By Francis Boeck and Manny Rodriguez
Walking down the
Elmwood strip, one of the premier neighborhoods in the city of Buffalo, one is
bound to see the impact of Ron Lucchino.
The West Side native, who is the
founder of the well-known Elmwood Taco & Subs restaurant, has slowly taken
over much of the block while providing the Elmwood Village with an “alternative
to traditional fast food.” (https://www.theets.com/about.php)
In late August, Lucchino and his
family expanded their footprint on the block buying 929 Elmwood Ave. It is the
home of Nine29 restaurant, which is run by brothers Peter and Johnathan Eid.
The new addition means the family’s
holdings extend from 937 Elmwood Ave. to 925 Elmwood Ave.
“It’s an exciting time for us,” said
Mike Lucchino, Ron’s son and the current manager of operations at Elmwood Taco
& Subs. “I’m the second generation. Over the years we’ve been continuing to
acquire property down the street. This is our neighborhood. We all live in the
village. We use the money that we earn through the Elmwood Taco & Subs and
reinvest it in the Elmwood Village.”
Mike Luchinno, on his family's dedicated to the Elmwood Village:
Many believe Lucchino and the
properties he owns are part of a mini-renaissance that this section of the
village has been going through.
“I would say about 20 years ago the
tilt of the neighborhood switched to here from further down,” said Johnathan Welch, owner of
neighboring Talking Leaves Book Store. “For a long time, the area
closer to Children’s Hospital was more the power area of the Elmwood Strip.
This area in part because of the farmers market and partly because of the
retail area is more the center of the neighborhood.”
For some, one group owning five
conjoining properties could be a cause for concern, especially in the Elmwood
Village, where residents are committed to keeping the character and landscape
of the neighborhood.
The residents championed the GreenCode,
an ordinance signed into law in 2017 that overhauled the city’s zoning laws,
and are now using it to fight big developers, like LP Ciminelli and Carl
Paladino from building high-rises.
Welch feels unsure about
the Lucchinos owning half of the block and hopes that if they have any plans to
drastically change the outlook, they’ll consult with the neighborhood first.
“I’m concerned
about it when anybody buys up a lot of property like that,” Welch said.
“There’s so much development going in here that is problematic. Obviously
having that large of a footprint gives them the possibility to do something we
might not like or goes against the Green Code. But until that happens, there’s
nothing we can do about it.”
Councilmember Joel P. Feroleto, who
serves the Delaware District, sees those concerns but believes that most
residents trust the Lucchinos because of their history on the block.
“I think people were happy to see
that it was purchased by a local person who has a history on Elmwood Avenue,
and it wasn’t an entire block purchased by an out-of-town developer,” Feroleto
said. “I think people are comforted that it’s a local person.”
Elmwood Taco & Subs is a classic
family-owned business. Ron’s wife, Barbara, ran the books and Mike said he
started working on the weekends at 13-years-old.
According to Mike, his father is “starting
to step back” to allow him and his sister Jackie to take over the business.
Family businesses like this are one
of the reasons the northern end of Elmwood has become one of the most prominent
sections of the business strip.
“I think owner-operated businesses
and family-operated businesses make Elmwood such a success,” Feroleto said. “To
have the owners care about the business makes a difference.”
