Business owners tap into Grant St. culture

By Sean Dwyer and Youleidy Vega
Bengal News Reporters

          Grant Street is home to a community rich with cultural diversity. Because of this, several business owners in the area have used their appreciation for the arts as a foothold toward creating a sense of shared culture in their neighborhood.

            Many new business owners see Grant Street and its surrounding neighborhood as a blank canvas and a unique opportunity to forge a new path in an area without the hindrances of working around preexisting retail space.  

Jeanenne Petri, on opening a bookstore on Grant Street:


            Jeanenne Petri and her husband Joe are the owners of Westside Stories Used Books on 205 Grant St.  Offering a wide variety of books, the two believe strongly in the importance of introducing arts and literature to an area with one of the lowest literacy rates in the state.

            According to Petri, she is fully aware that her current location is not the most profitable location to open a bookstore.  But her decision to open on Grant Street two years ago was “very intentional.”  

            “People ask, ‘why would you put a used bookstore here on Grant Street,’ ” Petri said.  “But the reality is a lot of people do read here, so we try to carry books that attract a wide variety of readers.” 

            Petri believes that reading is for everyone, regardless of their cultural background.  She feels that everyone should have access to a bookstore and according to her, the response from the neighborhood has been extremely positive. 

            In addition to an enthusiastic community, Petri praised the collaborative nature of all the other business owners in the neighborhood.  She cites each owner’s willingness to help each other as a reason why businesses celebrating the arts have been so successful.  

            “Here everybody cares,” said Petri.  “So when we talk to customers, we are always trying to push people toward other businesses on the block.  I don’t think that’s something you get when you open a strip mall in Cheektowaga.”

            Right up the street from Westside Stories sits Sweetness_7 Café, owned by Prish Moran. Before opening in 2007, Moran worked in clothing design in New York City.  Before moving back to Buffalo, Moran decorated restaurants for many years before finally deciding to open one of her own.

Grant Street area business owners Prish Moran and Peter Sowiski

            Graduating with a design degree from the SUNY Buffalo State, Moran brings her appreciation for the arts, applying it to Sweetness_7 to give it a feeling of “renaissance meets urban life.”   Located at 220 Grant St., Moran's café is a forum for the community to come together in one tiny spot.

            “The community support on the West Side is unbelievable,” said Moran, who is getting ready to celebrate her fifth year as being a business owner on Grant Street.  “Everything in my café is made from scratch – even our own bread – and I think that authenticity is something this community values.”  

            The success of these shops on Grant Street has created a ripple effect, generating foot traffic for business owners neighboring areas.  One owner who has benefited from this change is Peter Sowiski, who operates Abaca Press on 9 Lafayette Ave. 

            “We just saw that there was a little more vitality happening,” said Sowiski. “We’ve noticed a lot more families with children.  And when you see more residents who are new to the area walking around, you begin to see signs of life and the creation visual culture.”