The magazine for alumni and friends of the UB School of Management
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24 Buffalo Business | AI AND BUSINESS ANALYTICS SOCIAL IMPACT OF MANAGEMENT BUSINESS OF CLIMATE CHANGE INNOVATION, ENTREPREURSHP AND LEADERSHIP A sk a Buffalonian where to get the best wings, and one of the places they're bound to recommend is The Bar-Bill Tavern. Founded in 1967 by Barb and Bill (hence the name) Korzelius in East Aurora, the tavern's signature item at the time was the beef on weck sandwich — they didn't even serve wings. But when former Bell Aerospace engi- neer Joe Giafaglione purchased the estab- lishment in 1977, he had bigger plans. He created the bar's now-iconic wing sauces and built a loyal following, transforming it into a destination. Thirty-five years later, Giafaglione was ready to retire, and his niece, Katie Crook, MBA '91, and her husband, Clark, were looking to do something new and decided to purchase the business, despite having no experience in the hospitality industry. "My husband was president of a computer company, and I was in banking and had owned a retail business for a few years," she says. "It was scary, but we thought, 'We'll just babysit the business for a while' since it was already a success. If anyone had told me when I was a kid that I'd be running Bar-Bill one day, I would've been shocked." But the couple did far more than babysit. Along with her sons, John and Harry, they revamped the company's systems, created new recipes and grew the family business from one location with 30 staff to four loca- tions with 250 employees. And they're not stopping there. Crook and team recently partnered with Holiday Valley Ski Resort to reopen The Ellicottville Depot bar/restaurant, now simply known as The Depot. In East Aurora, they also operate 189 Burger in the village. "Restaurants are all about production and process," says Crook. "People think of the industry as having more relaxed systems, but it can't survive without efficiency. Those lessons from my MBA: finance, oper- ations and production, are what make our business work." The business of Buffalo's favorites "People think of the industry as having more relaxed systems, but it can't survive without efficiency." Katie Crook, MBA '91 OWNER, BAR-BILL TAVERN Alumni building the companies that deliver pizza and wings By Kevin Manne Alumni Impact Photo: Douglas Levere Katie Crook, MBA '91, at Bar-Bill North in Clarence, N�Y� Photo: Tom Wolf