Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - While we're just under three weeks from Easter Sunday, the push is on to get Western New Yorkers and others maybe visiting the region to get all their holiday essentials at the Broadway Market.
This past weekend was a "Sneak Peak Weekend" for the Broadway Market, with most of this year's Easter vendors being open to the public. About 40-50 additional vendors have been added to be open for the Easter season.
Then this upcoming Saturday, March 25, it will be kickoff weekend for the Easter season at the Broadway Market, where it will be open every single day right up through Holy Saturday, April 8, closed for Easter, and then re-opened for Dyngus Day.
"Starting March 25, and that includes Sunday, March 26 and Palm Sunday, April 2, all of your Easter vendors are open every single day, for the most part, starting at 8 a.m., closing at 5 p.m., with extended hours during Easter Week," said Kathy Peterson, manager of the Broadway Market. "They'll all be open, and we have a lot. We have great bakeries, a couple new vendors and all those traditional vendors that you look for for those special treats."
Last year's Easter season was a nice uplifting season for the Market, as things kicked off shortly after the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. This allowed for a decent crowd to return to the Market in East Buffalo, but not everyone was ready to return to society so fast.
This time around, Peterson feels the Easter season at the Market will be even busier.
"We had a great Easter last year. After coming off from the year before, there was more hesitancy about coming into the market, vendors were limited. I just think you'll see it busier this year, because of all those relaxed rules," she said. "We have hand sanitizers, you can wear a mask - it's absolutely optional - but all of that is not mandatory."
So what are some of the new vendors that people need to keep an eye out for as they head back to the Broadway Market in the coming few weeks?
"Some of the new vendors that are open this year is Dragon Girl Tea. We have a Greek bakery, That Greek Guy Bakery will be open this year. He's new to the market, he actually started a couple months ago. Then you have a lot of wineries coming in and distilleries. Chrusciki Bakery is returning this year, as well as Mazurek's Bakery, Gino's Italian Bakery and Blue Eyed Baker, so we have a lot of great goodies," Peterson said.
Making its long-awaited return to the Broadway Market this year is Chrusciki Bakery after being a staple of the Market for more than 33 years, especially during the Easter season.
"It's great that they're coming back this Easter, as well as Mazurek's. Good bakeries are hard to find sometimes, so we're very happy they'll be back," Peterson said. "It'll complete your Easter basket between the sausage, the horseradish, the plants, butter lamb, you'll be all set."
Peterson also says the Easter Bunny will make its arrival starting this Saturday starting at 10 a.m. ET, and will be at the Broadway Market every day right up through Holy Saturday. There will also be music every single day at the Market throughout Easter.
While the Broadway Market is a staple of the Easter season in Western New York, there has been a goal to make the Market a key go-to destination throughout the year. While work continues to put the Broadway Market more on the map, Peterson says the key to becoming more popular throughout the calendar year is locating and identifying more vendors who want to come in full-time, Monday through Saturday, and open in the Market.
"What we do is we have a lot of events throughout the year that start in the fall, as well. We have a fall wine festival, holiday fair, we had a wonderful Black History Month celebration in February, and now we're into Easter. But the overall goal is to make it a more of a year-round destination," she explained. "The Market is open year-round, Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. We have Camellia Meats, Lupas Meats, Broadway Seafood, great restaurants open all year long, Babcia's Pierogi, We R Nuts, all these vendors who are open all year long. So the push is to bring more full-time vendors, where people have to come to the Market to buy those goods, and make it fun and interesting to come in."
Another goal of the Broadway Market in the very near future is to complete some renovations to spruce things up. It was announced late last spring that the Broadway Market was set to receive $37 million in state funding to use at their disposal for needed upgrades to the facility.
"I think one of the first things you'll see - I don't want to put a date on it, but hopefully next year - is the exterior being re-done to make it really pop, and make it look more interesting," Peterson said of the plans ahead. "A lot more fun with more food vendors in the front of the market, possibly a farmers market out in front, and then ultimately, as you come in with new vendors, new spaces.
"You'll see changes in the market, just making it more interesting that you want to come more often."
For more information of what's to come at the Market this upcoming Easter season, you're encouraged to visit their website at www.BroadwayMarket.org. If you have any further questions, you can also give them a call at (716)-893-0705.
