RaChaCha - What a novel idea to join the efforts of both Buffalo and Rochester to make both markets even better. This may be a great thing to bring Buffalo vendors to Rochester and vice versa.
I think you may have something going here.
RaChaCha - What a novel idea to join the efforts of both Buffalo and Rochester to make both markets even better. This may be a great thing to bring Buffalo vendors to Rochester and vice versa.
I think you may have something going here.
Bought some fish there Saturday.. Great service and a fantastic price... I will be back for more!
Steve is such a nice guy. Please try him out. Its a short drive to the Market from anywhere in WNY and selection and prices are better than most places (especially the grocery stores).
Fresh cut fish is the way to go for freshness.
simcoe - Yes, you are 100% correct about the crime issue and the persistent blight that hampers East Buffalo and the Terminal District. I am at the Central Terminal just about every Saturday and the blight and poverty is depressing to me.
I am hoping that the Central Terminal becomes an incubator, at some point to start a revitalization of the area. This is a pie in the sky idea and I don't want to sound too optimistic, but I want to sound focused on the goal. I want to fix my eye's on the prize.
I have a soft spot in my heart for East Buffalo and I wish I could devote my time to this area more. It would help if it were not so overridden with drugs and crime, I guess that's an uphill battle.
What a pleasant surprise to find that first-class Buffalonian Sandy Starks has a byline on BRO...AND is involved with positive developments at the Broadway Market. Thanks for the plug for our public market in My Fair City, Sandy! Like the Broadway Market in Buffalo, the Rochester Public Market is a unique and popular resource not only for the urban-by-choice, but also for many drawn from way beyond city limits. I live but one neighborhood over from our market, and we've also been involved in ongoing efforts to leverage our market asset to drive revitalization of the surrounding neighborhoods. I understand there have been efforts to share ideas and best practices between the two markets - now I'm learning that we also share some of the freshest seafood upstate...will definitely be on the lookout for Steve and his business partner. These two extraordinarily dedicated businessmen deserve kudos - and much success - for providing such a valuable service to Our Fair Cities.
Tesla,
I completely agree with you, the trouble is- what "people"? Anyone that walks into the Broadway Market can see the multitude of obvious changes that could be made to improve the joint. The trouble is funding. The Broadway Market recently received 501c3 status, which means that they can apply for grants and other funds as a historic business, but someone has to write those grants and someone has to facilitate the process. These things take time and may not be a cure-all anyway.
The writer of this piece, Sandy Starks, along with a whole host of other dedicated Buffalonians, volunteer their time and energy to try and affect change at the Market, but it's an uphill battle (IMHO). BR readers have joked about Mr. Issa coming in and saving the Market, but what other ways can we as a community make it work? Visiting more than once a year would be a great start.
I'd love to hear other ideas that BR readers have about how to improve the Market and where to get the capital to do so.
great article! I always wanted to buy some fish from Lee but usually talk myself out of it because of freshness concerns. After reading this though it will be a hard sell not too.. plus he cleans them for you!!! Perfect for my lack of filleting knife and skilled fillet(er?) kitchen!
I will hold off of other Broadway Market comments since you are going to cover other stands in later articles. I am hoping to get there this weekend and who knows maybe come away with a fish.
I don't have any big answers to the (very important) question you've posed, Christa, but I do the following things, which are small but may make some kind of difference in the aggregate:
1. I visit the Market as much as I can to buy as much as I can. Realistically, this works out to about once a month, but it's better than just Easter, right? I join the crowds at Easter, but also make a point of doing my other big holiday meal shopping there (Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving, etc.). 2. Anytime I have any guest in from out of town, I take them to the Market. We eat lunch, we go shopping for Buffalo goods (Broadway Market cookbooks, Buffalo t-shirts, etc.), and I get to fill them in on Polonia. 3. I make a point of taking any WNY resident who's never been to the Market before there (see above). This is more people than one might think. Also, since I am affiliated with UB, I make sure to take my international student friends there. My friend from Latvia now loves the Market; it reminds her of home in a powerful way. 4. I attend Sandy's presentations at the Market. (They're great!) 5. I support the work of Corpus Christi, even though I'm not a member of the congregation.
I wish there were more I could do personally. If anyone has any other suggestions, I'm open. I guess I'm approaching this from the Margaret Mead "never doubt that a small group..." perspective, rather than the big picture perspective. But maybe, just maybe, if enough people make a commitment like this one, then the work of Sandy and all the others who are doing such important community activism at the Market will really flourish. If I were writing this in the "City" section of BRO I'm sure I'd get slammed for being a wide-eyed, naive idealist but we're generally gentler in YUM so I'm laying out my bleeding heart for all to see. ;)
Rdominguez, the vendors at the Broadway Market appreciate your support and loyalty. As to Martin your ignorant comment isn't even worth a reply.
How the hell is Martin's comment ignorant? You devotees of that market & the Terminal are so blinded by the fact that the area isn't too much better than 1980's Beirut. A relative of mine who owns property near the market was shot in broad f-ing daylight with a shotgun by a drug dealing tenant he was trying to evict. Are you so ignorant of the fact that the area's claim to fame is not the junky anachronistic market but its incredible crime rate. Just because you went there with your "nana" to get fresh sausage 3o yrs ago doesn't make it some sacred temple.
BuffaloBloviator has some ideas on how to better market the market....stay tuned.
Exchange program for vendors Buffalo-Rochester. It already exists with such companies as Palmer Food Service, Kastners Foodservice. Just more suppliers to muddy the waters.
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