Waxlight Bar à Vin, the thrice James Beard-nominated restaurant at 27 Chandler Street in Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood, will close permanently at the end of 2026, the restaurant’s ownership announced Oct. 5.
New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, will be the restaurant’s final night of service.
I rarely publish press releases verbatim, but Waxlight Bar a Vin’s partners did such a splendid job that I decided to just get out of the way.
Waxlight opened in November 2019 with an unusual ownership structure built around five equal partners, each responsible for a distinct, public-facing aspect of the business. Today, the owners are Jessica Forster, sommelier and general manager; Joseph Fenush III, chef; Tony Rials, mixologist and sommelier; and Lauren Romanillos, who oversees operations alongside Forster. Chef Edward Forster and bartender Jeff Yannuzzi were part of the restaurant’s original ownership group when it opened before both moved on to other roles; Romanillos joined the ownership group after Yannuzzi’s departure.
● During its run, Waxlight received three consecutive James Beard Foundation nominations (2023, 2024,2025) for Outstanding Wine and Beverage Program, advancing to the finalist round in 2024.
● The restaurant’s interior, designed by Bhakti Sharma of The Biba Studio, earned recognition from the Buffalo chapter of the International Interior Design Association.
● In 2024, general manager and sommelier Jessica Forster was selected as one of ten women in North America invited to attend the Court of Master Sommeliers Americas Women’s Symposium in Santa Barbara.
Waxlight will continue dinner service through Dec. 31, 2026, including a host of special events peppered into the remaining months of service. The restaurant encourages guests to make reservations before it closes and to use any outstanding gift cards before the final night of service. Reservations are available at waxlightbaravin.com.
So get your Waxlight reservations now, because there is a limited supply.
Waxlight’s announcement Monday left some of its many fans baffled. The people behind one of Buffalo’s most-lauded restaurants called it quits.
Hopefully the baffled can use this as a teachable moment.
The sort of restaurants that make Buffalo one of the greatest eating towns in the U.S. dollar for dollar are small businesses. Each relies on the diligence and expertise of a handful of people, or sometimes just one.
Restaurants are made of people. When one or more key staffers cannot keep working, or decides the returns aren’t worth what the job costs them personally, that restaurant’s daily equations can immediately become unsolvable.
Laurels are useful for drawing attention to outstanding work, but they do not come with income insurance.
Restaurant years are like dog years, and we only have so long together. Make your reservations now, not just for Waxlight, but those you will truly miss when their time comes.
Also RIP in 2026: Shango Bistro, Strong Hearts, Hombre y Lobo Tacos and Tequila, D’Alfonso’s Imports, Yankee BBQ, Natalie’s Mediterranean Eatery.
REVIEW: The Yelling Goat has about three restaurants’ worth of ideas on its epic-length menu. But there’s plenty of discoveries worth making in its pages. This Lancaster tavern has deep culinary roots, which is why a place that deals in first-rate fish fries, beef stroganoff, and pizza also offers chicken wings in enchanting berbere spices, a cherished remnant of a former Ethiopian restaurant woven into the Yelling Goat’s DNA. (For patrons, later this week.)
EDIBLE ART AT AKG: Inspired by works at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, ambitious bakers offered edible artworks of their own as part of the museum’s Art Alive event.
Éirinn Maynardi of the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute drew her inspiration for bright fruit layers from Mark Rothko’s Orange and Yellow, 1956.
Andrea “Andie” King of Sugarmoma’s Bakeshop used an edible ink printer on edible paper to channel Frida Kahlo’s Self-portrait with Monkey, 1938.
Jasmine W-King of Island716 drew from Ali Banisadr’s Return to Mother, 2022 for a wispy vision with a chocolate heart.
Popular vote winner Megan Dzielski of Scratch Bakeshop took the frenetic energy of Jackson Pollock’s Convergence: Number 10 to a splashy icing riot in primary colors, augmented with delicate macaron cookies.
Steve Dominguez drew from James Tissot’s L’Ambitieuse (Political Woman), 1883-1885, working on a biscuit base with cultured butter and vegetables.
Drawing from the same artwork for inspiration, Kayla Flumerfeldt of CFS Bakeshop won the judges’ prize for her intricately tailored dress of pink wafer paper. Underneath was admirably rich mocha cake with caramel cream cheese frosting.
ASK THE CRITIC
Q: I saw ube treats on social and they are so purple, where can I find some in Buffalo?
– Jess C., Buffalo, via email
A: The purple yam called ube is sweet and eye-catching. Hit up Pinoy Boi, one of the restaurants in International House, 617 Main St. Lloyd Ligao runs Buffalo’s only Filipino restaurant.
Besides pork sensations like lechon and sisig, Ligao goes hard with ube.
Super-premium ube ice cream, made with double the egg yolks of standard ice cream base, for starters. Then the ube Basque cheesecake, with its caramelized top layer. Deep-fried chewy mochi spheres with ube dip, too, if he has them in stock.
