Elmwood Village hosts holiday celebration

By Laney Hill and Stephanie Vogel

Bengal News West Reporters

            You better watch out, and you better not cry, because Santa Claus is coming to Elmwood Village. This Santa, though, comes with four rules and a green screen.

Kenneth Irwin, better known as Santa Ken, is convinced he’s Santa Claus; he even answers the phone in character. Santa Ken will be on Elmwood Avenue from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Dec. 12 and  Dec. 13 to take pictures and spread holiday cheer for the first Christmas in the Village.

“Twenty years ago people told me I was good at it,” Irwin said. “So now I’m part of a multi-billion dollar business.”  

 Santa Ken’s four rules are simple. One: Each child who visits with him gets one toy. Two: Children should use words like “please” and “thank you”. Three: They need to go to bed on time and brush their teeth. Four: Clean their rooms plus the living room, the dining room and under the couch, because Santa knows that children hide things under there. 

Santa Ken brings with him green screen technology, which is a green wall that kids can stand in front of and get their pictures taken. After that, a background of Santa is inserted into the scene, which allows for timid children to still get a good picture with Santa.

“We call this the no trauma drama zone,” Irwin said. “Some kids get scared of getting their pictures taken with Santa, so this eases kids into it.”

In the past, the Elmwood Village had Open Light Fridays, where each Friday in December there would be a different event, such as tree lighting and caroling. The main motivation behind Christmas in the Village is to celebrate the holidays on one main weekend, while bringing people to the shops and to support local businesses.

 “This is the first year that we’re doing this,” Ashley Smith, community engagement manager for the Elmwood Village Association, said. “We wanted something to add a different amount of interest and atmosphere to the holidays in the Elmwood Village to give people a reason to come here.”

            Each month Elmwood Village shop owners and the Elmwood Village Association meet to

Ashley Ohl of Renw Bath & Body

Ashley Ohl,  of Renew Bath & Body discuss how business and sales are going for the stores. The holidays are an important time for everyone, and this year they are switching from Open Light Fridays to something different.

            “If we could bill it as the catch-all weekend maybe we’ll get more people coming in, and it could be a bigger deal,” Smith said. “So that was the idea for Christmas in the Village.”

            Along with Santa walking through the stores, the businesses on Elmwood will be serving hot chocolate, hanging lights and decorating their windows.

            “We participate every year,” said Sue Marfino, owner of ShoeFly, 801 Elmwood Ave. “This is the first year of being one full weekend, rather than four separate days.”

            Manager of Renew Bath and Body, Ashley Ohl, is excited to participate for the first time in Christmas in the Village, and bring in business.

“We’re looking forward to all the lights being up on Elmwood and getting some new people who don’t always get to come down,” Ohl said. “You know, get some new faces.”

 

Ashley Ohl, on Christmas in the Elmwood Village:

Phil Kline, composer of Unsilent Night, is scheduled to perform at 7p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12.

“He made this musical piece in the 90s to be played on multiple boomboxes at a time,” Smith said. “It’s to create a moving sound cloud. You’ve got a couple of people playing different tracks that synchronize, and they’ve now adapted it so you can do it on smart phones. They want to have people play it on their smart phones and create a march.”

Throughout the weekend there will be local bands and street musicians playing, and the Lexington Co Op. will be roasting nuts outside and other activities.

“For the community it’s a really cute event,” Smith said. “People really like it.”

Chippewa in transition after under-21 ban

By Fran McCann
Bengal News West Reporter

Chippewa Street, also known as the nightlife district, has about 13 bars and restaurants that welcome thousands of people every week. The area has built its reputation as the hot spot for many people to gather, but many people see it heading in a different direction.

Since the under-21 ban in October 2012 because of underage crimes on Chippewa Street, the district has been trying to find another image. 

            Real estate developer Adam March, who owns The Lodge and buildings 67-79 W. Chippewa St., was one of the lead activists to protest the under-21 ban.

He, along with bar owner Daniel Valentine and University at Buffalo student Colin Miller, filed a lawsuit in late January 2013 against Mayor Byron Brown, Common Councilmembers, Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda and James Comerford Jr., commissioner of permits and inspections. They argued the ban hurt their right to earn a living and restricted their business. 

