What's the angle on this corner?

Parking is NOT the problem, it's only an excuse. This IS the city, people WALK in cities.....Anyway. I would luv to see a cool home furnishing store or clothing store for the guys and girls here. We still lack a place for the guys in Allentown to shop for clothes.

Perhaps more foot traffic aided by more housing nearby would help? Put up a couple mid rise buildings nearby and you have an instant expanded foot traffic market.

Does the city have a parking fund option where multiple businesses or developments can pool money together that would then be used to construct ramp facilities instead of creating surface parking lots for each and every business on each and every lot? Maybe something where every business within X distance (a walkable distance say 1/4 mile) of a surface lot predetermined for the construction of a parking ramp to serve the community could essentially pay into as a share to construct in lieu of actually having to put parking on ones own lot? I think this would be very important in the interest of maintaining dense mixed-use districts. Ramps are much better for a number of reasons, especially in Buffalo considering winter weather. You get the benefit of hopefully better secured parking, enclosed parking, reduced surface lots that deaden the street wall and create vast wastelands of blacktop, smaller parking footprint, verticality along the street and potential to create commercial spaces on the ground level with parking above. Parking becomes less of a burden on and less prevalent in the urban landscape.

Parking is only a problem if your clientele insists on being able to see the front door from their parking spot and not have to cross the street or come in contact with poor people or people of other nationalities or people that dress funny or have too many earrings or earrings in nontraditional places.

Allen Street is the most intact urban commercial environment in Buffalo. It is a pleasant street but is not fulfilling it greatest potential. The metro region needs to stop warehousing its poor and mentally ill in this area. The city needs to plan discrete new parking and should encourage new investment through incentives. Healthy commercial strips like this make for healthy and attractive neighborhoods. Allentown is very nice but it is not healthy.

What's the Sq. Ft?

To quote 1989's "Field of Dreams", " Build it and they'll come." All to say that if it's a place people want to be, they'll be there. I good example is India Gate at Elmwood and Forest. A few years before they opened there was a Chinese restaurant there (name escapes me) that was always complaining about how poor business was because of the parking. It wasn't the parking, believe me! India Gate is doing well because they have great food that no one in the immediate area can offer. There are lots of stable businesses around the city that are doing well without any parking to offer, save for on the street. If you have a product people want, nothing will stop them from getting it...not even parking difficulties.

That location was Eminent Design for many years. Steel Crazy Store and Cafe was simply a bad idea run by people who really don't know retail or to run a Cafe. You could never tell if and when they were open. Plus, no one ever takes advantage of that great courtyard they have.

Yeah there may be illegitimate pedestrian fears in the city but the city has some real problems on the street level as well that are legitimate. I don't necessarily dismiss people' pedestrian fears as all crazy or biased. There ARE bad apples that walk amongst us all.

Take advantage of the storefronts and display things that will attract customers, even if your wares are a product. (e.g. show people eating if you're a cafe). Under the previous occupant you couldn't tell if the operation was open or what is was. Confusing passerbys will not draw in anyone. Use lots of lighting to overcome the dark metal around the windows.

Not that anyone wants to hear this, but from a business standpoint, I would think a 24 laudromat would work, and then sub the back room for a space needing a courtyard

A laundry mat would be a disappointment, but stable non the less. Anyhow, something accessible, the last thing Elmwood needs is another high end clothing store that no one can afford. It's an awesome location.

I lived on the third floor of this building a number of years ago. It is an interesting corner for pedestrians. The little jog that Elmwood takes can confuse drivers, especially those making a right on red. The lanes narrow a little on Elmwood, so drivers heading south on Elmwood and turning left on Allen tend to block part of the oncoming driving lane. This usually leaves someone in the intersection after the light and crosswalk changes. Adding to the mess are people who are trying to enter the Towne parking lot or the lot next to Jim's.

I agree with the comment above that STEEL CRAZY was a good store with a decent product, but it was poorly run.

