The wait is finally over. The public is now welcome to try out international cuisine served up by eight locally-owned and operated restaurants, whose owners are (mostly) either immigrants or refugees. Menus at the new Bazaar range from Italian to Malaysian.
The Westminster Economic Development Initiative (WEDI) has outdone themselves with this new Niagara Street culinary and retail destination. I spoke to WEDI Executive Director Carolynn Welch who told me that the next step of the process is to activate the second floor of the building for catered events and parties. It’s not often that you can get an event catered by so many diverse food enterprises, she told me. She also made sure to mention the the Downtown Bazaar is still open, and offers a cuisines that are different than the Niagara Street operation, including Ethiopian food.
All of the menu items at each incubator are featured above the respective kiosk windows on video monitors. I understand that there is a process underway, to get the menus up online, which will be very helpful for people who want to familiarize themselves with the menu items, before arriving to the Bazaar.
I was a bit disappointed that the purveyors of the Turkish café pulled out of the new Bazaar at the last minute, as I was really looking to sampling a thick and foamy cup on such an overcast, drizzly day. Thankfully, the good folks at Orso Nero Pizza saved the day, when they expertly prepared an espresso for my mother-in-law and a black coffee for me. And for those still searching for Turkish coffee, we now have Penny’s Coffee Shop in Allentown.
As for our lunch, after hemming and hawing for an extended period of time (so many choices!), we opted to get a couple of shawarmas from Egyptian Bites. We were looking for something easy to eat (a wrap of some sort) that was also warm and flavorful. The shawarmas did the trick, although there was not a system in place to figure out how far along our food was, or when it was ready. We sat at stools at the beer and wine bar (not open yet), so that we would not add to the congestion of customers that were standing around perusing the menus and ordering their meals.
For those who are unfamiliar with this new incubator market concept, you can read about the ribbon cutting here. Following are the various business ventures that are currently in operation at the 1432 Niagara Street location:
8 Restaurants
- Egyptian Bites
- William’s Kitchen Korean Comfort Food
- Phyu Thein (Malaysian)
- Ramree Corporation (Burmese)
- Millions Tin (Sushi)
- Orso Nero Pizza (Italian)
- Malkia and Co. (Central African & Congolese)
- Bamboo Ridge (Vietnamese)
4 Food Retail Entrepreneurs
- Manchester Place Baking Co. (pies, brownies, cookies, cakes)
- Citygate Market (African food products)
- Bubble Tea & Smoothie Bar
Other Occupants Include:
- Honey Bee’s Driving School
- 1 vendor booth for pop-ups
- 1 Commissary kitchen for independent chefs
- Read It and Eat
- Mental health counselors Elisabeth Burn LMHC & Danielle Prester LMHC
If you’ve been looking for an authentic, diverse, worldly market experience, this is it. Not only is there a refreshing kaleidoscope of attentive vendors awaiting your arrival, there is a diverse customer base that is happy to have such an amalgam of food options to choose from.
It’s a proud day to be a Buffalonian. I was extremely happy to support this authentic enterprise on its opening day. The West Side Bazaar is all that and more. It harkens back to the days when bustling urban markets were not the exception, they were the norm. And somehow, against all odds, we ended up with two, both of which need our support, which is not asking a lot considering the yummy rewards.
For more information about the West Side Bazaar and WEDI, click here.