Greenleaf and Co. has landed another business at its Campus Walk development apartment project on Grant Street. Vinne’s Pizza & Wings was the first to claim a space, and now West Side Bazaar graduate, Gourmet Lao Foods, has opened their doors at 643 Grant Street. The restaurant specializes in serving a variety of ethnic culinary delights, including foods from Lao, Thailand, Burma, and Japan. This new restaurant opening comes at a time when there has been a drought in refugee arrivals to Buffalo, which is starting to impact the once-rapidly accelerating small business economic climate that was being partially fueled by a steady flow of new arrivals to Buffalo.
As for Gourmet Lao Foods, the restaurant is owned by Boulivone Serixay, who first came to Buffalo 17 years ago. The restaurant was extremely popular at The Bazaar, and now it will be able to expand upon its fare that ranges from sesame cookies to bubble tea to traditional Laotian dishes, and a number of crowd favorites including fried rices, vegetarian spring rolls, green papaya salad, lotus cookies, larb, pad kee mow, yom woom salad, samosa, egg rolls, and curry dishes. There’s also Thai iced tea, smoothies, noodle dishes, and phở.
This is another big win for Grant Street, and the West Side in general. At the same time, we must remember that without refugees fueling these enterprises, we would not be seeing so many economic wins. Westminster Economic Development Initiative (WEDI), the organization that runs the West Side Bazaar, put it very succinctly when it recognized the success of Gourmet Lao Foods.
“Refugees and immigrants are a core part of the economic development happening in Buffalo. They are essential not only to Buffalo’s beautiful mosaic of culture and community but also to the creation of new solutions and opportunities. Two years ago, Buffalo welcomed 1,934 refugees. Last year, the number went down to 686. This year, the number is projected to be even lower. This is and will continue to impact our city – employers and landlords are already feeling the effects. By supporting refugees and immigrants you support your local economy.”
Gourmet Lao Foods | 643 Grant Street | Campus Walk | Buffalo, NY 14213 | (716) 882-4664
Open Monday thru Saturday 11:00am-9:00pm
Lead image courtesy of WEDI