OK, just about everyone can take a walk—that is, put one foot in front of the other, and move. But relishing a walk (for other than counting steps) is something else. That requires the feeling of wonder, and the sense of renewal, that come from seeing, from observing, and from appreciating, whatever happens to be on that day’s excursion.
Beginning in January 2020, as Covid-19 took over our lives, my wife Dianne Bennett and I began walking the city streets—every day, no matter the weather. In time, though without a plan, we walked all (we think) the city’s streets, then branched out into other cities and towns and onto radically unfamiliar terrain, including trails that followed what once were rail lines, paths along the area’s creeks and rivers, and the interiors of abandoned structures. While doing all this over a period of about 30 months, we took some 20,000 photos, a small portion of which—mostly of Buffalo—we’ll share with you. We hope others will be encouraged not just to walk the city, but to develop their own ways of seeing and their own insights.
William Graebner is Professor Emeritus of History, State University of New York at Fredonia, a photographer, and a widely published author of books on American history. Dianne Bennett practiced as an attorney at Hodgson, Russ and was the first woman to head a large U.S. law firm. Together, they are the 5 Cent Cine film critics for BRo—and walk the streets of Western New York.
Today’s Photo-Essay: Buffalo’s Mini-Marts
Most of Buffalo’s corner bars are gone, but another neighborhood institution remains strong: the mini-mart. There are dozens, surely more than a hundred. We’re not talking about cookie-cutter 7-11s or Wilson Farms stores, though the city has those, too, including a few dotting the Elmwood corridor.
Instead, many of the city’s mini-marts are one-of-a-kind treasures, their fronts in vivid colors, side walls covered with hand-painted drawings advertising food offerings (and the Buffalo Bills).
We were especially fond of the partly purple façade of El Pueblo Corner Mart, on Virginia Street at West Avenue. While photographing it, the owner or manager came out, concerned about why I was photographing the shop (because I loved the colors, I said), asked for my name (not forthcoming), then filmed me on his cellphone as we talked.
The fronts of the stores are in their way visual art works—the chaos of Times Square or Vegas (with a nod to architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown) on a much smaller scale–crammed with ads for products and services, from pet food to Encourage Cigars, from instructions, in Arabic, on how to obtain a driver’s license, to assistance with visa processing for Saudi Arabia. Some, especially those serving Muslim customers, advertise a line of clothes.
Mekong Express Mart, on Massachusetts Avenue, appears to be permanently shuttered. The surprising name, which for some will invoke the Vietnam War, speaks to the concentration of Vietnamese on the city’s West Side.
The stores often feature elaborate patriotic motifs.
Most of the markets occupy ordinary storefronts. Ray Market, at Auburn Avenue and Baynes Street on the West Side, is an exception; it’s in a splendid Victorian building, topped by a handsome turret.
The In & Out Market, at Genesee and Sherman, combines American flags with a salute to those, presumably from the neighborhood, who have died. When I was photographing the side of the building, a resident told me that I should stop, that people in the area would not appreciate what I was doing. I explained that we were just walkers, heading to a lone church tower on Sherman. We later learned that the next block on Sherman was the site of a shooting, the day before.
Marts with island motifs are quite common, sometimes signifying a Puerto Rican clientele. The mural for Montes Grocery and Deli, on Swan Street near downtown, features the Puerto Rican flag and two symbols of the country: the Coqui frog and the historic watch tower at Fort San Felipe.
Although the East Side is often described as a food desert, many mini-marts advertise “a full line of groceries” and offer a deli and even a grill (not always open or functioning). The deli inside the Cold Spring Market on Jefferson, where we stopped recently to get our grandson a sandwich, was closed, and it appeared to have been closed for some time.
International Market, on Tonawanda Street in Riverside, promises that “full line of groceries” and an array of Ethiopian spices, including mitmita, berbere, and korarima.
Connected to the store, and advertised by a hand-painted sign, is Lucy, an East African restaurant, with outdoor seating.
Some mini-marts feature a line of Halal foods. The product mix of Zubaidah Halal Meat & Grocery, on Walden Avenue, includes items from Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
Mini-marts are most common on the East Side, where the dearth of large grocery stores (there is only one, the now notorious Tops on Jefferson Avenue) has made them essential and allowed some of them, at least, to prosper. But there are many on the West Side, too, an area better served by chain supermarkets.
Hampshire Street, which angles from West Ferry to Busti Avenue, has a remarkable collection of the stores, at least 5, close to one per block. Near the corner with Grant Street is “Bill’s,” with its welcoming big red letters; you can also see it in the 2019 locally-filmed “The True Adventures of Wolfboy.”
Further down Hampshire you’ll find Moe’s City Candy Grocery, whose name doesn’t suggest a focus on nutrition. You’ll have to go in to find out.
©William Graebner