I can't believe that The Showplace Theater is still sitting empty. The last great show that I saw there was The Damned, and I still think back to how incredible the ambiance was. We were right up close to the stage, in what was one of the more intimate live music venues in the city. Not to say that the word 'intimate' is one that many people would readily choose when describing The Showplace, but when bands played there it was an extremely personal setting. There was no place like it around. Not to say that this was the most lavish club around - it certainly wasn't. But that's what made it so great.

When my favorite diner on Niagara Street closed, I thought that the world was ending. Seriously, I'm a big fan of breakfast, and I was hooked on the Riverview Family Restaurant. It was only a short time after that that I began to head out in search of a comparable diner-style eatery. Luckily, I found Sophia's. Of course I was aware of Sophia's, and had even eaten there a couple years back, but I was hooked on my favorite and that was that. Fast forward to today and Sophia's has become a hip destination selling some

Do you remember how impressive the light show was at the Botanical Gardens last year? Well, Night Lights at the Gardens is back for three weeks in February, returning to our city's temperate oasis. Not like the Botanical Gardens needed to be any more reasons to be a top winter destination... if you've never stepped inside the dome during a snowstorm, then you're missing out on one of the greatest experiences around. 
Add the brilliantly illuminated light show hooked up by Lighting designers SitlerHQ, LLC and Volt Vision, Inc, and you've got yourself a surreal island dreamscape

By Mike Farrell:
When was the last time you strolled into a Buffalo bar, surveyed the bottle display and said, "Boy, could I go for a Genny now?"
Judging by the lack of local advertising and brand-hoisting, it wasn't recently. Many younger Western New Yorkers' tales featuring the Genesee's white cans or infamous Cream Ale "green screamers" vary from hilariously cataclysmic to gastronomically regretful, void of the Beer Advocate-like technical

The new apartments at 1040 are nearly full and one of the partners behind the project is getting ready to start its next project downtown.  James Swiezy of Greenleaf & Company and Paul Kolkmeyer of Priam Enterprises converted the former Lutheran Nursing Home on Delaware and converted it to 49 rental units and office space.  The $5.5 million project officially opened last month.

"We are over 90 percent

Now that Delish! is hitting its full stride on Amherst Street (see original post), it's time to take a step back to see just what this business has brought to the Black Rock neighborhood. First of all, I never got a chance to showcase the opening of the second half of the operation. That's the part where all of the cooking classes take place. It's also the room where owner Deborah Clark does her daily food preparations for the lunch menu. "My classes are all sold out,"

A Press Release from the Seneca Nation of Indians

The Seneca Nation of Indians today took out a full-page ad in The Buffalo News pointing out in the wake of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's pledge of $1 billion in incentives to the region that the Nation already invested that much in its local businesses.

"The Seneca Nation of Indians Welcomes Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Pledge of $1 Billion to Buffalo and Western New York," the ad headline reads. "This is our home. Where we have invested $1 billion of

Buffalo ReformED's Board of Education report card is aimed at monitoring school board meetings, and increasing transparency and accountability within the district.
The Buffalo Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, January 11th was marked by a huge community presence. Parents, students, and education activists gathered to rally against the Buffalo Public Schools suspension policy, and discuss the lack of progress on improving the policy since the death of Jawaan Daniels, a Lafayette student who was shot after landing an

By Jamie Nash:
After nearly 60 years of being housed on UB's South Campus, a portion of Millard Fillmore College is returning to its roots in downtown Buffalo. The administrative offices of MFC have moved to the UB Downtown Gateway, formerly the M. Wile & Co. building, at 77 Goodell Street. While the administrative team is moving to a new home, current course and certificate programs will continue to be offered primarily online and on UB's North and South campuses.
MFC was founded in 1923 as UB's "Evening Session" for men and

By Chris Catanzaro:
The 3rd Annual Buffalo Powder Keg Festival has been set for Saturday, February 11, 2012 and Sunday, February 12, 2012. The festival has a new location, Niagara Square and along Delaware Ave. will host the outdoor events and warmer indoor activities will be held inside Staler City. The people have been heard and the festival aims to showcase so many great aspects of this fine city we call Buffalo.
The outdoor activities include the always exciting Broomball (street version) Tournament, as well as the always contentious

