In a city where we actually have an Innovation Center, it may not be that surprising that we have been ranked highly on a list of innovative cities. Of course being home to a major university and a slew of colleges helps to place Buffalo towards the top of the list as well. At the same time, it might come as a surprise to some... or many... that Buffalo is ranked at #11. 
According to an article posted

This post originally appeared on Views of Buffalo

You're probably asking yourself how anyone could possibly fathom that Cheektowaga's new Super

One of Buffalo's most beloved restaurants is taking its proven concept to the streets. This week, Amy's Place is launching Amy's Truck - a food truck that will be serving many of our menu favorites including my all-time number one... the Lentil-Berry Sandwich. Until now I haven't felt the urge to actually track down a food truck. Usually when I come across one, I decide at that moment whether or not I feel like ordering something. In this case, I know that there will be times when I will be craving a Lentil-Berry

I'm a big fan of off the beaten path businesses. I was so happy to hear that Lexington Avenue had attracted yet another boutique into its diverse community of enterprising destinations, this one called Turnstyle Designs. Owner Stephanie Robb has done a bang up job transforming a wonderful old corner house into a vibrant and welcoming storefront, filled with all sorts of hard to find treasures including vegan leather handbags, custom jewelry and a wide variety of designer scarves and hats. "Keeping with my initial vision of Turnstyle," Stephanie expressed to me. "This corner has come alive with

When I first posted on Buffalo's Alt Energy Car Club back in September (learn more), club members informed me that they were attempting to organize a cruise night where alt energy fans could gather to check out and discuss green rides. Little did I know that a few weeks later they would come up with a cruise night scheduled for this year. On Saturday October 20, 2012, local owners of alternative energy cars, along with supporters of all modes of green transportation, will gather at the Buffalo Niagara Medical

In a twist of fate, Leon Rung (photo right), the original owner of Cafe 59 has joined forces with Chris Connolly to open Madonna's restaurant on Allen Street. I say 'fate' because Chris was the guy who bought Cafe 59 from Leon. Now the two are a couple of weeks away from opening the doors to a freshly remodeled, casual, authentic Italian restaurant. Seeing that both Leon and Chris have been able to figure out the formula of running a successful food operation in Allentown, I'm sure that the partnership will be nothing short of miraculous. 
The restaurant is being very

On November 4, three of Buffalo's cupcake gurus will face off in the Artisan Kitchens and Baths kitchen showroom to see who will take home the title in Feed Your Soul's latest baking and decorating competition: The Nickel City Cupcake Challenge. 
"In Buffalo, cupcakes have really taken off in the last few years," said Christa Glennie Seychew, owner of Feed Your Soul. "There are so many independent bakeries who are choosing to specialize in this sweet treat that we thought it would be fun to showcase them."
Justina Adams of The Buffalo

Chippewa is a street that evokes many different sentiments from people. Over the past year and half Jay Manno, owner of SoHo Burger Bar has been paying attention to the changes that continue to mold Chippewa into what he believes will soon be a stronger, more diverse, and more mature restaurant and nightlife district. Not to say that young people will not still flock to Chippewa, it's just that there are telltale signs that signal that the street is finally growing up. 
Jay is not only the owner of SoHo Burger Bar, he's also the president of the Buffalo Entertainment

By Bernice Radle:
WNYSEA is bringing BRO readers a daily article about green buildings in Buffalo. Each green building will be available for you to see for FREE on Saturday, October 13, 2012 at the WNY Solar Homes and Green Buildings Tour from 10am - 4pm. While this tour is not limited to the city itself, it is very important to give a HUGE cheer to the city of Buffalo because there are so many great projects within the city limits. For a full list of tour sites go to www.wnysea.com.
Today's Spotlight:

By Chris Story, Crystal Wicker, & Kara Weymouth:
Fashion Maniac: Keeping tabs on Buffalo's fashion industry, including models, catwalks, retailers, designers, stylists, visual merchandisers and jewelers. 
Whether you're a red-blooded conservative or a peace-loving beatnik or like most of us fall somewhere in between, one thing is remains constant: military fashion is here to stay. Don't think it's true? Turn on any television or browse through any fashion site on the

