By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
Norman Besso and his wife Rosemary opened Manny’s Supper Club on Delaware near Virginia in 1961.
Buffalo News archives
Following a fire in the former Shadow Restaurant in 1974, Besso had the structure on the corner — boarded up and covered with political signs — torn down in 1977 to make way for a parking lot.
Known for excellent cuts of steak, mussels ala Norman, and black bean soup for 32 years, Manny’s closed in 1993. It was three years later that artist Frank Cravotta painted the now landmark lion mural on the side of the building where Shadow once stood.