Not so long ago, Ed Janese spent his working day as a detective for the Niagara Falls Police Department, investigating domestic violence cases, dealing with the sort of people who abuse their spouses and children.
Chris Lofstrand worked nights, a lieutenant on the midnight shift that encountered the worst the city has to offer. As co-commander of the Emergency Response Team, he helped lead raids on drug houses.
"We dealt with stabbings, shootings, drug dealers -- you name it," Lofstrand said, looking back on more than 21 years on the job.
Janese and Lofstrand each retired last year. Instead of moving someplace warmer or taking jobs that trade on their previous experience, both chose a path that may be more treacherous in some ways than police work -- going into business in Niagara Falls.
These days, Janese can be found in the kitchen or behind the bar at Eddie Jay's, located on the stretch of Buffalo Avenue that curves out from LaSalle and toward Love Canal. After retiring early last year and remodeling a building that housed a sports bar and a concert venue in its most recent incarnations, Janese opened his restaurant in November.
Lofstrand took over a Niagara Falls institution late last year, purchasing Bowl-O-Drome on Pine Avenue from Jim Martino, whose family had run the popular alleys for more than half a century. Last Friday, he was behind the counter, checking Quick Draw tickets for winning combinations as the after-school crowd filed in.
"I never worked a cash register in my whole life," Lofstrand said. "It's a lot to learn and a lot to absorb -- all of a sudden, you're just immersed in it."
Having Martino around to answer the questions that come up daily has helped. So has the experience of Lofstrand's new business partner, Frank Pati, who has worked at Bowl-O-Drome for 32 years, working his way up from alley mechanic to manager.
"I'd never have been able to do it without Jimmy and Frank," he said. "It would have just been overwhelming."
Janese has not had the same sort of support structure in adjusting to his new career, as both he and his partner, Jay Rowcroft, are new to the restaurant business.
"This job consumes me 18 to 20 hours a day, seven days a week," Janese said.
Much of that time is spent in the kitchen, indulging a passion he discovered while in the military before becoming a cop. Having grown up on the fare at Michael's Restaurant and his mother's home cooking, he found military food sorely wanting.
"When I was in the Army, right out of high school, I couldn't find any good Italian food anywhere, so I started cooking in my barracks," he said. "I never cooked before I went in the Army, but I saw my mom make sauce a million times."
A few years before he retired, a co-worker asked him to make the food for her husband's birthday party. The menu included macaroni with meat sauce, meatballs, roasted chicken and parslied potatoes. The guest of honor -- Rowcroft -- was more than impressed.
"He said if I ever opened a restaurant, he wanted to be my partner," Janese said.
While still on the police force, Janese started running an informal catering business, cooking for parties in his kitchen at home. There are other cooks at Eddie Jay's, but Janese makes all the sauce and meatballs, most of the chicken dishes and an array of soups, including chicken, Italian wedding, chili and beef stew, a Saturday special. "I don't measure anything," he said. "I just cook by feel and taste."
Lofstrand also has a natural aptitude for the core of his business. An avid bowler since childhood, he has won City Tournament and Police Olympics titles, rolled 19 perfect games and achieved the Holy Grail of keglers, converting a 7-10 split.
He had not bowled as frequently in recent years, cutting back to two nights a week from four. He didn't have any definite plan for his retirement when Martino approached him about buying Bowl-O-Drome last year.
"I never imagined doing something like this," Lofstrand said. "But I couldn't pass it up."
After retiring on Nov. 23, Lofstrand started learning the business in December and took over full-time on Jan. 1. With Beverly Lanes long since out of business and Rapids Lanes closed temporarily due to a fire, Bowl-O-Drome has the only alleys in town, with the nearest competition at Frontier Lanes in Lewiston.
And those alleys -- 16 downstairs and eight more on the second floor -- are constantly in use, with adult leagues filling the house on weeknights and kids learning the sport on Saturdays and Sundays.
"It's always been a family business where everybody knows everybody, and I'd like to keep it that way," Lofstrand said.
While Lofstrand was able to take over a flourishing business with a built-in market in the heart of Niagara Falls, Janese operates on the outskirts of town, in a location even some lifelong city residents don't know about.
"I have no idea why this is considered Buffalo Avenue," he said, referring to the right turn Route 384 takes at the LaSalle Expressway, becoming River Road when it reaches the city line. "I've had people tell me they gave up trying to find the place."
The misleading configuration, with what seems like it should still be Buffalo Avenue turning into Cayuga Drive, even confused Janese when he first came to look at the building that now houses Eddie Jay's.
"I didn't even realize this was Buffalo Avenue at first," he said.
Support from friends, family and former co-workers and the resulting buzz has helped build a steady business for lunches and dinners, with the bar drawing customers for happy hour and in the evening.
"We've had a lot of repeat customers already, which means that they must like it," Janese said.
Lofstrand said the biggest adjustment for him has been shedding the protective shell that naturally develops over the years for most cops.
"You're dealing with the worst of society, and a lot of good people having their worst days, so you kind of get that midget-in-an-elevator syndrome -- you look around and all you see are É " he said, letting his voice tail off with a smile and a shrug. "In retail, the customer is always right. It's kind of a hard switch to make, but I'm adjusting."
Both men have children still in school and wives who work in the area, so staying in Niagara Falls wasn't a tough decision for either.
"I've been in the city most of my life," Janese said. "I thought it was a good fit."
And while both remain proud of their police careers, neither seems to miss his past life too much.
"Guys I worked with will come in with their vests and gun belts on and I think, 'You look so uncomfortable,'" Lofstrand said. "I miss the guys I worked with a lot, but I'm happy doing this."
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Feb. 5 2008 |