"Obviously, there's something I'm not doing correctly with this football team in the second half."
The above words may have been spoken by Buffalo coach Chan Gailey, but they apply across the board for the Bills right now as they come off their 45-3 beating by the 49ers.
When Buffalo went shopping for defense after such a poor showing in 2011, what they came up with was looked at early as potentially being one of the best in the NFL.
The acquisition of Mario Williams and Mark Anderson was supposed to make the

By Suzanne Jaszcz:
Lights, camera, action!  Movie magic is about to take place this fall in Buffalo as the local film "Give & Take" starts production.  The screenplay by local actress and entrepreneur Gail Golden (founder of Dramatic Solutions and Wondermakers) is inspired by her real life experiences working as an actress in Buffalo and beyond.  The film is a coming of age story that takes place in the wacky, wonderful and sometimes dysfunctional world of the theatre.  Gail first wrote the screenplay seven years ago and was recently

This restaurant location at the corner of Elmwood and Utica is a prime spot in the Elmwood Village. It's a beautiful building with oversized windows, off street parking, kitchen equipment... everything that a restaurant owner would want to start a business. Unfortunately the space has been sitting vacant for a couple of years now, which is not good for commercial and residential neighbors. The lack of a tenant leads me to suspect that maybe the property owner is asking too much per month. The space is listed at $5500 a month, which is a fairly large nut to crack. Then again, it's got a lot of great

Letter to the editor by M. Schifano:
The proposed apartment complex on the site (unless I missed something) of the old and long neglected Erie Freight House is a great idea. Population density is what is missing from that part of town. To be sure, there are already people living in the area, but a fresh project that would attract more people with the means to support all of the other businesses that make a neighborhood successful is a good idea.
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By Bernice Radle:
WNYSEA is bringing BRO readers a daily article about green buildings in Buffalo. Each green building will be available for you to see for FREE on Saturday, October 13, 2012 at the WNY Solar Homes and Green Buildings Tour from 10am - 4pm. While this tour is not limited to the city itself, it is very important to give a HUGE cheer to the city of Buffalo because there are so many great projects within the city limits. For a full list of tour sites go to www.wnysea.com or www.energysage.com

By Giovanni Centurione: Opening Monday is one of downtown's newest retailers, Althea's 2nd Time Around boutique, located at 661 Main Street (see more). This new shop takes up residence in the recently restored Pierce Building across from Shea's Buffalo, offering a wide selection of men, women, and children's clothing, accessories, furniture and artwork. This is an exciting time for Buffalo's Theater District, as construction of auto-sharing

Matt and Kim played at the Town Ballroom last night, bringing with them the same energy and zest that they have been delivering since they first formed the duo in 2005. To be clear, my wife and I have been fans of the band for years, catching them for the first time in Toronto when they opened for The Go Team back in 2008. Then we were fortunate to see them again in 2010 at Soundlab here in Buffalo. When we heard that they were coming to play Town Ballroom we knew that there was no way that we were going to miss the show. The group recently released its latest CD (in October) called Lightning,

By Giovanni Centurione: Edible Arrangements has officially opened its doors in Lafayette Square's Brisbane Building. If you are familiar with their other locations, EA is known to offer a wide variety of fruit-based gift baskets and arrangements for any occasion. Upon mention of the business, many people might think of just a few different types of offerings, including corporate gift selections and edible "Thank You" arrangements. What might come as a surprise to some is that the fresh fruit bouquet offers a lot more variety

When I listen to folks in cities below the first tier talk, I so often hear some variation of a story about people from out of town and exclaim about how great the place is saying, "I had no idea your city was this cool or had all this stuff." Or we hear about the person who moved there from New York, fell in love, and is now the city's biggest champion.
I think all of these should be taken with a grain of salt. 
First, how often do you visit someone's house and then make a disparaging comment about it to their face? My guess: never.

An Oktoberfest party is happening today at Més Que located at 1420 Hertel Avenue.  You don't have to drive to Ellicottville to celebrate, and we guarantee you'll have just as much fun. Party, celebrate and cheer for your favorite soccer (football) team! 
For every draft beer that's purchased, Més Que will donate $1 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Western New York. Wear your most creative Oktoberfest costume, and Best Male and Female Costume winners will take home a $25