Hamburg, N.Y. (WBEN) - Recently, a number of businesses in Downtown Buffalo have either closed shop permanently, or have made alternate plans to open a new place of operations elsewhere in Western New York.
One of the new hotspots for a number of business owners and inspiring entrepreneurs to open up shop in the region is the Town of Hamburg, with a number of businesses either soon to open or recently having cut the ribbon to welcome new patrons.
One specific businesses soon to take shop in Hamburg will be Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, which announced last week its plans to close its Downtown Buffalo location on Franklin Street and open up a new location at 4245 McKinley Parkway in the late summer or early fall of 2025.
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Jamie Decker, executive director of the Southtowns Regional Chamber of Commerce, feels Hamburg is in a unique situation due to it being considered a "sweet spot" in the heart of Western New York.
"You're very close to downtown living, the city, easy to commute, but you also have a little bit more rural atmosphere around you," said Decker in an interview with WBEN. "Although there are suburbs and there's housing, you're kind of in this spot of, 'If I want night life and I want to go toward the city or have more of that excitement, I can do that within about 12 minutes. And if I want to go 12 minutes in the other direction, I can take a nice hike, I can walk along the creek, I can go to different bird sanctuaries, and I can enjoy nature.' So we kind of have this spot in-between of all of the happenings, whether it's outdoor recreation and fun, or whether it's dining and going to shops, partying in the city, and also commuting to the city."
With plenty of people who commute to the jobs on a daily basis in the Southtowns, Decker says there aren't as many jobs nestled in the Town of Hamburg, which is why more people live in the city or in the Northtowns. For those that do live in Hamburg and its surrounding communities, she believes people like the pace of life.
She also feels more people love the quaint atmosphere that the Village of Hamburg also provides.
"I think it's a nice walkable community. There's lots of fitness activities for kids and families, lots of events for people to enjoy, there's a lot of amenities here that keep it a close-knit community. So you still have the world at your fingertips, but you still feel like you're part of this small-knit community," Decker said.
Another element that has gone into attracting more businesses to Hamburg is the town's close proximity to the new Highmark Stadium in the Town of Orchard Park. However, Decker feels there's always been an uptick in businesses wanting to be in Hamburg, even before the new stadium was in the cards.
"A lot of our bars and restaurants, somebody from Hamburg because we are so close to Orchard Park, they're not necessarily traveling there to watch the game and see the game, so they can stay close to home, but also get out and enjoy fanfare with everybody else, and all of the camaraderie that comes with a Bills game," Decker said. "I think all of our businesses have seen that uptick and that camaraderie regardless of the new stadium or not, and now with the new stadium, I think it just solidifies that the Bills are here, they're our team, we all want to support them. It just adds multiple more opportunities for businesses to get involved, showcase their restaurants, and provide some fine dining all the way to grab-and-go food, whether you're tailgating or you want to just sit and have a nice seat and watch the game in a bar or restaurant."
As we continue to get closer to the new stadium's completion in Orchard Park, the want to set up shop close by in neighboring Hamburg may be even more tantalizing. This trend, though, is something Decker has noticed dating back to just after the COVID pandemic.
"I'm part of an economic development committee and a comprehensive plan committee through the town and the village, and we're always looking at plans and trying to update them," she explained. "Right now, we have more businesses that want to come to Hamburg than we actually have space for. So we're looking at ways to reuse, redevelop areas, assess Brownfield remediation efforts, looking at different places we can merge properties, and what makes sense to grow the town, but also keeping its quality of life, which is important. I think it's great when towns and cities grow, but at the same time, you want to keep a nice quality of life for the residents that live there, because they live there for a reason. It's a balancing act, but I think it's one that's very doable. And Hamburg is just the prime spot right now that a lot of people are looking."
Off of that, Decker adds there are fringes of expansion, with prospective business owners heading into other neighboring towns, looking to capitalize in the area.
"They are seeing an uptick in businesses doing the same thing, coordinating efforts for comprehensive plans and making it more favorable and easier for businesses to set up shop and do their business here," Decker noted. "As a business owner, you have to be everything to everyone. So when you can have an easy process of getting all your permits, your occupancy and everything in place to open, you want to do that at a place that makes it easy for you to do that.
"Some businesses, if they want to start sooner than later and they might not have the space or the desired space they want, they're looking at surrounding areas. The same with families moving here. All of these towns, we're not very far apart, so it is nice when you have a wide variety of amenities all around you that aren't a far commute away. You jump in the car, you can go 10 minutes, and you can hit up so many different places."
Decker adds people in the Southtowns certainly like more variety and options, especially when it comes to enjoying an evening out with friends or family.
"We get bored with the same things easily. We want to see new things, but then we also want to frequent our favorite places. And really, the Southtowns, how everything is kind of nestled already, really makes it favorable to do that," Decker said. "So we're getting a lot of families and businesses, and if they're looking in one particular town, if it isn't exactly what they're looking for in the moment, they might look around that area, or they might wait to go into the particular town that they want to. But then everybody's kind of working together to make sure we amplify our fun and variety-like quality of life we have in the Southtowns, and all the different things we can do here that you can't necessarily do in other places."