Restaurant looking to open mid-June at Frontier House

By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

Acclaimed Billy Club culinarians Daniel Hagen and Jake Strawser are bringing their best to Fairbanks – the new Lewiston restaurant they plan to open mid-June inside the Frontier House on Center Street.

That starts with their team, each member an acclaimed kitchen master.

“Both Dan and I have worked really hard to build a foundation of what it's like to work in this industry, or what it's like to work on our teams. I think we've done a good job of that at Billy Club, and we hope to extend that here,” Strawser said Tuesday.

•Matthew Hirt is the executive chef. A Buffalonian, he worked for a decade in New York City: at Eleven Madison Park in Manhattan and, most recently, as executive chef for Nudibranch in Brooklyn. Before that, he lived and worked in San Francisco at SPQR. Hirt also helped open Prescott’s Provisions in Tonawanda.

•Sous chef Jake Bauer has worked all over the world, with stops at Noma in Copenhagen, and Wildair and Contra in New York.

•Executive pastry chef Molly Doherty helped lead Butter Block in Buffalo after working at Michelin-starred The NoMad in New York City, and East Aurora's Elm Street Bakery.

•Sous pastry chef Erin Maslowski worked at The Grange Outpost in Orchard Park, at Angeline in downtown Buffalo, in Michelin-starred kitchens in Chicago, and for Gavin Kaysen at Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis.

“The accolades just kind of speak for themselves, but I think what's important beyond all of the names and the places that they've worked at that is that these are truly great people who are passionate about what they've done; and all four of them have helped us open this place, from dusting to sweeping to painting the basement, building shelving,” Strawser said. “I couldn't be more thankful for them and everyone who's been involved in the project.”

(Images courtesy of Fairbanks)

Fairbanks boasts an open-kitchen concept. (Images courtesy of Fairbanks)

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What guests can expect: Dining and bar spaces

When entering the Frontier House, the “small bar” room, to the right of the main entrance, boasts an open kitchen concept. It has about 30 seats in the dining areas, about a half-dozen at the bar, “and then an open chef's counter, which will seat anywhere between four and six people, depending on the party size,” Strawser said.

The appeal in that, of course, is “You can see right into the main kitchen area where the chefs are working.”

The “large bar room,” to the left of the main entrance, “will be one of the main dining rooms for this space,” with almost 30 more seats; and the larger of the two bar options, with about a dozen seats.

“When we were building out the space, it presented a unique opportunity – kind of being split right down the middle – which will allow us to host quite a different amount of private or semi-private events,” Strawser explained of the first-floor rooms.

“The only reason there's two bars in the space at all is so that we can close the pocket doors on either side, still run full-service on part of the side, and maybe do a cocktail hour or a birthday on either of the other sides.

“During normal service, when there's not a private event or semi-private event, it'll be a fully functioning restaurant throughout the entire first floor.”

(Images courtesy of Fairbanks)

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What guests can expect: Service times & menu

“Right now, we're going to start with just dinner,” Strawser said. “We're going into what I understand to be some of the busiest times in Lewiston. And for us, what's most important is putting our best foot forward and making a great first impression. Obviously, this has taken a considerable amount of time to get open, and we don't want to do anything halfway.”

He said, “Our schedule is looking like Tuesday through Saturday evenings. That, I believe, will encompass all of the Artpark concerts, and festivals.”

As to the food, “We're always going to focus on local farms,” Strawser said. “We're really excited, actually, to be in Niagara County now, because there's a whole slew of farmers out here that we haven't had the opportunity to work with in the City of Buffalo. That's probably one of the most exciting things for us.

“In addition, the spring and summer and fall months in the Greater Western New York region are some of the most bountiful months, as it pertains to produce and availability of ingredients. So, the ingredient, and the farmer who grew those ingredients, will always be on the forefront of the plate.”

He said, “As far as menu items that you might see, it could be something as simple as a local green salad with like an avocado-style dressing; or on the entrée side of things, there will be a burger on the menu – I know a lot of people have been asking that question. There will be a burger, but we're also going to have maybe some more composed entrees, whether it's black cod in a sun gold tomato sauce; or a large cut of beef; possibly a roast chicken entree, or a half-chicken entree. Those types of things.

“You'll really be able to see the intentionality and the ingredients focused on those plates.”

(Images courtesy of Fairbanks)

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Fairbanks a perfect match

Hagen, who has an accounting degree, is from Lockport. He has worked with The Aroma Group and Toutant in Buffalo.

Strawser is originally from Edmond, Oklahoma, “so I understand small town, USA,” he said. He lived in St. Louis and Kansas City, “but I've spent my formative years in the Greater Western New York/Buffalo region,” including a stint at Blue Monk. He has worked in financial services for more than 16 years.

Billy Club in Buffalo was the duo’s first restaurant endeavor. The Allen Street hot spot opened in 2016.

Strawser said he and Hagen began talking about a second restaurant prepandemic. Following COVID, they were looking at locations in the Southtowns when Ellicott Development suggested the Frontier House.

“I remember the first day that Dan and I walked in the building, and as soon as we opened the front door, we knew that this was the place – it had to be,” Strawser said. “Obviously, the character of the building, in general, and the history behind it, is exceptional, but just the sheer structure and bones and the fact it used to be a restaurant in the past was really appealing to us.

“So that, along with the amount of time that we've now spent in Lewiston as individuals – just being here basically every day for two years – we've kind of just fallen in love with the town and the village, and everyone has been incredibly supportive.”

Hagen and Strawser first announced Fairbanks in January 2024.

“I think that, really serendipitously – although we weren't looking here – it definitely feels like we landed at a second home, for sure,” Strawser said.

The Frontier House

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Ellicott Development Director of Development Thomas Fox echoed that sentiment.

“The restaurant concept that Jake and Dan have put together with Fairbanks aligns well with our vision for the short-term rentals” on the upper levels, he said. “Together, I see a great potential for them to provide such a nice experience for our future guests.”

Fox added, “With ease, as I've witnessed it all come together, their vision for the restaurant space has blended seamlessly,” with Ellicott Development’s restoration plans for the Frontier House. “When we initially brought our independent concept boards together in the early stages, the synergy was clear.”

Though everything about Billy Club is top-notch – and daily social media posts from patrons confirm this statement – Strawser emphasized, “We don't want there to be any type of pretense or any type of austere vibes.”

“We are a hospitality-first organization,” he said. “It's about letting everyone come in here and enjoy the food. It might look like a nice restaurant, but that doesn't mean you can't come in for a drink and a burger, and go about your day. We really want everyone to feel welcome.”

Strawser said, “I think that something that my business partner, Dan, and I pride ourselves on is trying to do it the right way. So, it might not be the fastest but, at the end of the day, we hope that the result we're able to show the village and the people of Lewiston is that we took our time for a reason.

“We didn't want to design this to stand out. We wanted to design it to fit into the intricacies and the history of the building, and really be like a heritage space that hopefully can live on for another 100 years.”

He added, “The most important thing for me is just to say thank you to everybody for their patience, as we've been working on the building; and for their support of what we've been doing here. Again, the village, the mayor, the building inspectors – everyone's been so helpful.

“We understand how important this building is to Lewiston. It really is kind of like the keystone of Center Street. We're very appreciative of everyone's patience. We will do everything we can to provide the best service and the best food in this space; and we just look forward to having everyone in and showing them what we're all about.”

Gift cards are on sale at www.fairbankslewiston.com. Patrons can sign up there for a newsletter to receive the most up-to-date information on the restaurant’s opening.

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See also >> Frontier House targeting June opening