Gary Visosky, the owner and operator of the eatery, located at 7 E. Main St., Falconer, is celebrating 33 years in business, and he, coincidently, will be celebrating his eight decades plus three years birthday bash as well.

“We’re going to offer a special every day of the week, where we are rolling back our prices to what we charged, four or five years ago, pre-Covid-19,” said Visosky. “This is a thank you to all our loyal customers and supporters who’ve allowed us to remain in business for 33 years.”

Visosky, who retired from the United Parcel Service after 25 years of service, felt that he had more to accomplish in life, and thanks to his son, he forayed into the restaurant/bar services industry.

“My son moved back from Florida, where he was a chef, and convinced me to buy a restaurant,” he said. “Thirty-three years later here we are.”

Gary Visosky, 82, is pictured at the end of the bar located at his Belle-View East restaurant, 7 E. Main St. Visosky is set to turn 83 and his eatery will turn 33. P-J photo by Christopher Blakeslee

Being a successful restaurateur is only one part of the many things Visosky is enthusiastic about.

“I love sports cars, bars and a little bit of gambling,” he said. “I’ve been so successful because of my loyal customer base, great, diligent staff, and the large portions of food we serve here.”

While statistically speaking, according to the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person will tend to job hop several times over the span of one’s lifetime.

The average person changes jobs 12 times in a lifetime.

The average employee stays with an employer for 4.3 years as of January 2023.

91% of millennials say they expect to change jobs every three years, and the average tenure for workers between the ages of 25 and 34 is 2.8 years.

However, for the employees at the Belle-View lunch and dinner venue, these statistics simply do not amount to much, other than the ink on the paper which it is written on.

“I’ve got cooks and servers who’ve been with me for 20 and 30 plus years,” said Visosky. “A strong work ethic and loyalty is hard to come by these days.”

Visosky explained that he had hired four younger employees between the ages of 18-21, and none of them had made it past the three week mark in his employ before he terminated them for excessive call-offs and other non-desirable qualities.

“Good, hard workers are hard to come by these days,” he said. “I try to pay a fair wage, but it is not fair to my long-time employees, who have been with me for years, that new employees can come in at the same rate of pay that my longtime employees worked hard to get. All because the minimum wage in the state keeps going up, higher and higher.”

As the world and the United States engaged in lockdown efforts to stymie the spread of COVID-19, the state limited restaurants to seating 25% capacity, and for some, to just offer delivery or curbside services. However, this wasn’t the case for the Belle-View staff.

“We only closed for three days a year during that time frame,” said Visosky. “Some of our best sales were during COVID, I couldn’t believe it.”

However, as Visosky is getting older he is only slowing down just a little.

“Well, we’re now closed on Sundays,” he said. “It’s nice to slow down and enjoy a break.”

Visosky also noted that his Falconer location can seat up to 160 people, that he has a banquet hall which he will open from time-to-time for those who have a party of 25 or more.

Visosky, once again thanked all his loyal patrons and supporters over the years and hopes they enjoy the roll-back prices.

To learn more call (716) 665-3520 or visit its Facebook page.