Buffalo in the ’90s: The hectic sizzle of Your Host

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

It doesn’t seem like 1990 is that far away to many Buffalonians — until you tell them in 1990 you could have sat at the counter of a Your Host Restaurant and ordered a meatloaf, coffee, and fries.

Then, all the sudden 1990 — only 25 years ago — seems like  a lifetime ago.

z2- 28 dec 1989 your host
As appeared in The Buffalo News– Buffalo Stories archives

The grill sergeants take charge

A CUSTOMER walks into the downtown Your Host wearing a satiny emerald Boston Celtics jacket and a hungry expression.

“Mary,” he says, “I need something to eat.”

It’s a couple minutes past noon, the start of the lunch-time rush.

“So, what will you have?” Mary Kuntz asks over hamburgers sizzling and french fries hissing.

“Meat loaf and fries,” the Celtics fan says.

“You got it,” says Mary, 58, a short-order cook for more than 30 years.

During the lunch hour at this restaurant at 767 Main St., Mary and her fellow short-order cook, Don Schroeder, take orders as well as cook them.

 

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Steve Cichon

Steve Cichon writes about Buffalo’s pop culture history. His stories of Buffalo's past have appeared more than 1600 times in The Buffalo News. He's a proud Buffalonian helping the world experience the city he loves. Since the earliest days of the internet, Cichon's been creating content celebrating the people, places, and ideas that make Buffalo unique and special. The 25-year veteran of Buffalo radio and television has written five books and curates The Buffalo Stories Archives-- hundreds of thousands of books, images, and audio/visual media which tell the stories of who we are in Western New York.