Lake-effect snowstorm turns New York restaurant into ‘Frozen’ castle

HAMBURG, New York – A New York restaurant on the shores of Lake Erie reopened after a lake-effect snowstorm covered the business in an “ice castle coating.”

Hoak’s Lakeshore Restaurant in Hamburg, New York, a Buffalo suburb, closed on Sunday amid a travel ban during a major winter storm.

Areas of western New York saw more than 2 feet of snow, including 41.3 inches in Hamburg.

Winds and snow covered the business on the northeastern shores of Lake Erie with massive icicles and a thick coating of ice accretion.

The restaurant wrote on Instagram it remained closed on Sunday after “getting a small dose of an ice castle coating.” A photo showed ice covering the business’s railings and foot-long icicles dropping from the roof.

On Monday, the full ice castle transformation was complete with icicles from nearly every building surface. In a video shared by Richard Hulburd on X, formerly known as Twitter, he said he felt like he “walked into the movie ‘Frozen.’”

However, despite the newly added icy exterior, the business was open to customers on Monday.

“Our ice castle today from our first storm of 2024,” the restaurant wrote. “We are open!”

This isn’t the local staple’s first “ice castle” experience.

In December 2022, FOX Weather Correspondent Max Gorden was in Hamburg when massive waves coated Hoak’s Restaurant in layers of ice and damaged nearby businesses. 

The Buffalo area continues to dig out from the snowstorm before more lake-effect snow is set to begin on Tuesday.

Fans are worked to shovel over a foot of snow from Highmark Stadium before the Buffalo Bills defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday.

The NFL playoff game was postponed due to the winter storm.