $2 million vision of reopening the Niagara Club - portions of which date back to 1864 - as an upscale steak and seafood restaurant along with an adjoining banquet hall. Patel said having the picturesque state park in its backyard is a huge opportunity.
“I'm assuming the hundreds of thousands of people are going to walk through my corner, and that’s an opportunity I'm going to take,” Patel said.
The biggest surprise, according to Patel, is how few rooftop or outdoor dining options there are in Niagara Falls.
“Niagara Falls is a wonder of the world city. I'm the only one that have a rooftop patio, that’s a big surprise," Patel said.
The still-to-be-named restaurant and banquet hall are being jointly financed through private dollars from Patel and tax breaks from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency.
