BUFFALO, N.Y. — ​Despite news that two popular establishments in Buffalo’s University Heights neighborhood, The Steer and Lake Effect Diner, are shutting down and being put up for sale, they might be staying open after all.

On Thursday, co-owner of the restaurants, Tucker Curtin, said he was planning to put both restaurants up for sale.

Curtin says he has been working in restaurants for 40 years and is exhausted and ready to try something new. On top of that, ramifications from the pandemic, including the labor shortage, have taken a toll on him and his team.

"I've done this and I've put my heart and soul into this neighborhood,” Curtin said. “Try to make a nice product and deliver quality and we've been able to maintain that, it's very difficult. But to continue on at the level I'd like, it's becoming more and more difficult."

Then on Thursday night, his wife, Erin Campbell Curtin, posted on their Facebook page that she was not consulted about the decision, and is committed to keeping the restaurants open.

She writes, “I look forward to welcoming back our local patrons soon. Stay tuned.” 

The Main Street restaurant has been open since 1969. Curtin bought it in 1993.