and Corrinne Wheatley
Bengal News West Reporters
It may not look like much now but come this summer, the 500
block of Main Street is expected to see a lot more activity.
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| Manager Tiffany Gagliardo expects more traffic this summer |
A quick view of the 600 block shows more cars and people than it would have seen in past decades. This is the hope for the 500 block as the street is now shared on both blocks by cars and the metro rail.
The use of cars being able to drive
through has brought much traffic into shops occupying Main Street. Buffalo
Adore, and Scentcerely Yours!, two locally owned boutiques, have benefitted with
the opening up of vehicular traffic.
Buffalo Adore is a shop that caters
to handmade gifts from local artists. There are two Buffalo Adore shops in
Buffalo, one in South Buffalo and the downtown location. The downtown location
focuses more on everything to do with Buffalo specifically to cater to
tourists. Owner of Buffalo Adore, Andrea
Dacey, has said the traffic that this change has brought to her shop has helped
her become successful.
“This couldn’t have even been
considered a storefront, but now because of all the traffic I can finally
consider it one and it would have been a lot more difficult to survive if Main
Street never opened up to cars,” Dacey said.
This change has opened up downtown for
people outside the city and it is more convenient now with the parking spaces
making all the.
“I see more people using the train,
especially people who aren’t used to coming downtown. It’s more crowded now and
I think it makes people more comfortable to come down here,” Dacey said.
Another store that has benefited from
the opening up to vehicular traffic is Scentcerely Yours!, which is a small
boutique that sells handmade soy candles. The story carried 42 scents,
including themed candles, some that go along with the shows that come Shea’s
Performing Art Center.
“We are a small, local store and
it’s nice seeing all the business we are getting and Main Street opening up to
traffic plays a big roll, along with having Shea’s and the restaurant across
the street,” said owner Ron Snell.
Another place benefiting from the
traffic on Main Street is Expo Market. Expo Market opened in February 2016. It
is an upscale food hall offering many different food selections including gourmet
sandwiches, a juice and smoothie bar, healthy fast food selection, Italian, and
Asian dishes.
Manager Ashley Druar believes the market wouldn’t
be as successful if it wasn’t for Main Street opening up to vehicular traffic.
“There
have been a handful of other restaurants that have been at this location, and I
think were going to be a great success, and some of that I believe is because
we came here as Main Street opened up to cars, people on foot, and the train,”
Druar said.
D’Avolio, which opened in August, is
among the newest shops on the 500 block. It offers lunch, as well as the sale
of olive oils, vinegars, and more.
“We got lucky opening up just
months before the street opened, so we haven’t seen much of an impact on
traffic coming in and out. We’re always extremely busy because we are one of
the only lunch spots, and everyone down here can easily walk to us. This
location makes us and our customers really happy,” Tiffany Gagliardo, store
manager of D’Avolio, said.
Joe Incao, Owner of Furnishings,
says, “I want this to become a place where people get to walk down from their
apartments and be able to come shop.
Down town is on the verge of becoming great again, and if I waited a
year, I wouldn’t be able to get this spot, or even maybe afford it.”
As of right
now, a French restaurant, a bar, and a 50’s style ice cream parlor are set to
open here within the next few months along with others in the process of this
new development of the Main Street strip.
