In anticipation of Valentine’s Day, the Chippewa Alliance (CA) is planning on hosting a pop-up market on Saturday, February 13 in the parking lot next to D’Arcy McGee’s, behind Frankie Primo’s +39 (11am – 3pm). This is the first initiative of this nature to be held in the Chippewa District, and is hopefully a sign of similar events to come.
“The CA marketing committee was trying to think of a way to not only support our Chippewa area small businesses, but other small businesses in the Buffalo area as well,” said Rachel A. DeDomenico, president of the Chippewa Alliance. “It was determined that a pop-up would be a fantastic way to bring people together in a safe environment where they can shop local, and ideally, once they have enjoyed the market, they will patronize one of the Chippewa area restaurants.”
One of the reasons that the Chippewa Alliance is in place is to determine ways to bring more people downtown, to support the anchor businesses. “With more and more businesses working from home, the hit that the travel and tourist industry has suffered and the lack of events downtown, the downtown restaurants are not getting the traffic that they once had,” said DeDomenico. “[The market] will have a total of 16 vendors, offering retail, baked goods, cigars, and much more. All Covid guidelines will be enforced.”
It’s great to see the Chippewa Alliance making good use of a surface parking lot that could be helping to generate more foot traffic. The D’Arcy McGee’s parking lot is the perfect place to host such an event. Hopefully, if the pop-up market is deemed a success, more of these sorts of outdoor initiatives will be held throughout the year, with additional vendors, seasonal products, and ‘Lots of Love for the 716.’
Lots of Love for the 716
Saturday, February 13 2021
11am – 3pm
Near the corner of West Chippewa and Franklin