By Kyle Gunn-Taylor:
On Wednesday, the Buffalo Sabres opened the doors of the First Niagara Center and extended their hospitality to some of the team's biggest fans.
Approximately 20 bloggers from across the city were invited down to the arena and allowed a one-on-one question-and-answer session with team President, Ted Black.
Despite being limited to a "live suggestion box" format, many bloggers came loaded with questions for all different aspects of the franchise.
From the Time

By Kyle Gunn-Taylor:
Pulling into an empty parking lot at a South Buffalo establishment during a Sabres game is like Maple Leafs goaltender Jonas Gustavsson giving up a goal to the slumping Buffalo attack, it just doesn't happen.
Actually it happened Tuesday, however, because of a dispute that has two wealthy companies putting Sabres broadcasts, and fans, in the dark.
The squabble between Time Warner Cable and MSG is a feud that mirrors the recent NBA and NFL lockouts, two entitled entities fighting over

By Jamie Nash:
Looking for something to do next Friday night? PeopleArt Coffeehouse just released its new music lineup for January and February, and it starts on Friday, January 20th at 9pm. If you haven't heard of PeopleArt, they are a coffeehouse and live music venue located in the basement of the Unity Church at 1243 Delaware Avenue. Local musicians in the lineup include RoJo, Grace Stumberg, Bob Farmer, Tom Stahl, and Gaia Miranda.
Every Friday night at 9, for just $5, PeopleArt hosts a two hour performance by a featured local

Sending a vegetarian out on a quest for good Hispanic food is like asking a dog to fetch (and retrieve) a dog biscuit. On the rare occasion, you might find a dog that actually returns with the biscuit (that story next), and even rarer is it that a vegetarian will find much of anything to eat at his or her corner Hispanic eatery. As luck would have it, I actually discovered what I believe is one of the better Hispanic restaurants in town. In preparation for an unfriendly vegetarian experience I opted to bring a meat-eating friend along with me who, it turns out, had actually eaten there before. 
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Meeting highlights include: Adoption of a city manager form of government for the City of Buffalo, conversion of Pearl Street from one-way to two-way traffic in the Ellicott and Fillmore Districts, authorized designating the Erie Freight House located at 9 Ohio Street as a local landmark, adopt a plan to restore funding to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority...
1949 photo of the scow American shows the Erie Freight House on the opposite shore; photo used by permission of the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society.
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Submitted by DeanerPPX (Dean Evaniak):
After reading STEEL's article, "Seriously, isn't it time to save what's left?" (and the comments that it generated), I wanted to put my own widescreen iMac and Photoshop skills to the test. While STEEL's images were startling, I felt that there were other layers of information to be revealed from that aerial image taken in 1951.
See lead image - 2009 B Density Change
I

Two old ladies were the headliners for downtown development last year.  Mark Croce's purchase and investment in the Statler and Rocco Termini's ongoing work at the Hotel Lafayette are significant in themselves.  To have both properties rescued from an uncertain future, at the same time, is great news for the city.

Croce purchased the Statler in March.  The Niagara Square landmark was tied up in bankruptcy court and would have been mothballed or even demolished if

William Campbell is planning big things for the future of brewing in Buffalo. Bill is the owner and founder of New Buffalo Brewing Company, an upcoming microbrewery looking to introduce a variety of high-quality beers to the area. Currently the company is in the development and testing

While revelers were partying the night away at The Statler on New Year's Eve, another celebration was underway at 5 East Huron. That's where Iskalo Development held its own VIP Ball Drop party. I spoke to Iskalo Marketing Manager Jonathan Gill who told me that the Ball Drop was designed to showcase the 5 East Huron space since the development company has begun to spruce it up recently (beyond the initial investment) in order to proactively find a tenant. "We installed new mechanical systems and restrooms,"

Whenever I can, I try to wear locally designed shirts. Usually those shirts have some sort of Buffalo motif, mainly because a lot of designers know that Buffalonians like to sport clothing that promotes hometown pride. Over the holidays I stopped in to SplashPanic! (FB) on Elmwood to do some shopping, and I ended up picking up a long sleeve t-shirt that really spoke to me. At the time, I had no idea that the shirt was made by a local design outfit called EuroStyle Apparel. Upon learning the news, I decided to go to EuroStyle's website to see what