Business Profile: Fat Sal’s Bar and Grill, Buchanan

Just in time for the new football season, Fat Sal’s Bar and Grill opened in Buchanan on September 2.

More than 100 customers came to the new establishment on opening day.

Fat Sal has two meanings. Fat Sal is a happy cow that wears an apron featuring the Autism Speaks logo and serves as the eatery’s mascot

Matt Camerino, a Mahopac resident who is one of the owners of the restaurant, said last week Fat Sal also refers to one of his partners, Sal Barone, who owns Augie’s Prime Cut restaurant in Mohegan Lake. Barone’s wife, Audrey Hochroth, is also one of the owners.

Camerino said he has had a passion for the restaurant industry for years. “I’ve been in this business for over 12 years. It’s all I know,” he said. “It’s fun. I like when people have a good time “

Camerino said Fat Sal’s was created “because we wanted something a little more low key, a little more casual” than Augie’s, and Buchanan needed a new restaurant.

“They haven’t had a new place in a long time,” he said.

Camerino said he wanted “a rustic, old school bar” look to the establishment, which features several paintings of horses.

One of the features of Fat Sal’s is its bar, which has 20 beers on tap. The drink menu is printed on replicas of old fashioned milk bottles that are on each of the tables.

“The theme of the menu is bar and grill type food, bar bistro,” Camerino explained. Two of the specialties of the house are Grandma’s Homemade Meatballs and the Slow Roasted Baby Back Ribs. “Our meatballs went like crazy last night,” he said.

Other menu options include burgers, pasta, sandwiches, steaks and chicken dishes.

All proceeds from sales of bottles of steak sauce created for the new restaurant will be donated to Autism Speaks. The charity has a special meaning for Barone. His daughter, Nikki, has autism.

Camerino said his establishment plants to start serving Sunday brunch, which would tie in with NFL games, possibly within a month. The eatery has seven large screen televisions, with a potential for a separate NFL game on each, he said. “This is going to be great for the football season and the World Series,” he said.

Camerino said he and his partners chose the day after Labor Day to open because it would coincide with the start of the new pro football regular season on September 4.

“I was waiting for this football season to start so we’re busy right off the bat,” he said. “Everybody’s coming to watch football.”

Fat Sal’s Bar & Grill is located at 265 Tate Ave. in Buchanan. For more information, call 914-930-1770 or visit salsbarandgrill.com.