Small Business Saturday: 773 North is award-winning Grand Island restaurant featuring creativity, consistency

Story and Photo by Alice Gerard

Senior Contributing Writer

Consistency and creativity are two of the most notable features of food served at 773 North, said Christy Zippier, who has co-owned the eatery at 2749 Grand Island Blvd., with her husband, Jason Zippier, for almost seven years.

“We strive for consistency here,” Zippier said. “We follow specific recipes. The food’s made the exact same way every time, so the customer has the exact same experience every time they come in. You want it to be just how you remember it.”

The restaurant’s most popular dish is its pot roast, Zippier said: “It’s very tender and cooked low and slow for hours. We top it with smoked cheddar, mashed potatoes and fried onion straws.

“Our soups are probably the No. 1 most popular thing here. We get really creative. We have an inventory of probably 30 different soups that we rotate. We won Buffalo Soup-Fest four years in a row.”

773 North owner Christy Zippier talks about the restaurant’s offerings.

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In 2022, 773 North won the Buffalo Soup-Fest in the Best Buffalo-style soup category with its stinger soup.

“A stinger sandwich is a half steak and cheese and a half chicken finger. Most of the pizzerias sell it as a sub, so we made a soup out of that. That was the last one that we won,” Zippier explained.

Another Buffalo favorite, beef on weck, is served as a panini, Zippier said.

“We put the salt and the caraway seeds on it, and we put it on the panini press with caramelized onions and provolone cheese and the roast beef. We serve it with au jus for dipping,” she said. “Our most popular sandwich is our Thanksgiving sandwich, which is oven-roasted turkey, cranberry mayonnaise, arugula and bacon, and it comes on a brioche bun.

“Our Mulligatawny always wins awards. We do it around for different events. That’s an apple curry chicken soup. We did it for the 100-person gala at the Sandy Beach Yacht Club, to have that as their first course. And, of course, our French onion is award-winning.

“We cook the onions very low, very slow. They caramelize for about two hours. We add garlic, we add wine, and we add the broth. Then we simmer it for another hour. When we serve it, we top it with two pieces of provolone and one piece of Swiss. It comes out all melty and bubbling and hot.

“We’re also open for brunch. Every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., we do brunch. It’s not a buffet. It’s off the menu. It’s a really fun day. We do mimosas, we do bloody Marys. We play fun music. It’s just really chill and cool. We do that (from Labor Day until) Memorial Day.”

The bar is also a lively place at 773 North.

“Our bar seats about 17 people,” Zippier said. “At night, it is full of life. We call ourselves a wine bar because we sell so much wine. We get the type of clientele that wants Manhattans, martinis and glasses of wine, as opposed to mixed drinks and shots and things like that. Our bartenders each have their own following. On any given day, when one of them is working, they have their own specific crowd that comes in to see them.”

“I think we’ve really become a staple on Grand Island. Every night of the week, we’re busy,” Zippier said. “We get a lot of repeat customers, as well as a lot of people who are traveling. A lot of people who stay in Niagara Falls say they read our Yelp reviews and that brings them over the bridge and brings them here, which is amazing. We get a lot of tourists, a lot of families.”

In addition to serving food and drinks at the restaurant, 773 North also caters such events as baby showers, bridal showers and Christmas parties.

“Catering is actually our No. 1 love,” said Zippier, a 2010 graduate of the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute. “That’s what we did before we owned a restaurant. We take the food to them. A lot of local businesses, a lot of private homes.”

Zippier said she was in the catering business for eight years before opening 773 North. During that time, she also served as executive chef of the Niagara Falls Conference Center.

She said she has a number of people to thank for the success of the restaurant: “Katie Kielaszek, our general manager, for being my right hand and holding this place together. Without her, I wouldn’t be able to do it. My husband is a great supporter of ours. He had to keep his regular job so I could do this. I would like to thank him for supporting me and believing in me. Of course, our parents for supporting us.”

For more information about catering or about holding events, Zippier said, “The best way is to email us at [email protected]. They could always call 716-773-6678 and ask for Christy or Katie, and we could direct them on how to proceed.”