Gift Guide	Extravagant Elmwood by Geoff Kelly

The 700 block of Elmwood, ready for the holiday shopping season.

I’ve been an Elmwood Avenue flaneur for 20-odd years now and have watched shops open and close—and close and close and close. In the late 1980s, Elmwood looked grim—it seemed like there were more empty storefronts than going concerns. The mid and late 1990s brought something of a resurgence, led by a handful of young entrepreneurs, especially in the tonier blocks between West Ferry and Lancaster. A few blocks south, however, between Utica and Bryant, and a few blocks north, between Delavan and Forest, shops and restaurants came and went. An uneasy equilibrium between growth and decline maintained.

Now there’s too much. I can’t recall a time in the last 25 years when Elmwood seemed so vibrant with shops, restaurants and bars. It defies a one-day shopping expedition; you’ll never make it. If you want to sample all Elmwood has to offer, take it in easy stages—start next weekend and return each weekend until Christmas. Remember to eat and drink between gift purchases.

There have always been stalwart retailers on Elmwood, even in the more dicey blocks. Don Apparel (1119 Elmwood), Home of the Hits (1105 Elmwood) and Mondo Video long anchored the corner of Forest and Elmwood. (Though who knows for how long? The proposed, but stalled, Elmwood Village Hotel has already displaced Mondo Video, which has moved to 3268 Main Street, in University Heights. Don Apparel hasn’t moved or closed yet and Home of the Hits might not have to.) Half & Half Clothing (1088 Elmwood Avenue) has been a mainstay in women’s clothing for two decades.

Blue Mountain Coffee (509 Elmwood), Hodge Liquor (463 Elmwood) and Aurum Precious Gems & Metals (487 Elmwood) have persevered between Utica and Hodge while other shops have come and gone. Michael Attardo’s Get Dressed (576 Elmwood Avenue) has been outfitting smart-dressed men for ages—and no doubt some of his clothes have been cast off over the years and found their way onto the racks of the Junior League Thrift Shop (512 Elmwood Avenue), one of the best shops of its kind in the city.

Up the street and just around the corner on Lexington, Wild Things (224 Lexington Avenue) continues to exhibit and sell jewelry, pottery and clothing by some of the region’s most talented women artists. A shopper can easily knock three gifts off a list with one stop here—and then pick up a cup of coffee at the Lexington Corner Store next door, where the Lexington Co-op used to be. Who knows, maybe Kuni’s new takeout sushi joint will be open soon as well.

Between Ferry and Lancaster, Everything Elmwood (740 Elmwood) and Positively Main Street (773 Elmwood) have long been popular for eye-catching gifts, and Brian Art Galleries (717 Elmwood) for work by local artists. Elmwood Pet Supplies (706 Elmwood Avenue) has been outfitting pets and their owners for years. Mother Nature Plant Emporium (712 Elmwood Avenue) remains one of the best and friendliest florists in the city—the perfect place to pick up a poinsettia or a bouquet for the host of a dinner party.

Some of the no-longer-so-new kids on those blocks—like Urban (736 Elmwood Avenue), Diggin’ It (801 Elmwood Avenue), Quill’s Apothecary (799 Elmwood Avenue), Fowler’s Chocolates (754 Elmwood Avenue), Dolci (732 Elmwood Avenue), Campus Wheelworks (744 Elmwood Avenue), Watson’s Chocolates (736 Elmwood Avenue)—have been joined in the last few years by a host of newcomers too numerous to list.

Campus, by the way, has made the seasonal shift to skis and snowboards, though bikes and brewing supplies are still in stock. A nice gift there is a set of SmartWool long underwear (top and bottom, $60 each).

A plethora of cozy hats at Buffalo Fleece & Outerwear ($20-$40).

One of the relative newcomers is Buffalo Fleece & Outerwear (785 Elmwood Avenue), which, as its name suggests, trades in warmth and comfort—sweaters, jackets, boots, terrific hats ($20-$40), gloves, scarves, and nice, soft Woolrich blankets for just $60. Another is Elmwood Panhandler (820 Elmwood), a high-end cookware shop whose line of Emile Henry earthenware includes a fondue setup ($90), tagines ($60-$90) and a popular item called a Salt Pig ($30)—an elbow-shaped receptacle you fill with salt and keep stoveside, so you can add a pinch to whatever you’re cooking. You can add a high-end pepper grinder for $30-$40.

