BUFFALO, N.Y. — After a delay, the Downtown Bazaar is now fully open for business.
The much-anticipated grand opening last week on Monday was delayed, following an issue with a fire suppression system at 617 Main Street, formerly known as the Expo Market.
The Downtown Bazaar website announced on Tuesday that they found out at 11:30 a.m. they would be able to open for dine-in businesses. The new location will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. Online orders can be placed for Abyssinia Ethiopian Cuisine, Nile River Restaurant, and Pinoy Boi.
“WEDI is excited to be part of the downtown post-pandemic revival,” said Executive Director Carolynn Welch.
“We expect to be busy with returned office workers, theatergoers and theater staff, and all the people who know us and seek our delicious, memorable food and retail.”
The businesses at West Side Bazaar have been displaced since September of 2022, when an accidental fire tore through the building at 25 Grant Street, causing more than $300,000 in damage.
Compared to the Grant Street location, the Main Street site is a lot bigger. The West Side Bazaar on Grant Street was 3,200 square feet, while the former Expo Market is roughly 9,000 square feet.
WEDI Buffalo, the nonprofit helping many people from the immigrant and refugee communities start their own businesses, still plans on opening its Niagara Street location in the fall.