I believe the owner of this building is the same guy that owns Frontier Liquor. Can't remember his name, but he seems to be an excellent landlord. I remember speaking with him when Eminent design left - he claimed to have offers from some pretty low end tenants (that no one would want on the street), but wanted to hold out for a tenant that would really fit in with the Allentown neighborhood. I think he did that with Steel Crazy, just too bad how it ended up being run. I hope he follows a similar path this time around.

i always wondered about the buildings west down allen why haven't they all had the upper floors converted to apartments instead of being boarded up

I frequent this area on a regular basis and have never had a problem with parking or traffic. Possibly this is due to my ability to paralel park and my ability to walk more than 50 feet.

Umm....hate to quell the criticism, but hasn't anyone noticed that Steel Crazy has a new location at the Walden Galleria Mall? (Oh, right, it would mean that you would have to publicly admit to traveling outside of the city boundries to a..gasp...MALL.....)

Obviously, he ran a good enough business to open there. He was open during this past holiday season. Maybe, just maybe, Elmwood Avenue did not generate enough foot traffic to warrant the hours you feel he should have been open....?

I am wondering of those criticizing how poorly the business was run, were you either A.) a regular shopper at the store, or B.) own a retail business to make you an "expert"? Just sayin'

It kills me when most Buffalonians continue to bash their own home grown business owners.....never seem to have a nice thing to say. Try being positive and considerate for once about your own neighbors - the whole world becomes a different and better place when you can see the positive versus the negative.

a smart entrepreneur will study the neighborhood and make note of what services or products it does -not- have, and act accordingly. scottw is right about redundant high end retail, especially dress shops. too many shopkeepers seem to think elmwood residents do nothing except attend fussy black tie functions.

oh, and the parking argument is bogus. a parking shortage, however imaginary, is actually a sign of urban health. where would you rather be - downtown buffalo (ample parking) or downtown toronto, chicago, new york, boston, washington (scarce parking) - need i go on?

Blues bar / jazz club. A friend and I drove down Allen today and were just saying we need one akin to Chicago/Detroit/the dirty South and like the old Calumet.

Hey Lagniappes Allentown!!! How about expanding here??? More seating, full bar, live blues music, outdoor cafe, oyster bar...

I challenge anyone to top my idea / dream.

Parking, schmarking.

Off topic, but did anyone see this? Yet another great portrayal of Buffalo in the national media...

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Buffalos-debt-collectors-apf-2226423347.html?x=0

someone enlighten me here. i wasn't living here during the last days of pier1 on elmwood. why won't a well known store work in this area? there is a lot of foot traffic, i believe, despite the arguing. certain businesses draw people to them despite their location. my wife drives ALL the way to rochester because it's the closest H&M. she goes all the way to the boulevard for GAP and Banana. there aren't people in the city who shop at these stores? enlighten me. anyone been to King St. in Charleston, SC? i've only been there once, so know little about it. beautiful city. this street is an outdoor strip, not like a shopping mall, with all sorts of great stores: lacoste, victorias secret, abercrombie, banana, GAP, Brooks Bros, Saks, Gucci, Jos Banks, Bebe, Lucky, and more. the urban outfitters is in an incredible old theater( http://farm1.static.flickr.com/155/359145381_2a57da0d8a.jpg?v=0 )

so why does it work in other places (got it, weather in SC is a bit different, but still)? it's not like this is a store on niagara st. this is a popular corner. elmwood and allen are both popular streets. why can't it work there? if those same stores as in charleston opened on a stretch of popular street in buffalo, like elmwood, people would still opt for the malls. but why?

BTW, complete side note.... charleston has a GORGEOUS bridge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Ravenel_Jr._Bridge

On the laundromat idea, I agree it would not be as attractive. However, if you did it right it would actually be a great idea. If anyone here has ever been or lived in New Orleans then you may be famliar with a washateria. Basically, it's a bar/loung that is also a laundromat. Instead of going and putting your laundy in and waiting around on a bench it's also a place to hang out, get a drink, food and play some pool or darts. The problem with the laundromat on North and Elmwood is that it was so unattractive that I would drive all the way to Auburn and Elmwood to use their facilities. If this space was more than just a laundromat it would be very successful and add to the vibrancy of the neighborhood. You would just have to add the ammenities and image the other ons are lacking.

