Author: Great Lakes United

If you stop by the Washington Market, you may notice some changes taking place. The market was recently sold to Victor Khoury, West Seneca café and bakery owner, who intends to bring a different look and feel to the market. Actually Victor is going to town when it comes to the offerings as well. Next week he is bringing in an architect who will offer some layout suggestions. In the meantime there will be a strong focus on the café and grocery aspect of the business. Victor wants to bring back shoppers who may have stopped going to the market.…

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It’s no surprise to anyone that we have had some serious struggles when it comes to our sports teams. Just take a look at some of the groups on Facebook. One quick search pulls up a variety of groups that are overly despondent when it comes to our pro teams. Here are a few (blanket sic): 1) Why do pro buffalo sports teams always find a way to get screwed? 2) Why am I a Buffalo sports fan? 3) buffalo sports will never win a championship 4) Buffalo Sports Curse 5) yeah, I’ve had my heart broken by a Buffalo…

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After experiencing the Buffalo Indie Market I have to say that I have one major problem with it. The problem? It’s not every Saturday, just the second Saturday of every month (UPDATE: It has switched to Sundays for the remaining markets throughout the spring/summer). But maybe that will, one day, change. When we walked into the Pearl Street Brew Pub yesterday (around 1pm) we found the first floor packed with people eating lunch (and that’s a big place). When we reached the Indie Market at the top of the stairs, we were amazed to see artist Trisha Wilson (Buffalo Plaid…

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Ever since Eaton Galleries and Antiques closed up on Elmwood in Allentown I’ve been waiting to see what would happen with the building. Over the summer I learned that it sold to Mitch Bechtel (second from right) for $256,000. Shortly after I ran into Mitch and asked him what his plans were for the building. He told me that he was moving his web design business (specializing in customized content management solutions) into the second floor. At that point he was an operation consisting of two developers. Six months later Comand Solutions has hired on five additional designers and might…

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Ellicott Street is certainly going through a small renaissance these days. The addition of SeaBar will act as a big draw to the neighborhood. But it is a certain family that has caught my interest in past weeks… a family that I believe will play an incredible role in the street’s ongoing stability. Fix Salon and Aesthetic’s Michael Roetzer is taking the lead in drawing almost his entire family to work on the now family business. Michael recently moved back from Manhattan where he worked at a salon in the Meatpacking District, and before that Bumble and bumble. “I see…

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Sushi lovers will be excited to learn that downtown Buffalo has just landed a sushi restaurant. Since the closing of Sake’s, many moons ago, and Osaka (at Chippewa) the sushi scene has been sparse to say the least. There were a couple of false-hopes that never panned out. And Elmwood was fortunate to snag Wasabi in the former Kibarashi diggs. Now SeaBar, chef Mike Andrzejewski’s newest endeavor, has signed on (its second location) with Rocco Termini’s Ellicott Commons building. SeaBar will have some good company, including Fix Salon and Aesthetics across the corridor and… well, stay tuned for more exciting…

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One of the waterfront’s greatest treasures, the CPO Club, is in jeopardy of being lost. Why? Well, word on the street is that the club’s license was not renewed, which means that this Buffalo institution could one day become a parking lot. At least that’s what some CPO fans are saying. About two months ago initial words began to circulate that powerful interests were eyeing up the property for some sort of a land grab. Since that time more people have learned that this landmark, unofficially called the ‘Poor Man’s Yacht Club’, has finally met its match… or so some…

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How can you say no to the Wines, Cidres and Chocolates of NY Festival? Especially when you think that the event will be held at the historic Central Terminal. The more I read about this festival the more I don’t want to miss it. Not only will there be a number of ethnic restaurants serving up fare, there will also be a farmers’ market. The market and the restaurants all swing into full gear at 12:30pm. Then, the wine and cidre tasting takes place from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. I’m sure that many of you have sucked down a few beers…

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Now that spring is here, it may be a good time to send a special friend a Buffalo gift basket. I’m always looking for interesting Buffalo gifts to send to friends, so it was fortunate that I ran into Quaker Bonnet Eatery owner, Liz Kolken, who was busy wrapping a gift basket to send out of town. Liz told me that the combo gift baskets are very popular with Buffalo ex-pats who are constantly searching out Buffalo-related products. “All of the baskets are different,” Liz told me. “We have books and CDs, and food. We send stuff all over the…

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You may have noticed that a new sign has been erected at the corner of Elmwood and Bidwell. The sign was recently posted by Charles Griffasi Sr. Charles was once involved with the Allentown Arts Festival and before he left the institution he made his way to president. AAF was an art show when he first joined, but Charles felt that the event needed to be spiced up. He wanted to add performance and visual arts to the show. The additional support of a number of organizations helped to boost the festival’s appeal. Since that time Charles has been trying…

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