Meat & Greet
“There are two kinds of people in this world,” says Gus Kallas, who co-owns and operates The Albany restaurant with his brother, George. “There are people who live to eat, and people who eat to live. I live to eat.”
Kallas is not alone. Since his father, Blackie, and uncle, James, transformed a shuttered hotel into a restaurant and bar back in 1942 and kept the name, generations of locals have returned time and again for their all-American fare. “We take raw food and create things from scratch,” Kallas says. “We make our own soups, create our own specials and can make just about anything you want.”
From hot wings, nachos and Caesar salads to tuna melts and burritos, there’s truly something for everyone – including the kids, who can choose from a hot dog, hamburger, grilled cheese, chicken strips or peanut butter and jelly sandwich served with fries.
Even with all the variety, Kallas says meat is the main attraction, including their slow-roasted prime rib dinner, lamb chops with mint jelly and the 8-ounce chicken fried steak served with gravy. “We sell a lot of everything, but our customers love their meat and potatoes,” he says. “This is cowboy country.”
The Albany’s menu also boasts a Greek-style chicken breast with feta cheese and Kalamata olives, as well as “the best Greek salad in town,” which makes sense given the original owners’ heritage. James and Blackie Kallas emigrated from Greece in the early 1920s to work for the railroad.
“Union Pacific brought them here, put them to work, treated them right and paid them well. They stayed here and brought their relatives here,” Kallas says. “My dad was a sheep herder in the old country, and he used to say the only thing he missed was his dog and his mule. This was his country.”
The brothers transitioned into the restaurant business in the early 1940s easily because “they didn’t have to have a command of the language,” Kallas says. “You just had to know how to cook and tend bar and wait on people.”
The younger Kallas brothers started helping their father and uncle at an early age, and took over the business in the early 1970s.
“I started working here when I was 10, and I’m 55 now,” Kallas says. “We earned our stripes in the kitchen with my dad’s cooks, did four-year stints at University of Wyoming right over the hill, got out and came right back here. We’re restaurant and bar people, and this is what we do.”
Much like their father and uncle before them, Gus and George Kallas are hands-on throughout the restaurant, and are just as comfortable in the kitchen as they are chatting with guests in the dining room. They take great pride in their 100-year-old building, as well as their status as an independent restaurant in Cheyenne.
They’ve also attracted a faithful following in the bar area thanks to the comfortable atmosphere, wide range of beer on tap and early and late happy hour specials.
“The Albany has been good to our family,” Kallas says. “From my line cooks to the wait staff, we all work hard to make it right.”
Story by Danny Bonvissuto
Photo by Brian McCord