            “The lawsuit is at a pause right now,” March said. “It went through its initial run but we weren’t seeing any results.”

March said he believes the ban isn’t because of violence by people under 21, but instead because of a lack of police control over the crowd.

            “On any given night we would have 8-10,000 people in our bar and I don’t think the police wanted to deal with the crowds anymore,” he said. “Things will happen when people drink, but in our bar’s existence we have never had one crime occur other than an occasional scuffle. There were never any injuries and we handled the customers very professionally.”

            Thomas Cowan, owner of City Tavern bar at 51 W. Chippewa St.,  said he thinks the ban was a good thing for the street and city as a whole.

            “The bars that participated in the 18-and-up had a good thing going,” he said. “They created a fun and safe place for college kids to go and dance, but then again Chippewa is an entertainment district that was designed for the 21-and-up patrons.” 

Andrew Rechin, head of Security at Bottoms Up, 69 W. Chippewa St.,on what his job involves:

 

            Cowan said the ban has affected businesses in the area, and “Thursday nights have become a lot quieter.” He said he could see the area slowly starting to go in a different direction.

            “I think the ban was a positive step to rebuilding the entertainment district and in time the street will be back,” he said. “I think we will be more of a restaurant row in the next few years rather than a late night dance club street.”

            With Chippewa starting to rebuild its image as more of a restaurant scene, some might wonder what will happen to the nightlife. March said even though he believes the ban to be “unfair,” he is reinventing his investments. 

            “We’re in the process of investing in restaurants,” March said. “We have the idea of a high-end Japanese restaurant and we’re confident that it, along with whatever other ideas we have, will do well.”

Amodeo peddles pasta in family business

By Fran McCann
Bengal News West Reporter

The Pasta Peddler, which operates at Horsefeathers Market, sells a variety of pastas, sauces and many other products. 

The Pasta Peddler started in 1994 making gift baskets. In 1999 Mike Sedia bought the business but a few years later he was ready to sell.  A young man who was engaged to Sedia’s daughter decided to take a stab at the business, and in 2003 Eric Amodeo became the co-owner  of the Pasta Peddler.

When Amodeo hopped on board with the business, it was very difficult for him to figure out how to operate things.  He not only had to understand how to sell the pasta, but he also had to figure out how to make it.

“The first pasta I made was absolutely terrible,” Amodeo said. “The old way we used to make the pasta was with counter top machines and it required us to work the dough a lot more, which resulted in not a very good product.”


Eric Amodeo, on the machine behind The Pasta Peddler:

When Amodeo helped take over the business, his initial plans were to only concentrate on it during the summer. Working from his basement in the double he and his wife lived in, Amodeo, with the help of father-in-law Sedia, was selling product to the Lexington Cooperative and the Elmwood-Bidwell farmers market. In 2004 Amodeo’s wife, Andrea, decided to join her business, Blackbird Sweets, and try and help grow the business.

 As demand grew bigger, Amodeo soon realized the business was taking off and it was time to move into a bigger location. In March 2013, The Pasta Peddler moved into the Horsefeathers building  at 346 Connecticut St. Amodeo, his wife, and father-in-law worked together to maintain the business and keep its reputation  up. 

Although the business is doing well, the economic downfall in 2008 forced the Pasta Peddler to change its prices.

“During that time the price of wheat quadrupled,” Amodeo said. “We were forced to raise prices but since that time, our prices have not gone up.”

The Pasta Peddler sells a variety of gourmet pastas in individual 10-ounce packets, starting at $3.75.  Depending on the size of the order, the Pasta Peddler offers a discount and also a 10 percent discount for students with a valid I.D. card.

Blackbird Sweets also works with the Pasta Peddler selling baked goods. 

Joe Kirchmyer, a West Seneca resident and longtime customer of the Pasta Peddler, was never a huge fan of pasta until he came across the business.

“The ravioli is out of this world,” Kirchmyer said. “The freshness and flavor is so different and way better than something you would buy at Wegmans or Tops.”

