After five years in business on Bryant Street, Animal Outfitters has officially outgrown its space and has headed to greener pastures. The specialty pet store, owned by Omar Zahzouhi, has doubled its size and its offerings, while maintaining its comfortable vibe and welcoming appeal. In order to accommodate Animal Outfitters, the 986 Elmwood location was actually split into two storefronts, thus allowing the pet store to move in. The remaining storefront will be occupied by T-Mobile as it relocates from the 500-block.

By upgrading to a larger space, Animal Outfitters will be able to

This Saturday, January 15, Buffalo's own Ives Pond Quidditch team will be hosting the Ives Pond Invitational as part of Olmsted's Flurrious Festival in Delaware Park.

The games will kick off at 11 a.m. and run until about 5 p.m.  There will be six teams playing for the championship: Ives Pond, Suny Geneseo, RIT, St. Lawrence, University of Pittsburgh and City Honors High School.  Games will be played according to the standard International Quidditch Association Rules.

"It's awesome to host a tournament,"

By Mark Williams:

As we begin a New Year filled with the usual promises of weight-loss, exercise routines, new careers or whatever goals we all set for ourselves; it is prudent that we remain focused on old, unfinished business as well.

If not already obvious from the attached photograph, I am referring to 102 Johnson Park.

Unfortunately, and much to my own dismay, the very mention of this property seems to provoke a form of electronic Treats' Syndrome and if we possessed audible

On Saturday, January 15 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Habitat for Humanity Buffalo will be hosting the grand opening of its second Habitat ReStore.  The new store is located in South Buffalo at 1675 South Park Avenue at the corner of Coster.

"Habitat Buffalo is thrilled to have a new ReStore location in South Buffalo," said Dave Zablotny, Executive Director Habitat-Buffalo. "Our second ReStore will enhance the sustainable funding stream already in place with our store at 501 Amherst Street and will allow Habitat to continue to expand on the

For those of you who can't make it to the weekly Common Council meeting, following is the briefing. From this week's meeting as provided by the council:

Creation of a Special Zoning District--The Council adopted a resolution sponsored by North District Council Member Joseph Golombek, Jr. directing the City of Buffalo Planning Board and its staff to work with the City of Buffalo Department of Law to draft a zoning ordinance which would designate the Pan American District area as a special zoning district, thereby aiding in its preservation and improvement. The Pan

The phrase "There is no there there" comes from writer Gertrude Stein's book Everybody's Autobiography.  In this phrase she was talking about a trip back to her childhood home of Oakland California after a long absence.  Upon arrival she found that the house she grew up in was gone.  In this phrase she is saying that with the place being gone it no longer has purpose to her and was rendered meaningless.  In subsequent years the phrase has been commonly used to describe placeless places - sprawl

By Green Options Buffalo:

Mrs. Parks is the kind of art teacher that students love. She's famous at Kenmore West for providing a great mix of zany creativity and functional technique, and her latest project with her 3D Design students is a perfect example of that. She believes in building a student's awareness of their world, and that "It is important for our students to become more aware of their surroundings from many different aspects: reuse, thinking from a community-based mindset, and giving back. Every small stride helps the cause. The students began by exploring the assemblage

By Allita Lee:

In an effort to tap into the community's needs and insight the Wisteria Charter School Initiative respectfully asks the public to complete surveys either online or in person.  We are "casting a wide net" to reach anyone interested in enrolling their children in a Waldorf-inspired program or assisting with the creation of this charter school.  If an individual does not have Internet access then they may fill out a survey form at the Masten Resource Center (home of the Better Schools,

These... appeared, seemingly overnight ...(or over the weekend), around the FBI building downtown. 

Not sure what else to say...  here are a couple initial comments?

PaulBuffalo: Maybe they'll be installed on a gigantic railing.

Https: Maybe they intend to paint them green as a low maintenance alternative to bushes and other greenery.

JM: Paint something on it so it looks like a flip book when you walk by. My guess is this is a measure to step up security after the Murders in Az. Pretty sad on so many levels,

FASHION MANIAC TEAM:

Features Editor : Cassie Elsaesser   
All Photography & Managing Editor : Cheryl Gorski
Stylists : Cassie Elsaesser & Cameron Richard  
Makeup : Dani Weiser
Hair Stylist : James HIckey
Prop Stylist  : Todd Warfield, Lucy Mancuso, Michael Merisola
Executive Producer / Video Journalist : Richard Renda

Bowling for love by Cassie Elsaesser:

Yes, the holidays are over and the swank parties are fewer and fewer, but that doesn't mean that

By Chris Catanzaro:
 
Buffalo Powder Keg Festival has brought back some favorite sports and games from last year's festival and we are looking to add a few more niche items to the festival. The always exciting Broomball (street version) Tournament will headline the games with an expanded field of teams and a choice for competitive or social play.  Also making its way back to the festival is the always contentious rivalry of our city guardians, which will take form in the 2nd Annual Buffalo Police vs. Fire games.  The Police won by a narrow margin last year, but the

Do you love Chris Collins?  Byron Brown?  Carl Paladino? 

