01/15/2025
To My Gigi’s Family,
As we enter 2025, I am looking back on the last decade with happy thoughts. The opening and operation of Gigi’s has been the highlight of my long career in Buffalo’s restaurant business. My lifelong dream and goal were achieved when Gigi’s Cucina Povera opened in the summer of 2013. We at Gigi’s are so so thankful to have had so many people touch our lives and influence the course of Gigi’s through the years. While paying tribute to my father, grandmother, and our Sicilian Heritage, our mission has remained the same... In our "poor kitchen" the philosophy is simple: Make great food with fresh, local and seasonal ingredients, transforming the simple into more than the sum of its parts.
Please Join us this week and next week, as we say goodbye to Gigi’s. Our last day of operation will be January 25, 2025. Gigi’s Building has been sold and another restaurant will soon be open at 981 Kenmore Avenue. We wish the new owners as much love and support from the community as you have always provided for us. Gigi’s is Retiring!
We will be open Wednesday through Saturday until January 25, 2025. We will be celebrating the life and times of Gigi’s throughout this time. We want to see you! So Please! Make reservations or just stop in, during our last two weeks, to share a drink, a bite, and a story. We are going to miss serving you, and celebrating your many occasions, holidays, great times and sad times with us. We danced, we sang, we drank and of course we ate! Manga! We cannot thank you enough for letting us be a part of your lives.
My family and I are so proud of what Gigi’s has become. And I am so proud and thankful for all the employees, that have passed through our doors and left an imprint. Little did I know or imagine that my family would grow 10-fold over the 12 years we have been open. My literal family and the friends that became family passing through Gigi’s.
I keep using we instead of I because Gigi’s succeeded, and was loved, not only because of me, and our food, But also because of our staff. There have been numerous people through the years that have left their mark, on the restaurant and my heart. I can’t name all of you, but you know who you are. I thank you.
To Toni, Rachel, Sarah, and Jeff you have kept the Gigi’s ship steady and successful before, during and after Covid. You saw me thru the darkest of restaurant times. I cannot begin to thank you enough for your commitment to the restaurant. Your talents and relationships made GiGi’s a regular spot for a night out for so many people.
After this chapter closes, I’ll be around! I look forward to spending more time with my family and friends. and finally dining out a bit more. After some rest, relaxation and catching up on life. I would love to cater your parties, teach some cooking classes and help make other restaurant owners lives easier. Consulting, Training, Project Management… Maybe I can help you.! I am open to your ideas!
With Many Many Thanks and Much Gratitude,
Mary Ann Giordano
