Family and friends remember Buffalo restaurateur Tommy Cowan

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A bouquet of flowers hugs the front door of Doc Sullivan’s in South Buffalo, a small symbol of what has become a growing garden of tributes to a man who gave his all to all world around him.

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Tommy Cowan, a proud product of South Buffalo who fulfilled his dream of owning and operating restaurants in his hometown, died suddenly Monday at age 44, leaving behind a legacy of generosity, kindness and spirit community.

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“At Tommy’s table, everyone was welcome,” his obituary reads.

That warm, welcoming spirit was well known at Doc Sullivan’s on Abbott Road, as well as at the Forty Thieves on Elmwood Avenue, where friends lit candles Tuesday night in remembrance.

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His death sparked hundreds of online tributes from family and friends.

Buffalo’s close-knit hospitality community remembers Cowan as an “icon” and a generous man who touched the lives of everyone he encountered. Griffin’s Irish Pub added “South Buffalo’s hearts are heavy” in a social media post.

Friends tell 7 News Cowan’s death is a “terrible loss.”

One of his first jobs in the hospitality industry was in Soho on Chippewa. Owner Jay Mano says Cowan was a consummate professional saying, “He was the guy. It was born in him. Pair his good heart with his morals and he was someone everyone should try to be .”

Cowan’s obituary says he learned to appreciate the best in people from his parents Tom and Libby, saying he never missed an opportunity to support the military, police, firefighters and first responders .

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“Tommy was a beloved son, brother, uncle and friend, his generosity seemed boundless,” said Father Matt Foley, president of St. Francis High School, who will officiate Cowan’s funeral Friday in the Notre-Dame de la Victoire basilica. in Lackawanna.

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“Deeply respected among so many people in Western New York, in the restaurant industry, in the hospitality industry, but that also seems to be the case among police, firefighters and first responders ” said Father Foley. “I think he was a light to many. I think that’s why so many people will miss him,”

7 News also spoke Wednesday with Cowan’s mother, Libby, and sister Erin, both of whom are heartbroken and said, “Tommy was the light of our lives, the most generous kind hearted man that you’ll ever meet,” adding, “He’ll always be the best guy we know,”

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Visitation is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday at the James W. Cannan Funeral Home on Orchard Park Road. Funeral Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna. Cowan will be buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Lackawanna.