Monthly Archives: October 2013

My feet are ready for Movember.

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Yea, that’s right. Movember. They’re also ready to cycle around town, propel themselves into flight and even enter into a ninja style battle.

What the hell am I talking about you may think?

Simple. Kick ass socks. Have a look at these bad boys:

Who says girls are the only ones who get to creatively accessorize? As a colorful marketing guy who works for a bank (somewhat of an oxymoron if you ask me), I have few ways to express my creativity at work outside of a funky tie or Tasmanian Devil coffee mug. But off-the-wall socks can do the trick without getting me fired.

So needless to say, these socks have been added to my wardrobe and are providing a little shock and awe in my office.

Too intense for you? Here’s some slightly less crazy, but just as awesome options for you:

Get to Blue Collar Buffalo so your feet can look as cool as mine.

Dash’s makes a dash for Kenmore Ave.

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Say it isn’t so! Last week, Budwey’s Supermarkets announced their plans to sell their Kenmore Avenue grocery store to Dash’s Markets. With no need to operate two Dash’s stores in North Buffalo (Kenmore Ave. & Hertel Ave.), Dash’s will be closing their Hertel Avenue location. Say what?Store

“Budwey’s employees in North Buffalo have been told Dash’s plans to spend upward of $2.5 million to upgrade the store, while its nearby store on Hertel Avenue will be closed.” – Buffalo News article from October 16th

Sure, I don’t do my MAIN grocery shopping at Dash’s on Hertel but I’m pretty much stopping there every week to fill in the gaps. “Filling in the gaps” translates into “Things I forgot at Wegmans” and today was no exception. It’s hard to make a tuna casserole without the tuna.

It’s also nice to not have to deal with the chaos at Wegmans when you only need three or four things. In fact my sanity depends on it. Now what am I going to do? Let’s be honest, their move to Kenmore Avenue is only a 1.2 mile detour and the new location is technically still within the North Buffalo city limits but the thought of a vacant building on Hertel Avenue never sits well with me.

Enter Lexington Co-op?

And now we wait…

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Back in August I wrote about the possibility that the empty St. Margaret’s school building could be sold and turned into a high end residential development. If you haven’t had a chance to read through the details, please click here.

This morning, I spoke with Fr. Joe Wolf from St. Margaret’s and asked for a quick update. He was happy to oblige and his response was just what I wanted to hear. Both parties (presumably St. Margaret’s Church or the Diocese of Buffalo along with Iskalo Development Corp.) have signed the contract for the sale.

We – and I say “we” purposefully as this transaction is for the entire community, not just those involved directly – are now in the midst of the 60 day inspection period. That means Iskalo is able to fully inspect the property to identify any problems or concerns that could void the deal. They have the opportunity to back out if something detrimental arises as part of that inspection. Fr. Joe went on to say however, that the inspection process is going well so far.

Fingers crossed. Stay tuned.

Oh, and Go Bills!

A Splash of Color for A Taste of Thai

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Here’s the Taste of Thai façade earlier this year:

Taste of Thai Before

Nothing to complain about, but here’s a shot of it today:

taste of thai after 2

A bold new look quickly gave some pop to the streetscape. I nearly rear-ended the car in front of me while staring it down on my way to work one morning. As a marketing person, I appreciate what a fresh and colorful look can do to anything. In my opinion, this new look works well.

It also reminded me that I’m long overdue for some “Pud Thai.”

A friend of mine, Kevin Arnold, was just as impressed. “I also love the Taste of Thai make-over that happened last week” he said as we were chatting about all things Buffalo. “It’s a great example of simple, small-scale improvements that can have a big impact on the neighborhood.”

Couldn’t agree more. Which business is next?

Sell Land to City of Buffalo to Create Riverside Park, Get a Street Named After You

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Great history on our namesake street! Thanks Angela!

Discovering Buffalo, One Street at a Time

Hertel Avenue is a major east-west thoroughfare in North Buffalo running from Main Street to the Niagara River. The street was previously known as Cornelius Creek Road, named after the creek, which ran near the street. Hertel Avenue was named for John Stephen Hertel, former County Supervisor.

Mr. Hertel was one of three owners of the land that is now Riverside Park and was a founder of the Black Rock Land Company, the first land development company in Buffalo. The Black Rock Land Company was founded in 1888 and consisted of John Hertel, John Esser, Frank Argus, Louis Roesch and Frederick Ullman. You’ll notice that several other streets in the Black Rock/Riverside neighborhoods are named after these men.

John Stephen Hertel came to Black Rock with his parents at the age of two, immigrating from Edesheim Germany. Mr. Hertel attended St. Francis School and learned the cooper trade, making barrels…

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