For the first time in my life, I’ve developed a Saturday morning routine. At around 10am I head to the Winter Market @ Horsefeathers in order to gain inspiration for the following week. To me, a trip to the market is like a giant cup of coffee that keeps me fueled for days to come. At the market I find all sorts of vendors that “tell me” stories about Buffalo, and send me signals about the kind of a city that I’m living in. It’s not necessarily all about the buying of various delicacies, which I do in order to take the experience home with me. Rather it’s about the big picture – the people watching, the interaction with vendors, the freshness of the West Side, and the daily work being conducted inside the building.
Yesterday developer Karl Frizlen took me for a tour of the apartments upstairs, and then into the bowels of the building so that I could see the geothermal heating unit and the community kitchen space. Along the way he showed me where the permanent market vendors would be located, behind glass partitions so that the spaces would become one with the operation. Visitors will be able to see drying foods, fresh baked breads and curing meats, similar to what we have witnessed this past winter season, but on a permanent basis. Come spring, many of the vendors will head back outside to the Bidwell Farmers Market, while others will set up permanent storefronts within the Horsefeathers Market. Some will even opt to do both. Here is a sampling of what visitors to the Winter Market have found thus far:
Arden Farms – early greens, pork,roots, eggs
Avenue Boys Smoke House – sausages
Beiter & Sons Farm – goat milk soap
Biscotti for Everybotti – biscotti
Boston Valley Gourmet Mushrooms – home grown mushrooms
Buffalo Cookie Company – Buffalo shaped cookies
Chateau Buffalo – wine, hard cider
Elm Street Bakery – sourdough bread, roasted coffee
Fetch Dog Treats – homemade dog treats
First Light Farm & Creamery – goat & milk cheeses, whole milk, grass fed beef, eggs, chicken, roots, lettuce
Green Heron Growers – tinctures
Jolies Chinese Traditional – Chinese dumplings
Martin Cooks – prepared food and coffee
Native Offerings – beets, carrots, onions, roots
Pasta Peddler – homemade pasta, pasta sauce, ravioli
Plato Dale Farms – grass fed beef
Saltamontes Salsa – homemade chips & salsa
Singer Farm Naturals – dried cherries, cherry extract, apples
Spices and Mixes by Milly – spices
What would we do without Karl Frizlen? Karl was the person who founded the Bidwell Farmers’ Market, and now he has provided us with an equally inspiration Winter Market. To me, my Saturday routine has introduced me to people and foods that I never would have come across otherwise. I am completely fascinated with these grassroots culinary enterprises. Whether it’s the mounds of incredible homegrown mushrooms or the sizzling Chinese dumplings prepared throughout the morning, I find myself nourished by the entrepreneurs as much as the dishes and the products that they are dishing out.
It won’t be long before we will be able to experience the best of both worlds (indoors and outdoors) thanks to one person who decided that Elmwood and the West Side would benefit from year ’round food markets. I can’t wait to see the Horsefeathers building in full operation. Having a mix of homegrown food purveyors, along with produce and other organic treasures from our neighboring farms, readily available and easily accessible… this is what city living is truly all about.
Not to mention the throngs of visitors from around Greater Buffalo that have also rediscovered the West Side. Karl told me that people are once again visiting the street who have not lived on the West Side for over a generation. Others are coming from the outskirts of Buffalo and even Canada. This is the type of injection that we have been waiting for. Combined with recent infrastructure developments on nearby streets (bike lanes) and D’Youville College’s campus expansion, the Horsefeathers project is in the midst of establishing itself as a major anchor for the city’s West Side.
Thank you Karl Frizlen.
Winter Market @ Horsefeathers
346 Connecticut Street
Buffalo, NY
(716) 881-0046