Jim Nolan's Blog

Buffalo Forge Grill Ad Photo

A photo scanned and sent to me by Phil Marino, who works for Howden, the company that bought Buffalo Forge. Looks like late '50s/early '60s to me. I have never seen the rotisserie attachment before. I want one. And I want the hat, too. 

Buffalo Forge Grill Ad, 1950

Click on ads to enlarge

These ads were kindly sent to me by Phil Marino, who works for the company that bought Buffalo Forge. Phil writes:

"Hi Jim

"I saw your grill featured on American Restorations last night.

"I work for what used to be the Buffalo Forge Company in Buffalo. Buffalo Forge was a manufacturer of larger heavy duty industrial fans used in the steel, cement, petrochemical and paper industries. We also had a line of ventilating products. In fact, air conditioning was invented by Willis Carrier while he was a Buffalo Forge Employee.

"The grill was a side novelty item for Buffalo Forge, but built like a tank, much like our fans were.

"Buffalo Forge was purchased by Howden Fan (a UK company) in 1993 and sadly the Buffalo plant, which took up a full city block, was closed. About 7 years ago or so the building was demolished. We had a plant in Ontario, Canada that was also closed. We still have a plant in Mexico that was an original Buffalo Forge plant.

"We still operate our Aftermarket Parts and Service Division for Howden out of Buffalo, where we supply parts and service for Buffalo Forge fans along with parts for the 26 other fan companies under the Howden umbrella.

"I included two ads for the Buffalo Forge Grill and also some proofs for an ad for a circa ‘Cuban missile crisis era’ bomb shelter fan that used people power! I have the ads hanging in my office."

Phil, I am so gratetful to you for the info and the ads! I have been trying to find one for some time. And I'm glad to hear that other parts of the company are still going strong. Interesting to learn the blower "cranks in either direction." Rick Dale of Rick's Restorations thought that was the case, but I've always gone clockwise. Phil also reports that his fellow worker Dennis has spotted three BFGs in excellent working condition at the Biltmore Mansion in North Carolina.

Pat Riley Begins to Restore Buffalo Forge Grill

Pat's taken the blower apart. Looks a little rusty. Thanks for the shot, Pat. Keep us posted on your progress. For more information on Buffalo Forge grills, see the Categories section in the blog's right column. 

Adam Gibson's Buffalo Forge Grill Project Underway

Adam's blower and grill ready for paint. Going to be nice!

Adam Gibson's Buffalo Forge Grill: "Before"

Adam, a former Buffalonian, lives in Charlotte and was looking for a project to do with his sons. He found one—an old BF grill he bought on Craigslist from a man in Kenilworth, NJ. Adam has already made some progress, and I will post more pictures soon. Like Pat Reilly, he is missing the heat shield and tray, but is going to have them fabricated. Adam also purchased a rotisserie for the grill. You can see what one looks like in a photo for an ad for the grill sent to me by Phil Marino. Really cool. Thanks, Adam, and keep us posted. 

Pat Reilly's Buffalo Forge Grill: "Before"

My friend Pat Reilly recently bought a Buffalo Forge grill on eBay that he's going to restore. It's missing a few parts, but Pat can fabricate them in his shop. It's going to be nice when Pat's all through, no doubt!

Erin Jurecic's Buffalo Forge Grill--Sold!

Erin Jurecic and Scott Konya

Just received a nice email from Eric Jurecic with the great news that the grill her father restored so beautifully has just sold--I won't say for how much, but it was for a very nice price. Very fair price, too. As my friend Matt Georger pointed out, the wheels have the original hubcaps. It's perfect. The former CEO of Buffalo Forge, David Newcomb, told me they only made between 500-1000 of them. That's not a lot, and many of them rusted and were tossed out. They're valuable now. If you have one, and want to sell it, let me know and I'll post a shot for you. Congratulations, Erin and family. Congrats to the buyer, too. You're going to really enjoy it.

Another Kind of Buffalo Grill

I love this! Here's the story from my great pal (and former Buffalonian) Jon Ward:

"The grill is on the front lawn of a store in Pittsboro, NC that sells African and French art.  I think the grill was made in Senegal.  The internal firebox section is made of a cut up propane tank.  The owner says he has reduced the price to $550, in case anyone simply must own one."

Thanks, for sending, Jon.

Matt Georger's One of a Kind Buffalo Forge Grill

Matt Georger works in the metal business and re-did his Buffalo Forge grill with a stainless steel pan and other parts. It is totally cool and utterly unique. Also note that Matt has hubcaps on his wheels, which my grill does not. I didn't even know they had hubcaps. Check out my interview with Matt below and learn how he did it. Matt, thanks for all the great Buffalo Forge info over the years and for finding me my grill. 

Listen to Matt Georger's Grill 

Buffalo Forge Grill for Sale

This is a real beauty, just redone. It looks like it's ready to last another 50 years. It's for sale by Erin Jurecic (ejurecic@yahoo.com). Erin's father owns a body shop, and sandblasted and painted it. He matched the exact color with DuPont paint. Erin tells me the blower works perfectly; her dad took it apart and sanded the fan. Hey, they only made around 500 of these grills, and a lot of them got rusty and thrown out. They're easy to throw in the back of a car, because the legs are easily removable. You will have the coolest grill at the tailgate, no question. If you're interested, make Erin a offer. It's won't go cheap, but it's less expensive than I paid for my re-do.