Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Broadway Market is continuing to evolve into a destination for Western New Yorkers to enjoy a variety of multicultural cuisine.
Buffalo's Broadway Market has recently experienced a renaissance of sorts, as Western New York folk are reviving their Easter and Dyngus Day traditions now well out of the pandemic coupled with promised state investments coming to the market in attempts to breathe new life into the facility.
The Broadway Market has always celebrated the illustrious history in the City of Buffalo, dating back all the way to 1888, where the parcel of land at 999 Broadway was used as a gathering place for Polish immigrants.
And while the facility is widely known to pay tribute to its Polish and German roots, the Broadway Market has evolved into something much more diverse, which is essential for the economic prosperity of the year-round market.
"We always accept (new) vendor applications, from small businesses with ideas for food," said Kathy Peterson, Broadway Market Manager. "And so over the past few years, we've opened a Bangladeshi restaurant, we have a Greek baker, [two] Halal bakers. We're always reviewing and accepting applications, and because of the diversity of our neighborhood, we like to represent our neighborhood. And that's how it started. It was a Polish and German neighborhood. And that's where that tradition comes from."
Peterson also nods to the funding that will be used to transform the market space.
As with any public market, it continually changes with vendors retiring and new vendors opening. This as the actual third structure for the Broadway market, and you'll see over the next few years, some changes to this building as well for additional vendors. So it's an evolving space."
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Peterson also reminded WBEN that they have a commercial kitchen that is only licensed to small food businesses.
"Right now we have a Italian restaurant called Rocco's Catering, who's just pretty much trying it out. He's coming in on Sundays during Easter time, and he's using the kitchen. We've had a Filipino restaurant who uses the kitchen, Pinoy Boi, who's now gone out and he's with WEDI, over on the Main St. location. So it's a wonderful spot for a person with an idea to come in and test the waters. And sometimes they move on into the market and become a vendor. So that's really interesting."
The future appears to be brighten each day for the market, always full with a busy Easter slate.
"The best part about Easter are the customers. We have probably 55 additional vendors open starting this Saturday at the markets and they're open every single day. We draw lots of people from close by in the neighborhood and out of town. We have a vendor from Pittsburgh, we have a vendor from New Jersey. People come from all over to see what this is all about or to return because that's their tradition," Peterson notes.