Buffalo Bandits living legend Dhane Smith is in the midst of a historic run of sustained success. Over the last four years, the two-time NLL MVP has earned three straight NLL titles and three consecutive Mann Cup triumphs.
With Smith’s lacrosse resumé seemingly growing by the day, the Western New York icon decided it was time to dive headfirst into a completely different challenge, an effort that combines food, drinks, golf and watching sports.
In early September, Smith, along with his father-in-law and brother-in-law, opened Sandbaggers, a golf-themed sports bar situated at 15 Buffalo Street in the south Buffalo suburb of Hamburg, New York. Located 12 miles south of KeyBank Center (Bandits’ downtown Buffalo home arena) and four miles southwest of the Bills’ Orchard Park, New York stadium complex, the bar and grill features three golf simulator bays with access to 75 championship golf courses.
“I’m a huge golfer. I love to golf in my spare time, so do a lot of my teammates,” shares the Bandits star center. “My wife and I built a house and my main thing was I wanted to put a golf simulator in my basement. Many people have since come over and had a great time with the simulator experience. We soon realized that it would be a great idea to pursue as a business opportunity.”
Smith envisions Sandbaggers becoming a cold-weather alternative for area golf enthusiasts, allowing aficionados the option of renting Callaway clubs on-site, or utilizing personal club sets, to the point of even offering bag storage for regular patrons during the less hospitable periods of the climate calendar. Throughout the winter months, teaching pros will also be available for instruction.
“Living in Buffalo, there’s not that many opportunities to golf all year-round. Realistically, we get more winter than we do summer months, so it’s a great opportunity to sharpen your game a little bit. I belong to a country club here in Buffalo, and we don’t have a simulator. There are a few clubs that do, but a lot of the country clubs do not, or they might have one or two. There are so many people that love golf, so it’s a great opportunity for those people to come by and play,” shares the Kitchener, Ontario native.
Beginning in October, Sandbaggers will host leagues Monday through Wednesday, with the golf bays already available for corporate and private events, or simply just a day or night on the town.
Aside from those patrons choosing to spend a few hours doing their best Scottie Scheffler or Tiger Woods impersonations, non “grip it and rip it” customers will have the opportunity to enjoy local and national sporting events via the establishment’s many big screen televisions, with Smith determined to turn his business into a go-to location for the rabid Buffalo sports community.
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“We already hosted a Bills watch party. We plan to play Bandits, Sabres and Bills’ games at our bar. You’re able to rent a simulator bay out, or just watch a game on the big screens,” notes the proud Bills season ticket holder.
What’s a day on the links or watching a game in high definition without some food and drinks to further enhance your experience?
With this in mind, Smith and his partners elected to go the barbecue route on the food side, joining forces with a relatively new, yet already successful Hamburg restaurant.
“We went back and forth on what we wanted to do as far as the menu and we came up with simple bar food, whether it be pizza logs, chicken fingers, fries, all that kind of stuff,” recalls the newly enshrined restaurateur. “But then we were lucky enough to receive a call from Yankee BBQ Smokehouse & Tavern, so we figured this is a great opportunity to kind of partner up, and if they wanted to bring in their food to our place, we definitely didn’t mind.”
Only a couple of weeks in, Smith has already developed some preferences when it comes to the local fare.
“The Beef Of Weck is really good. It’s a real Buffalo thing. I really highly suggest that. I’m a big Pizza Log guy as well.”
When it comes to quenching one’s thirst, Sandbaggers offers a wide array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic libation options, including an affiliation with a hard seltzer brand that goes by a very familiar-sounding moniker.
“With Sandbagger Hard Seltzer. it was one of the drinks I’ve always loved. They came to our bar one day, and we honestly didn’t know if they were mad that we used a similar name, or if they wanted to partner with us. It has been a great relationship right off the top, and we’ve been great partners ever since,” celebrates Smith.
The village of Hamburg is near and dear to Dhane and his wife Kara, with the couple currently calling the city of 60,000 home. In fact, Kara has spent much of her life in the municipality that sits just east of Interstate 90.
In this particular case, the family recognized a needed area of improvement and decided to do something about it.
“Hamburg, New York is where my wife is from. I’ve lived here for quite a while. It’s a great location, but there’s not many opportunities to be active. So, we figured, let’s make it a sports bar themed with golf simulators,” explains the four-time All-NLL performer.
For Smith, in the big picture, opening a gathering spot in the Buffalo metro is about so much more than spreadsheets and profits.
“Buffalo is home to me now,” beams the soon-to-be 33-year-old. “I’ve been here for 12 plus years. Buffalo has given me so many great opportunities. The fan base has supported me throughout my career. It was important to give back to the best of my ability. And this is one of those ways. I coach during the summer and in the winter lacrosse program. One of these days, I would love to have a foundation here in Buffalo as well. This is kind of a starting point. I want to bring everybody together in Buffalo, to come together and have a place to hang out.”
