About Us

The Village Inn is located in the historic Ferry Village in Grand Island, New York. Its quaint, homelike atmosphere and close proximity to the Niagara River make this restaurant a popular meeting place for locals, as well as for those visiting off island.

In 1988 after working years in the restaurant industry, Michael Carr took a minimal amount of money to start what is now The Village Inn. As a lifelong island resident he stumbled upon the Lippens Grille located at 1488 Ferry road. Ray Lippens was ready to retire and he allowed Mike to finance the restaurant through him, Making monthly payments instead of paying a large lump sum upfront. With a little help from his Grandma Kay, and some small savings, Mikes vision of providing homemade food to the community was launched. With the help of friends and family, they cleaned up the place, applied some fresh paint, and opened the doors.

It has always been Mikes goal to provide, great quality food that is authentically homemade just like your Mom or Grandma would make. Through the years we have changed with the times, creating unique specials, soups and desserts with a culinary flair! We believe in using only the freshest ingredients, and support local farms whenever possible. All of our seafood is delivered twice weekly from Schneiders Seafood which comes fresh from Boston. We believe in serving Local beer on Tap, and we serve Johnny Ryan soda on the gun which is also a long standing local family owned business.

If you havent tried our establishment yet, you wont be sorry! We have won several awards for some of Buffalo’s favorite staples. We have award winning Roast Beef on Kimmelwick, Award winning wings with Mikes special Spicy hot sauce, We won Best Spicy Soup at Buffalo Soup Fest in 2012, and won Best Chili in 2013 and 2014! This past summer (7/14) we were also a part of The Taste of Buffalo and we won The Children’s Choice Award for our famous Tollhouse Pie. Our recipes are unique; from our Lemon Tabasco Clam Chowder, to our Mayan Chocolate Stout Chili, we also think outside the box with our large array of fresh in house baked desserts. Sarah has worked her magic for years taking traditional recipes and spinning them into one of a kind creations. When you finish your meal and feel full, we highly reccomend taking a dessert to go! Some of our customer favorites are her Bread Puddings like Cinnabon, Blueberry Streusel, or Maple Pecan French Toast, her Cheesecakes which sell out quickly like Junk in the Trunk, Chocolate Covered Cherry, or Peanut Butter Oreo..to her creative spins on the traditional Cream Pies, like Black Bottom Banana Cream to Grand Marnier Orange Chocolate Cream! We also have a variety of fruit pies, cobblers, the summer favorite Strawberry Shortcake and crazy creations like Pretzel Pecan pie to Maple Bourbon Pecan. Some customers come in for just dessert!

We take pride in what we do in creating amazing food and providing friendly service. Our customer base of locals have become like a family. We hold family values to heart, and want each and every customer feel like they are at home, and not just a customer. Through the years we have built a strong foundation and continue to have visions of future growth. We thank each and every customer for their continued dedication to our restaurant. We are truly grateful for your support!