It was four years ago when Buffalo Rising first covered Go Veggies, a sprouting business that many people had discovered at the Elmwood Farmer’s Market. Since that time (see article), owner Genga Ponnampalam has been expanding his product lines at the local farmers’ markets, selling his products online and at small brick and mortar grocery markets while apparently looking for a permanent location on Elmwood Avenue. With items like gluten free spinach and black bean burgers as well as spicy veggie rolls, Genga’s vision for opening a permanent space near Elmwood is close to becoming a reality.
The plan is to open a small cafe at 264 Bryant Street in the same building as Epic. I spoke to Genga this morning and he told me that he is hoping to open a 15-seat vegetarian cafe if he can get the go-ahead from The City to do so. Hopefully that plan becomes a reality, because it would be very beneficial for the rest of the businesses that have recently opened or are planning on opening nearby (such as Epic, Tuscany on Main and Nickel City Cheese and Mercantile). With Coffee Culture on the opposite corner this would be an ideal location for a small vegetarian cafe. Plus, Go Veggies has been around the block a few times – it originally opened on Connecticut Street many years ago. Then it lost its commercial space and reopened on Sheridan Drive in Tonawanda.
Now Genga would like to open a cafe in the city, servicing a growing vegetarian clientele… I would think that The City would do everything in its power to make that happen.