I know most won't want to entertain this idea, but a Starbucks on this corner would be awesome. Yes, I know it's a chain, not unique, etc... but we only have three in the city and they are so spread out. It's perfect for the pedestrian crowd and great for those of us who don't want to drive up the Elmwood cluster to get a good cup of coffee. The Chippewa location is not convenient. The lack of parking spaces (in that parking lot) wouldn't be an issue if it were in a walkable neighborhood. Starbucks on Allen and Elmwood is perfect. It will also bring a quality clientele to our hood. The only argument I can think of is Towne across the street. Personally, I don't think their product is similar enough that it would affect Towne's business. Plus, a Starbucks could help improve the overall appearance of this corner and its surrounding businesses. Jim's Steakout (nasty), the little bodega on Elmwood (nasty), Holly Farms (nasty), etc... I live in Allentown and I love it here, and love the edge, but I wish it were a little cleaner. And I've always wished for better and CONSISTENT coffee options (aka: NOT Spot). Having Starbucks here would really help make our hood much more appealing for walkers, shoppers, residents and other business owners.

I luv the idea of a Starbucks in this spot. Can we contact Starbucks Corporate office and sell them on this?

There are already coffee shops in Allentown, and if there were a new one I would hope it would be a local chain and not f*cking Starbucks. Jesus Christ, people, where's your Buffalo pride? There are multiple great Buffalo coffee chains, we don't need another Starbucks. Keep the money in the region-- we need all the revenue we can get.

As for parking, I don't understand how it is a problem. There are multiple public parking lots in Allentown within a block of that intersection. There's street parking with meters as well as non-metered parking on the sidestreets. I frequently find parking in Allentown on weekend nights, so surely people just aren't looking in the right places? If you live within a mile of Allentown you should probably be walking or riding your bike. If you're coming from a northern suburb or North Buffalo, there's the subway which lets off right at the corner of Allen, making it less than a mile walk to the Elmwood-Allen intersection.

the majority of buffalo coffee shops SUCK. they are inconsistent, run out of items, keep ridiculous hours. anyone ever attempt to get a meal at cafe 59? if you work until 5, you're screwed.

that obscure place on elmwood, near allen is closed most of the time i'm walking past it. and it just doesn't seem welcoming. where else in allentown can you get a GOOD cup of coffee?

while i DO support the local businesses, spot coffee is one of the most frustrating places because their product never tastes the same! instead of reliability, you get a changing menu, bad coffee and incredibly SLOW service. and we're supposed to be okay with that because it's a buffalo product? hells no. at starbucks, i KNOW the products is going to be good. EVERY time. if spot wants to keep up with starbucks, then they need to keep up with starbucks.

there comes a point when you have to say pride shmide. we need some credibility to the outside world; something to help put us on the map. it's very upsetting that to do most item specific shopping, we need to go to the suburbs, Toronto or Rochester. it sucks that i have to go to the mall to get Mac products. and i am not going to buy a $250 dress from an allentown or elmwood shop when i can find the same one at H&M for $40. same goes with coffee.

hence, the turn over rate of so many local-run businesses here. i give merge one more year, tops. i'm a vegetarian and love their idea. but last time i was there, they didn't even have any half & half. (what??) and didn't have several things that were listed on the menu. VERY frustrating when trying to support a local restaurant.

starbucks will bring more revenue that ANY local coffee shop. and it will attract other businesses. it has staying power, which so many others here do not.

Steel Crazy is in the Walden Galleria Mall. What does that tell you? Access to more customers is what it tells me. Its cold out in Buffalo +/- 4 months out of the year. Right now its 14* outside. I sure as hell am not going for a walk to get something to eat or to find something to hang on the wall. Don't get me wrong. I hate the mall and avoid it at all costs. But, there was nary a parking spot to be found there over the holidays and that's where the customers are.

How about a BYOB Jazz super club????