Current Issue: Artvoice v7n48, week of Thursday November 27 » back issues
AV Best of Buffalo |
Shops |
|
|
With all the stores that come and go, it’s a wonder the number of retail establishments that have been around for ages, and that keep winning our Best of Buffalo polls year after year.
What’s the secret? Is it location? Ambience? Professionalism? Luck? Whatever it is (and the formula is probably either a very simple or a mindboggling equation) we are lucky to have the tried and true existing side by side with the new and unproven. Should keep everybody on their toes, right?
This year we mourn the closing of some of those tried and true, like best CD/record store nominee Home of the Hits and best thrift shop nominee Don Apparel. Both establishments shut their doors for good this past year, though certainly not due to lack of loyal customers. We did not take them off the list of finalists—they were among the best in Buffalo right up to the moment they closed, after all.
But the beat goes on, and that same block of Elmwood has now gained the recently relocated Allentown Music (which, like the Lexington Coop, saw no reason to change a perfectly good name along with its location), a nominee for best music store, and opened up some prime storefront space for other brave entrepreneurs.
Of course the Elmwood Strip boasts a majority of the nominees, but Allentown and the Hertel area are creeping up fast, and clothing stores, shoe stores, jewelry shops, tattoo parlors and hair salons from all over the city and the suburbs are represented in our poll.
A tour of the best produce nominees would take you from the farmer’s market at Elmwood at Bidwell to Grant Street’s Guercio & Sons to the Clinton-Bailey Market on the East Side.
Best butcher would take you all over the city with Federal Meats’ various locations, and even into the realm of the imagination with Charlie the Butcher’s disqualified nomination. (Charlie the Butcher is not a butcher, people—it’s a restaurant.)
Best antique store nominees can be found from Allentown’s the Antique Man to Clarence’s huge Antique World to the Southtowns’ Antique Mall, where you can find anything from kitsch to real home furnishings. Shops like CooCoo U and Sarah’s Vintage & Antique Jewelry also fit the bill, leading buyers to Hertel Avenue and Williamsville, respectively.
So go on a shopping tour of our Best of Buffalo categories and see practically the entire Western New York area while you’re at it. Only don’t bring your credit card. It probably wouldn’t be wise.
—k. o’day
best antique shop
Antique Man
Stock Exchange
Antique World
Antique Mall
CooCoo U
Sarah’s
best bookstore
Rust Belt Books
Old Editions
Oracle Junction
Talking Leaves
Secondhand Reader
best video store
DVD Dot (RIP)
Mondo Video
Video Liquidator
Great American Newstand
Audubon Library
best cd/record shop
Record Theater (Main Street, Buffalo)
Home of the Hits (RIP)
Sit and Spin
New World Record
Frisbees
best music store
Jackson Music
Allentown Music
UCrest
Twin Village
Drum Outlet
best liquor store
Gates Circle Liquor
Hodge Liquor
The Premier Group
Spirits of Allentown
Frontier Liquors
best head shop
Decades
Pavilion
Skunk Tail
Terrapin Station
Strange Brew
best sex shop
Video Liquidators
Pandora’s Boxxx
Kimberly’s Intimate Apparel
Hamburg Turnpike
Great American Newstand
best pet store
Steve’s Pets
Markheim Tropical Fish and Pets
Elmwood Pet Store
Animal Outfitters
Fish Place
best gift shop
Rotten Jack’s Creep Shack
Spoiled Rotten
Neo
Positively Main Street
Everything Elmwood
best flower shop
Maureen’s
Mother Nature
Graser’s
Michael’s
Floristry
best hair salon
Aimee and Amy
Chez Ann
Leon Studio
Studio 806
New Age
best manicure/pedicure
Chez Ann
Elite
Capello
Diva
Excuria
best day spa
Capello
Fallingwater
Excuria
Seasons
Elite
best tanning salon
Tanning Bed
Allen Tan
Sun Capsule
Tan Lines
Total Tan
best tattoo parlor
Hand of Doom
Redhouse
Art n Body
Rise Above
Cowpok
best piercing studio
Redhouse
Art n Body
Hand of Doom
Cowpok
Renaissance
best thrift shop
Amvets on Elmwood Avenue
Salvation Army on Niagara Falls Boulevard
Don Apparel (RIP)
Goodwill on Delaware Avenue
St Vincent DePaul shop
best shoe store
Shoe Fly
Shoe Biz
Sunday Skate
Sneaker Advantage
Buffalo Fleece & Outerwear
best sports/outdoor gear shop
Laux Sporting Goods
Sunday Skate
Campus Wheelworks
Buffalo Fleece & Outerwear
Fleet Feet
best bike shop
Bert’s
Rick’s
Handlebars
Shickluna
Campus Wheelworks
best men’s clothing shop
Stache
Krudmart
Riverside Men’s Shop
Urban
Art n Body
best women’s clothing store
Sweet and Dirty
Half and Half
Damsel in a Dress
Urban
Allen Street Dress Shop
best produce
Wegmans
Guercio & Sons
Lexington Coop
Clinton-Bailey Market
Elmwood-Bidwell farmers market
best fishmonger
Hayes
Wegmans
La Marina
Schneider’s
Broadway Market
best butcher
Scimes
Spars
Federal Meats
Johnny’s Meats
Wegmans
best natural foods
Globe Market
Washington Market
Lexington Coop
Feel Rite
Wegmans
best bakery
Sweet Tooth
DiCamillo’s
Dolci
Delish
Pumpernick
|
Issue Navigation> Issue Index > v6n16: Best of Buffalo (4/19/07) > AV Best of Buffalo > Shops This Week's Issue • Artvoice Daily • Events Calendar • Classifieds |
Artvoice Blog Headlines
West Side Neighborhood Housing Servicesposted November 28, 3:44 pm on Artvoice DailyAs promised in this article, the membership list for West Side Neighborhood Housing Services is right here. Highlighted in yellow are city employees who report to the mayor or their relatives; highlighted in pink are other city employees. Most of the highlighted names (though not all) are new members, who joined just in time to vote at last Thursday’s annual members meeting, when Harvey Garrett was voted off WSNHS’s board... (more) |
