While social distancing and health is at the forefront in the wake of the coronavirus, there are also other issues that owners Brandy and Jamey Alexander are concerned about.
“One of the challenges is bringing back employees,” Jamey Alexander, owner of the restaurant, said. “A lot of the employees, not only for our business but for many other businesses, a lot of them are making so much money on unemployment that it’s hard to bring them back in because they’re making more money at home than they are here.”
Buffalo Soul expanded from Bailey Avenue in Buffalo to Pearl Street across from Shea’s Performing Arts Center in the fall of 2019. The Alexanders are renovating the restaurant to include a bar and aesthetic updates to the dining rooms.
Once they reopen, they hope that a renewed interest in black-owned restaurants can continue. The unrest between minority communities and police has led to more people supporting black-owned restaurants and businesses.
“For us it’s been tangible,” Brandy Alexander said. “… It’s been a week and it has definitely helped. We’ve had people calling from Fredonia, Lancaster, Amherst, Williamsville. They say ‘We saw the list. We want to try your food. Things look great online.’ People have been really supportive.”
Buffalo Soul garnered exposure with an appearance last year in the Taste of Buffalo. Even though this year’s event will not take place on Delaware Avenue, the owners said they will still participate in the organization’s virtual festival this year.
“It’s great to see that our city and the community itself, black and white, see that when there are restaurants that need to be highlighted and may not get the shine that other restaurants do that we are out here together in order to highlight them and give them a try,” Jamey Alexander said. “Then you realize these businesses are good businesses. This whole time and these circumstances have definitely benefitted our businesses and a lot of other businesses as well that may not have been given a chance to get as much shine.”