Following Fred Daniels of Freddy J’s over the years has been a wild ride. Keeping track of his movements is almost impossible, until he landed on Grant Street. Since that time, Fred has not only stayed put, he’s also fine tuned his operation. Recently, Fred was granted a full liquor license for his restaurant that serves up a range of southern cuisine.

Not only that, but he has worked out an arrangement with his building owner, architect Kathleen Kinan, to build out a glass addition (lead image), which will help Fred to expand upon his limited seating arrangement. Yesterday, three of us had lunch at the restaurant, and it was like eating inside a can of sardines. But help is on the way, and soon enough there will be at least double the space for customers to sit down, relax, and eat and drink.

As if that is not enough, Fred will be signing a lease 197 Grant Street, to open up a new jazz club, also called Freddy J’s. If you recall, this is the same building that a car crashed through the front window last year. The jazz club will serve food and drinks, said Fred, who is happy that he has finally managed to carve out his destiny on the street. In the end, this will be quite the little compound, as the two buildings and joint operations will work together to create a bit of a unique destination on the street.

The addition of the glass enclosure, and the jazz club, will also allow Fred to expand upon his food offerings, which he is especially excited about.

Yesterday, for lunch, we were thoroughly satisfied while eating a smorgasbord of southern fried chicken and red velvet waffles, grits, scrambled eggs and cheese, jerk chicken, yellow rice, and mixed veggies, which we washed down with a chilled glass of Villa Rosa Moscato D’Asti… as a celebratory toast to Fred’s new ventures.

Freddy J’s | 195 Grant Street | Buffalo NY 14213 | 716-551-0570 | Facebook