Its not easy, is it?

Recent history has turned Martin Luther King day into a day of service.  Service certainly is a good thing, and it is part of Dr. King's legacy. He echoed the words of Jesus Christ clearly when he stated that "Anybody can be great, because everybody can serve."  And we should serve, not only this coming weekend, but always.

Service, however, is the safe easy part of both Christ's teaching and King's.  As the nation mourns Tuscon's tragedy, it may be time

Over the past year it's been hard to miss the ongoing news reports of an imminent Asian carp invasion. Now there is an opportunity to help stop the carp happening here in Buffalo.

The Army Corps of Engineers are collecting public comments tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan 11th) at the Buffalo CONFERENCE Center (2 Fountain Plaza) from 2-8pm on their Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basin Interbasin Feasibility Study (GLMRIS). The study focus will determine if we implement a permanent solution (separating the artificially connections

We have some good news for the quick-service restaurateurs out there who are considering opening up a place in the Queen City.

Recently, QSR magazine and Pitney Bowes Business Insight conducted a survey of the top emerging restaurant markets in the country.  The results of the survey consisted of ranking the top 40 cities for restaurant expansion in the year 2011.  Not only was Buffalo among the cities listed, it just so happened to be at the top of its category.

The study broke the cities down into small-market, medium-market and large-market categories based

Now that the holidays are over, many of us here in the city feel that the wintertime hustle and bustle has come to an end.  We're happy to report that with the arrival of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy's winter festival, FLURRIOUS!, that simply isn't the case.  In this inaugural year of FLURRIOUS! a variety of cold weather activities exist for the festival-goers to participate in, including snow golf, snowshoe softball, snow beach tennis, and a couples sled pull race.  Check out the information below for registration details:
 
Snow Golf (Sunday, January

The Baldwin Building at 109 Genesee Street may be one of the smallest buildings on the Genesee Block, but it's no less important.   It was designed by the prominent firm of Esenwein and Johnson who created many of Buffalo's most recognizable landmarks.   Unfortunately, many modestly sized buildings with ornate classical detailing have been altered or modified as tastes changed, and the ornate flourishes became unfashionable.   Genesee Gateway LLC, made up of CityView Properties and the Wendt Foundation, have brought new life to this architectural gem.

Jennifer

"Hop a train to Buffalo, the upstate New York jewel bedazzled with art, music, architecture and over-the-top nature." -Kathy Baruffi, (Detour) Amtrak Magazine

November-December's Amtrak Magazine includes a heartfelt summation of Buffalo's cultural climate. With a hat tip to Ani DiFranco and Tom Fontana, the article leads the reader down an intimate road with plenty of notable destinations found along the way. Of course it's the mission of an Amtrak writer to get as many people interested in destinations along the

By Molly Clauss:
 
Our region has not hosted an informal technology group for teachers in many years. On February 5th, this will change!  The Elmwood Franklin School is hosting an event they are calling "T4 - a Teachers and Technology Think Tank." 
 
This exciting event takes place on Saturday, February 5th, from 9-11am at the Elmwood Franklin School. Teachers will be grouped,

With the 85th anniversary of Shea's Performing Arts Center coming up on January 16, organizers have decided to pay tribute to the history of "The Wonder Theatre" by taking audiences back to its roots.

The historic building was originally opened in 1926 as a movie theater.  Every January, in honor of its humble beginnings, Shea's puts on the presentation of a silent film to "provide patrons with the opportunity to experience Shea's as patrons did during the theatre's early days," said Shea's President Tony Conte.  The upcoming presentation will feature the 1925 film "The Lost

By Greg Conley:

A great series was on TV in the fall that a lot of Buffalonians might have an interest in watching. It flew under the radar for most TV viewers, but it was certainly a captivating, real example of how cities work. Buffalo has quite a bit in common with Newark, New Jersey, otherwise known as "Brick City." It's been plagued by high crime rates, little investment, and too many cronies. Most importantly though, this city has a dynamic mayor by the name of Cory Booker.

From the Sundance Channel:
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