A recent setback and potential tragedy for historic Amherst Street is turning out to be just the opposite. After a fire ripped through the back section of Nick's Place, devoted customers wondered if they would ever be able to return to the revered diner. What would life on Amherst Street be like without Nick's? The locals shuddered to even think about it.
Thanks to the street's resilience, it looks like Nick's will indeed be back... with a vengeance. The community, being led by Project Director Mark Kubiniec (owner of Joe's Station - Amherst Street neighbor), is rallying to fast track the renovations in order to get the place back in business. That means fashioning a local (and I mean local) team of experts together to make quick work of the repair process. To my knowledge, there has not been a similar charge to rehab and upgrade a commercial structure in such an expedited manner. From Mark:
"It's going got be up and running again soon- I had to rush to get the building from suffering any water damage. That was my first goal. It will be a couple weeks to a month before the doors will open again. The family definitely wants to re-open in the same location. Nick's is a neighborhood institution. Usually these types of rehabs take a lot longer. The rear third of the building needs to be rebuilt. We had to replace 26 rafters, all new sheeting and roofing and mechanicals in the attic.
"Architect Max Willig (Amherst Street neighbor) is working on an upgrade of the façade and some new design work. The finished product will be a nice fresh look for Amherst Street. The street is really looking up and this will be a welcomed addition. The interior will also be upgraded in the back - we're looking at all new walls, ceiling and lighting in the rear. We're going with energy efficient appliances and insulation too.
"We're going green with the building as much as we can. The windows will be Energy Star - Pete (operator along with his son Nick) is really looking to get back in business as soon as possible. This thing is going faster than anyone is typically used to. Pete is a business guy and we're doing everything we can to get the building operational so we can get him back in business. All of the people working on the project are from the neighborhood, including Caleb Basiliko from Victorian Restorations (Amherst Street neighbor) who is the General Contractor."
Nick's Place
504 Amherst St
Buffalo, NY 14207
(716) 871-1772
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Thanks to the street's resilience, it looks like Nick's will indeed be back... with a vengeance. The community, being led by Project Director Mark Kubiniec (owner of Joe's Station - Amherst Street neighbor), is rallying to fast track the renovations in order to get the place back in business. That means fashioning a local (and I mean local) team of experts together to make quick work of the repair process. To my knowledge, there has not been a similar charge to rehab and upgrade a commercial structure in such an expedited manner. From Mark:
"It's going got be up and running again soon- I had to rush to get the building from suffering any water damage. That was my first goal. It will be a couple weeks to a month before the doors will open again. The family definitely wants to re-open in the same location. Nick's is a neighborhood institution. Usually these types of rehabs take a lot longer. The rear third of the building needs to be rebuilt. We had to replace 26 rafters, all new sheeting and roofing and mechanicals in the attic.
"Architect Max Willig (Amherst Street neighbor) is working on an upgrade of the façade and some new design work. The finished product will be a nice fresh look for Amherst Street. The street is really looking up and this will be a welcomed addition. The interior will also be upgraded in the back - we're looking at all new walls, ceiling and lighting in the rear. We're going with energy efficient appliances and insulation too.
"We're going green with the building as much as we can. The windows will be Energy Star - Pete (operator along with his son Nick) is really looking to get back in business as soon as possible. This thing is going faster than anyone is typically used to. Pete is a business guy and we're doing everything we can to get the building operational so we can get him back in business. All of the people working on the project are from the neighborhood, including Caleb Basiliko from Victorian Restorations (Amherst Street neighbor) who is the General Contractor."
Nick's Place
504 Amherst St
Buffalo, NY 14207
(716) 871-1772
A nice story! Shows the power of local business to build, keep and revive a neighborhood.