BUFFALO, N.Y. — An Easter tradition for a lot of Western New Yorkers is a trip to the Broadway Market.
This year some seasonal vendors might be missing because they won't be allowed back if they sell the same products as permanent vendors.
Officials with the Broadway Market tell 2 On Your Side they called or emailed six seasonal vendors to inform them they were not going to be allowed back this Easter season.
They also say they "anticipate this to be a permanent" move.
Now some seasonal vendors who have been there for more than 30 years are left disappointed, such as Kevin Kelly, who is president of Kelly's Country Store.
"So many small businesses are struggling right now. These small wares plan all year and to sell their products at the Broadway Market, and then to have somebody say, 'No, you can't come in,' it's sad for not only those businesses but also their customers who come to look for them every year there," Kelly said.
Kelly's Country Store has a location on Grand Island and is a seasonal vendor at Broadway Market.
Kelly says it's also upsetting because the market was a "significant" amount of their business.
Broadway Market officials say they reached out the vendors "as a courtesy" before they even sent in applications this year.
One of them includes Adam's Apples, who was sent an email by management telling them of the news.
It says similar to what 2 On Your Side was told by officials: seasonal vendors who make products similar to the permanent vendors won't be allowed back "to be fair to year round businesses" who have been hit hard by the COVID pandemic.
Michael Mole, owner of Adam's Apples, says it just doesn't make sense.
That's after the Broadway Market told them about the news rules and then posted an application for new, seasonal vendors.
"We expected that maybe there's a chance us seasonal vendors wouldn't be in because of COVID. The problem is we're given the reason that it's COVID and want the other vendors to make money to make up for time, yet they put out online, asking new vendors to come in for seasonal," Mole said.
Others aren't buying that either, including seasonal vendor Damon Robertson, owner of Dragonfly Jams and Jellies.
"It's confusing for us why they would ask for new vendors when they've excluded now a good handful of vendors that have been veterans there for many, many years. I just don't understand the mindset behind that," Robertson said.
He says there needs to be more transparency from the market and this isn't the first time it hasn't been.
He says vendors didn't even know they were closing last Easter until they found out from the news.
When 2 On Your Side asked market officials about why the application was posted, they said "We always welcome new vendors in the market and talk with them about the product they make. If the same product is not made by a year-round, permanent vendor, then we would proceed with the application process.
Those vendors not returning say they might move their business over to the Eastern Hills Mall this Easter.