The City of Buffalo

The city of Buffalo, N.Y. soldiers on in its hunt for a downtown supermarket to fulfill its citizens’ needs The city of Buffalo, N.Y. has been the brunt of some pretty nasty jokes over the years, most tied into the city’s winter weather issues and the fact that it can get pretty cold and miserable for three or four months every year. Oh, yeah, it also snows… a lot. Sometimes a whole lot; like multiple blizzards every year. Perhaps as a result, Buffalo’s population has fallen from a high of around 500,000 in the 1950s to less than 300,000 today. However the Queen City, hard by Lake Erie, is making what many say is a dramatic comeback. With a ton of investment dollars and the fact that it is the gateway to Canada and its largest city Toronto, less than 90 miles away, Buffalo is growing again. Companies are expanding their operations in the city or moving in, and many are going downtown where $1.5 billion has been invested in recent years in private and government-owned facilities, including the State University of New York (SUNY), as well as a fast-growing, high-end residential area. Mayor Brown, a third-term Democrat, realizes that downtown cannot keep growing without at least one supermarket operating in the area and so far no one seems to be interested in the site that Brown and his team have selected—a 2.54-acre plot of land in the midst of the re-development, ideal, city officials say, for a supermarket. “Significant progress has been made in Buffalo in a remarkably short period of time as our city becomes a hot spot for development—the most activity Buffalo has experienced in decades,” says Brown, noting that more than $5 billion in new economic development activity is currently underway, which is expected to result in more than 12,000 new jobs. “With more people living and working in Buffalo, this city-owned parcel at 201 Ellicott Street, located in an area of tremendous growth, is a prime spot for a full line grocery store—as part of a mixed-use development project—that can accommodate the increased demand for downtown residential housing units and influx of new downtown residents and workers. With one of the lowest effective tax rates in New York State and one of the strongest municipal budgets, we look forward to putting 201 Ellicott to a higher and better use that continues the momentum in Buffalo.” Everyone seems to agree that Buffalo is headed in the right direction. Yet getting a major retailer to dip its toe—never mind jumping completely in—into downtown is proving pretty difficult. Even the local chain, Tops Friendly Markets, appears hesitant, with top company officials eager to help out but adding they are concerned that there are just not enough consumers in the area to support a full-service operation. “It is something that we continue to look at,” says Frank Curci, Tops CEO and chairman. Other chains, specifically Wegmans, which is headquartered just 75 miles down the road in Rochester, appear to be looking elsewhere. The chain has announced new stores in New Jersey in recent months and appears most interested in building a base around the New York City area and south. Whole Foods, the third major player in the area, appears to be targeting the upscale eastern suburbs of Buffalo. However, Buffalo officials are keeping up the pressure. They are actively contacting retailers to inform them of the re-birth of downtown and how important it is for them to get in on the ground floor. They are backing that with all kinds of data to prove their point. “We think the market conditions are perfect for a grocery store in that area,” says Rebecca Gandour, director of development for the city of Buffalo. “The city is behind this and wants to make it happen—and the residents of the area want it. They work there and they live there and they want a place to purchase the groceries they want and need. Now we just have to find a retailer who wants to jump in and join us on this venture. It will be quite exciting when they come aboard.”