Kirchmyer said people should consider buying local and keep the money in the community. He guarantees the food to be fresh and says it is great to “support the little guy.”

This upcoming spring to fall, you will find the Pasta Peddler at various farmers markets. Starting this spring, it will be at the Hamburg, Elmwood-Bidwell, East Aurora and Williamsville Farmers Markets.

Regular farmers market-goer Margaret Lalley is a supporter of local food businesses. During the summer, she finds herself going to a market at least once a week.

“I love the Pasta Peddler’s pasta and sauce,” Lalley said. “When you buy local and freshly made, you definitely pay a little more. In the end, I believe the quality is definitely worth paying a little bit more.” 

The demand for the Pasta Peddler is growing,  and Amodeo is looking into the future.

“Right now we’re in talks with a business called Mercado,” Amodeo said. “It’s a large-scale community market and we’re looking to add a location with them in the next 12 months.”

$3 million medical office planned for W.S.

By Angelica Rodriguez and Brandon Waz
Bengal News West reporters

            A new medical facility on the West Side is set for construction in mid-April, provided that tax credit approval will be gained toward the end of this month.

            The Greater Buffalo United Accountable Healthcare Network (GBUAHN), a free service through Medicaid located at 393 Delaware Ave., is investing $3 million in the facility, which will be built on a vacant lot on 7th Street, between Jersey and Pennsylvania streets. It will be placed just behind the Urban Family Practice on Niagara Street.

            The building will help expand GBUAHN’s primary care functions and provide a central location for the eight-practice collaborative. A 28,500-square-foot building, it will contain  offices for primary care, a behavioral wellness center, a nutrition and diabetes treatment center and a conference center. It already provides care for 1,500 Medicaid patients in the health home program and hopes to attract more from other parts of the city.

          

Dr. Raul Vazquez, on the 7th Street medical facility:

             Dr. Raul Vazquez,  based at Urban Family Practice and president-CEO of GBUAHN, said that the collective is moving forward with full support from the community at this point despite some misgivings.

            “There was a little misunderstanding in the beginning, because they thought we were going to have  a detox program at the facility, and that’s not what we do here at GBUAHN,” he said. “(We want to) expand primary and behavioral care, so once they found that out, they were all in agreement.”

            With that issue resolved, the facility just has to clear one more hurdle in the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, which GBUAHN is depending on for tax credits. Dr. Vazquez said the project will move forward if the ECIDA approves tax credits at its meeting this month.

            The facility will provide accessible health care for everyone in the vicinity while also creating job opportunities for those living on the West Side. Dr. Vazquez said the project will likely create over the originally projected 75-100 jobs, and, noting the area’s diversity, added that one of the collective’s goals is to engage  "people who look like the community."

            “In our offices, we have people from Somalia, Arabs, Puerto Ricans, African Americans… we want to serve all of that community,” he said.

            GBUAHN office manager Jillian Deuble stressed that above all, the new building would facilitate more of a community effort and that the West Side is the perfect location.

            “It’s so close to where our office already is, but that is the community where it is hard to get around,” she said. “A lot of people there do take the bus, and there is very limited opportunity – if there is one, it’s not a very sustainable opportunity.”

            Mayor Byron Brown was on hand at a recent announcement GBUAHN's partnership with Rite Aid, called Rite Aid Health Alliance. The partnership links local physicians to Rite Aid professionals in working with patients various health conditions to set goals and improve self-management abilities. Buffalo is the third market to engage in the Health Alliance, and there are 10 stores within the city limits. Three of them – Niagara Street, West Ferry Street and Connecticut Street – are on the West Side. 

            Brown welcomed the idea of economic development and expansion in the city, as well as expanding much-needed health care to residents who cannot always access it.

            “I think it’s also important that medical practices located in the city of Buffalo grow and expand to provide more and new and better health care services to the residents of this community,” he said.

            “The physicians at GBUAHN have been doing that for a long time, they know how to do it well, and this unique partnership of physicians in an integrated health facility on the West Side of Buffalo is something that I think is very much needed.”