Buffalo Café History

“Whitefish is our home & we hope when you’re in the Buffalo it feels like it’s yours too.” -The Maetzolds

The Love for Montana’s outdoors & genuine people first brought owner/operators Charlie & Linda Maetzold to the area when they opened the Buffalo Café in the late 70’s… And that’s exactly why their two sons, Alex & Andy, chose to return home to help continue the family business.

The Buffalo first gained its reputation by serving scratch made breakfast & lunch to the locals of the small mountain town of Whitefish. As the area slowly grew, so did the Buffalo—evolving over the last 40 years into one of the Flathead Valley’s longest running & most awarded restaurants.

In 2008, with help their two sons, the Maetzold’s made their largest expansion with the addition of their Nightly Grill dinner service which quickly became a staple with families of Whitefish who were looking for a casual dinner out with more than the basic bar foods.

Now, as a full-service restaurant, the Buffalo’s once small family business employees over 40 team members to help keep up with demand and they pride themselves on supporting as many local providers in the area for their fresh produce, breads, buns, burgers, beers & even the ice cream.

As Whitefish and the valley continues to grow the Buffalo plans on keeping to the same simple philosophy that has guided them over all these decades—Take care of your staff, prepare as much as possible from scratch & treat every customer like a long time regular.

When the Maetzolds are not in the Buffalo feeding the herd, you have a good chance of bumping into them skiing at the Whitefish Mountain Resort, exploring Glacier National Park or helping with community programs such as the Whitefish Community Foundation & Sheppard’s Hand Clinic.