Unless you’ve been confined to a monastery for decades, you know about Gadawski’s on Falls Street, where the decor is definitely Irish.
That’s “Fighting Irish,” as in Notre Dame, The Four Horsemen, Knute Rockne and feisty leprechauns.
What you probably don’t know is that the Federal Bureau of Investigation once eyed the establishment for, of all things, what was on the menu.
Here’s how it all reportedly unfolded years ago.
The bank at Falls Street and Portage Road — in business at that time — was robbed. It wasn’t the first heist there, it wouldn’t be the last.
Although the year is a blur, it was Wednesday. No question.
Within hours, the FBI team from the Buffalo field office was on the scene, interviewing witnesses, checking for clues and talking at length with tellers.
Time for lunch.
“No prob-lem,” one of the feds said, “We can just walk across the street. It’s called Gadawski’s and a friend told me there’s good food at reasonable prices.”
As the FBI agents studied the menu, a polite waitress told them that macaroni and cheese was the Wednesday special. As the ever-observing agents cleaned up their plates, they noticed that many other customers were also having the “mac and cheese.”
By mid-afternoon they headed back to the Buffalo office where they raved in front of their co-workers about the restaurant across the from the bank.
Exactly a week from that day, the same bank was robbed again. This time a different FBI crew was dispatched, except for the one agent who had made at least two previous trips to the Falls bank.
So, when it came to lunch, he quickly pointed to Gadawski’s, recounting his first-hand experiences.
As she passed out the menus, the waitress issued the standard suggestion, “It’s macaroni and cheese today.”
That one agent — his third visit in a couple of months — was irked. “Don’t you have something besides macaroni?” he asked, not even looking at the varied menu.
When he started to belabor the point, Eddie Gadawski, the genial proprietor, approached the table and inquired, “There seems to be a problem here. Can I help you gents with something?”
“Yes, I certainly hope you can, sir,” the disgruntled agent replied. “I’ve been here a few other times and the waitress keeps telling us about the macaroni special. Is that all you ever serve here?”
Eddie shot back in his deadpan style: “I think I know the problem. You guys always show up on Wednesdays. Get those guys across the street to change their hold up schedule to Thursdays and you can have a hot meatball sandwich!”
•••
FOOTNOTE: Gadawski’s, 1445 Falls St., is featured in the current issue of Spree, as “One of the Favorite 27 Bars in Western New York.” In addition to noting the Polish-American tavern is a shrine to the Fighting Irish, the magazine cites the pierogies and sausage.
Eddie celebrated his 89th birthday last month. You can bet there will be more than “mac and cheese” for the 90th.
Contact reporter Don Glynn at 282-2311, ext. 2246.
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GLYNN: Gadawski sets FBI agents straight
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