Buffalo Rising Online

Oct 13th, 11:52pm By queenseyes

If you happened to miss the Oktoberfest at the Central Terminal this year, maybe you made it to the one at The Essex Street Pub? Actually, I wasn’t even aware that there was such a celebration on the West Side until I received a phone call Saturday evening. When I heard that ten bucks would get you all of the German food you could eat… well, I had to check it out. When I arrived, the scooter community had already commandeered one side of the joint’s sidewalk, while the cyclists had laid prey to the other side. Nice new bike racks have turned the pub into a haven for the bike community. Inside, there was a German-speaking beer swiller doling out piles of authentic spaetzel, potato salad, dumplings, etc., while a German DJ (both decked out in lederhosen) connected customers with plenty of native stein clanking tunes.

When I see sights like the one from Essex the other evening, my brain starts to immediately plan for next year. Some of the older members of the crowd regaled us with stories of an Oktoberfest that used to be held on Elmwood Avenue. Then Allentown tried to get one going. Now the Central Terminal throws a successful one (see info). It seems to me that Essex Pub and the surrounding Essex Corners community could host a very successful fall event – especially if the Essex Arts Center, Big Orbit, Prime 490, Left Bank and Urban Roots all got into the action. As long as the celebration didn’t conflict with the one at the Central Terminal, this could be the perfect little neighborhood to pull off an even more memorable German event.

The following is a note from the The Essex Corners Neighborhood Association:

The Essex Corners Neighborhood Association Block Party will be this Sat., Oct 18th, 4-10 PM (rain date 10/25). Thank you to everyone who attended our last meeting! Special thanks to Macky for hosting the meeting @ at the Essex St. Pub & extra special thanks to Council member David Rivera for attending and updating us on the progress in our community (street lamps, curbs, WSCC, PUSH, investment on Mass. Ave., etc., etc.) We appreciate everyone who has signed up to contribute for the Block Party.