Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Braymiller Market in Downtown Buffalo is closing its doors after just three years, as announced on Friday.
Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon says the closure is a direct result of challenges that came to surface during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"With an estimated 30,000 fewer people in downtown Buffalo on a daily basis, a shift to remote work, extended, extended business closures, the economic and foot traffic conditions required to sustain the market were severely, severely impacted," stated Scanlon. "This is not unique to the city of Buffalo, but reflects a nationwide trend where small businesses, particularly in urban centers, are struggling to adapt to shifting economic and social conditions."
Just last year, the market received several hundred thousand dollars in pandemic relief funding.
"I know there was criticism of that loan at that time, but I can tell you, as a member of the council at that time who was excited of the possibility of a market opening downtown, we were able to use the loan for Braymiller as leverage to bring $3.5 million into our small business community through a small business grant program with Grow America. That has resulted in small grants going out to 236 small businesses in every district across the city of Buffalo, nearly half of them being minority owned, which is a key reflection of the commitment of the City of Buffalo to equitable economic recovery," Scanlon said.
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Scott Billman, Senior Director of Home and Urban Development (HUD) says the loan met the minimum requirements, so it will not be called into default as it fulfilled its purpose.
"The main purpose of the loan was to allow the HUD funding to flow to the market for assistance. The basis of the funding is based on the number of employees that are held as full time employees by the market, retained or created. So for each employee, you get a certain amount of HUD assistance. It's about 80,000 per employee. In fact, the market employed three, at least three times that amount that was needed," stated Billman. "So in HUD's eyes, it is a completed project that met its goals, and the objective of retaining, creating jobs in the city was completed."
Fillmore District Councilman Mitch Nowakowski says the previous council treated Braymiller as a punching bag and won't allow that to happen again.
'It's not about politicians kicking the can down the road and who gave what to whom. It belongs to all of us. Because when downtown and urban city city centers thrive, the entire region thrives. So I'm not going to abandon a downtown that has residential units. I'm not going to abandon a downtown that has pharmacies and grocery stores and amenities that are able to provide a quality life to everybody, because that's what cities do. And cities also regenerate themselves time and time again, and I'm confident in downtown Buffalo's regeneration," stated Nowakowski.
The market opened during the pandemic in September 2021 on Ellicott Street.