If you build a temporary art gallery on Amherst Street, will people come to support it? That’s the question that many had when Michael Mayalt opened the doors of his newly constructed realty business to artists and art lovers (see original post). The question was answered by Angela McCormack, who told me that she never expected the large number of supporters who came to check out the space and browse over the creations. Michael was extremely happy as well, considering that he had just completed the majority of the electrical repairs the morning of the show. Not only did the…
Author: Bill Zimmermann
Two weeks from now Buffalo is going to see the former Lotis restaurant reopen as One Sunset. When I first went to cover this story I was introduced to the owner of the establishment Leonard Stokes – a mild mannered guy, with a flip side that is all playmaker. That’s because after playing ball in Greece, this Buffalonian went on to play in the NBA for the Denver Nuggets and the Washington Wizards as a point guard and shooting guard. Yes, he grew up in Buffalo and though he left to pursue a basketball career, he never forgot about his…
It was over a year ago when we first wrote about Chuck The Bubble Guy. At that point we all thought that the man behind the bubbles was a temporary thing, and eventually he would run out of steam… or breath. Actually, Chuck started off blowing bubbles out of his third floor apartment building as a way to release steam… it was much safer than the previous form of stress relief that he had undertaken. What I didn’t realize, before talking to him today, was that Chuck has been entertaining Allentown with his bubble blowing for the last five years.…
On our way down Hertel this morning, ECB and I decided that it was an opportune time to pay a visit to our favorite Hertel taco stop – Lone Star. While we were waiting to place an order I noticed that there was an old vase sitting on the counter with a hand-written sign taped to the side of it that read, “Voter Registration Forms”. There was also a stack of brochures titled Primary Challenge: ‘Changing the way government does business’. It’s not often that you find a political change-agent owning and operating a taco joint. But that’s the case…
When we arrived at the Neo opening this evening we were shocked for a couple of reasons. First off, you could barely move due to the number of people who came out to support the store. Second off, the sheer number of ‘put-together’ displays was unreal. Everywhere you walked merchandise jumped off the shelves, and the Neo supporters became faithful customers in a matter of minutes. Lines at the checkout counters made it almost impossible to snap a photo of the three sisters (photo) as they rocked out the sales. This is a new beginning for such an established and…
I’ve had the pleasure of covering Uncle Sam Army Navy Outfitters for the past two Halloweens. This year I decided to go a little deeper… I wanted to find out what sort of business Robert runs that can afford him to hire 25 fulltime employees. For example, I had no idea that part of the sales come from supplying movie production companies with authentic military uniforms – uniforms from armies around the world. Did you know that Spielberg calls upon Robert’s company when he shoots military related films? He has recently been called upon to outfit Forest Whitaker and Jude…
Just think of room after room of the craziest scenes you’re ever likely to see… with two different ways to get out… it’s a choice that you’ll have to make for yourself. This morning marked the grand opening, complete with ribbon cutting, of Cleveland BioLabs (CBL) in Buffalo. The first thing that I noticed upon approaching the research building was the amount of Cleveland license plates in the parking lot. The next thing that I saw was the red carpet leading into the building and a large reception tent (catered by Quaker Bonnet) nearby. I couldn’t stick around for the…
Warning: Before you listen to this podcast, please know first that it contains some rather rough and disturbing descriptions acts that are being performed (in jest). The crew from Hell House was busy (last evening) setting up for their theatrical montage of gruesomely political and tastelessly wacked-out social commentary-inspired nightly performance… and I happened to walk right into the middle of it. Photographer, Cheryl Gorski, who has an awesome studio above The Arts Council, told me that I had to go see what the devilish mastermind, Todd Warfield, was up to in his rented out loft-lair above Rick’s Cycle Shop…
This post is coming live to you from 877 Delaware Avenue… the haunted Halloween headquarters. I had to add to Laura’s post by saying how awesome it is that the Rock and Andrew are opening up their Silverthorne Mansion to the public for the fourth time within a year’s time. One of those events was for the seven-month-long Junior League Show House. That means that the two have contributed half a million dollars to local charities since purchasing the property. This weekend their charity event will be held on all three floors of the mansion, and at this point decorators…
When it comes to costume construction, D.C. Theatricks is ‘the goods’. While biking down Main Street this evening I was caught off-guard by a roaming Frankenstein, who was more than helpful in directing me to his creators. When I say ‘creators’ I am not exaggerating. When I walked into the Main Street business I was told that the costumes that I was looking at were all created by hand… custom made so to speak. That was why the wandering Frank had looked so ‘put together’. Owners of D.C. Theatricks, Dave and Lynn DeJac, have been in business on Main Street…