If that’s not enough to satisfy the food-savvy person on your gift list, cross the street to the new location of the now anachronistically named Lexington real foods Co-op (807 Elmwood Avenue) and pick up the best gift I can think of this holiday season: a lifetime membership ($80). Great food, clean living, and the recipient gets a handy canvas shopping bag with the membership card. Globe Market (762 Elmwood Avenue), too, has a great selection of little gifts for the gourmand.

Elvis, fur or black leather— purses for everyone at Clutch ($25-$40).

At Clutch (814 Elmwood) you’ll find a rare collection of purses ($25-$40) and a whole wall or earrings for $10 a pair. Next door is the Neighborhood Collective and Tru-Teas (810 Elmwood Avenue), a beautifully renovated space where you can sip tea, eat lunch, browse the galleries and bring home the work of local artists and artisans. Whether you’re buying or not, stop in—it’s a remarkable and inspiring place.

There’s just too much. There’s Damsel in a Dress (830 Elmwood Avenue) for cool women’s clothes; Shoe Fly (822 Elmwood Avenue) for footwear; Fleet Feet Sports (892 Elmwood Avenue) for the running fool; Homeward Bound (927 Elmwood Avenue) and Room (988 Elmwood Avenue) for cool furnishings that run from Mission style to modern; Spoiled Rotten (831 Elmwood Avenue); Presence (795 Elmwood Avenue); Pavlov’s Togs (567 Elmwood Avenue); Lab Indigo (720 Elmwood); Thin Ice (719 Elmwood Avenue); Heidi’s Madhouse (739 Elmwood Avenue) and more.

And everyone take a moment to say thank you for Talking Leaves Bookstore (951 Elmwood Avenue), the first full-service bookstore on the Elmwood Strip since Village Green closed its doors lo, these many years ago. Its opening beside Caffe Aroma several years back coincided, more or less, with the opening of SPOT COFFEE and New World Records in the Brad Wales-designed shared space at Elmwood and Cleveland, bookending the Strip with coffee and culture.

Treehouse (793 Elmwood), which now seems like it’s always been there at the corner of Elmwood and Ashland, was years ago a welcome addition to a shopping district that had lost its last toy and hobby store with the demise of Clayton’s. Among the jigsaw puzzles and stuffed animals, hobby kits and Playmobile sets, you’ll find a cool handheld digital sudoko game ($15), suitable for ages eight and up—and up and up.

Moroccan plate from Cose Fini ($32) surrounded by glass candy jars ($22).

On Potomac, just off Elmwood, you’ll find Sunday Skate and Sweet and Dirty. Around the corner is a new shop, Cose Fini (1004 Elmwood Avenue) that sells some beautiful designed plates and platters made in Morocco ($34 and up), handsome French tablecloths ($56-$105, with matching napkins at $8 each) and delicate birchwood boxes ($9-$11) that would make the perfect presentation for a piece of jewelry purchased from, say, Wild Things.

The tree that was, from Poster Art.

One of the easiest places to walk out of with gifts is Poster Art (1055 Elmwood Avenue), another old-timer on the Strip. Particularly popular this year is a print of a famous Delaware Park tree, pre-Arborgeddon ($39.95). There’s also a series of Art Deco-ish prints of famous Buffalo landmarks—the Central Terminal, the Darwin Martin House, Kleinhans, City Hall and the Electric Tower—that sell for $30.95 apiece.

That’s not the half of it; there are a dozen more shops and establishments, leaving aside restaurants and drinking establishments, that make shopping Elmwood rewarding. The truth is, today there’s not one block of Elmwood Avenue between Bryant and Forest that doesn’t offer you enough choices for a whole army of relatives and loved ones. Forget the mall. Never go there again. Walk in the fresh air, say hello to your neighbors and—if you’ve been around long enough to remember—wonder at how much things have changed on the Elmwood Strip.

—geoff kelly