On the Waterfrontposted November 26, 2:00 pm on Artvoice DailySo you think Buffalo has a hard time figuring out what to do with its waterfront, do ya? Mad that we can’t just build a signature bridge, huh? Madder still that we can’t just knock the Skyway bridge down? Furious with obstructionists who don’t want a Bass Pro Shop? Livid about the ice boom? And don’t even get you started about all the blind, misguided fools who can’t see that a huge casino downtown will turn our city around? Yes, my friend, you do in fact have all the answers... (more) |
Chow Chocolat welcomes Denise Sperry’s Watercolor Exhibition…posted November 26, 12:46 pm on Chew on ThisWatercolor Painting by Denise Sperry Merging the fine arts with gastronomic art, Chow Chocolat (731 Main Street, Buffalo, 843.4388) is now featuring a watercolor exhibition by Denise Sperry. A reception commencing Sperry’s works will take place on December 5th, 2008 (6-9 PM)... (more) |
GRILLE 620 (Wine… Down the Weekend)posted November 26, 11:34 am on Chew on ThisIf you haven’t already checked out “Wine… Down the Weekend” at Grille 620, (620 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, 886.2121) GO! This has to be one of the best deals in the city of Buffalo. Every Friday & Saturday, patrons can choose a complimentary bottle from the bistro’s extensive wine list to accompany any 2 entrees... (more) |
Another Voiceposted November 26, 10:11 am on Artvoice DailyHere’s something that drives me crazy about the Buffalo News: the “Another Voice” column on the editorial page. It would be a nice idea, were it not that so often it is not given over to “another” voice. It is given, rather, to the same old voices: to people who are frequently quoted as sources in articles, who are in positions of political or economic power, to folks whose job is to push agendas—to people, in other words, who have no difficulty making their voices heard... (more) |
Who Goes Where When Hillary Goes to State?posted November 19, 12:04 pm on Artvoice DailyCity Hall News has flow_chart that tracks who might replace who, from Hillary’s Senate seat on down (click to expand or follow the link—it’s an awkward shape): |
It’s Robert Rich Sr. All High Stadiumposted November 14, 5:05 pm on Artvoice DailyThese new signs properly label the structure. We’ve been reading recent stories in the Buffalo News about sportswriter Tom Borrelli’s terrible fall last week at the old All High Stadium. He’s currently battling life-threatening injuries... (more) |
CWM Fined for Violationsposted November 14, 2:41 pm on Artvoice DailyThis week Chemical Waste Management was fined $175,000 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for violating its permits and the state’s hazardous waste laws. I don’t have much to say about that, except it doesn’t seem to me like too much money... (more) |
Musical Chairsposted November 14, 12:51 pm on Artvoice DailyThe AP reports that Hillary Clinton met with Barack Obama in Chicago yesterday, adding fuel to speculation that she might be Obama’s choice for secretary of state. If that happens, it has long been rumored that Brian Higgins would be appointed to her Senate seat... (more) |
Paint the Townposted November 14, 11:06 am on Artvoice DailyLate last night, at the tail end of one of the few weeks in the past year in which we did not publish anything snarky about anybody, someone threw two gallons of paint on our front doors. Seems a waste; we hadn’t even earned it. Nonetheless, we were cleaning up all morning... (more) |
Old Editions Book Shopposted November 13, 1:58 pm on Artvoice DailyAV videographer Matt Quinn tours Old Editions, an often overlooked treasure at the corner of Oak and Huron Streets downtown: show enclosure (video/x-flv; 21.29 MB) |
This Is Not Today’s Newsposted November 12, 9:37 am on Artvoice DailyBut it would be nice if it were. Via the Data Stream, by way of Jon Winet. |
This Just In…posted November 11, 3:28 pm on Artvoice DailyAlways in the vanguard, researchers of the University at Buffalo’s Center of Human Capital have reached a bold conclusion, according to a statement disseminated this afternoon: Although no official determination has been made about whether New York State or the U... (more) |
Silver Lining: Edwards Remains a Good Guyposted November 11, 11:17 am on Artvoice DailyMarshawn Lynch Amid the anguished finger-pointing, plaintive wailing and resigned head-shaking sweeping the region following the Buffalo Bills’ third straight defeat, Season Ticket would like to apportion a minute sliver of credit. Quarterback Trent Edwards, by most quantitative and qualitative standards, failed miserably at New England on Sunday (not coincidentally, this was also his third consecutive regressive outing)... (more) |
Artvoice TV: Latest Additions » more on AVTV
Ani DiFranco at Babevilleposted December 1, 2:55 pm on channel Music
|
Peanut Brittle Satellite with Jeff Mcleod of Lazlo Holyfieldposted November 29, 1:44 pm on channel Music
|
Artisans Bazaar on Elmwoodposted November 29, 1:16 pm on channel Art
|
City Mission: Food for the Needyposted November 28, 08:47 am on channel Local Interest
|
Turkey Trot: Buffalo's 113thposted November 27, 5:57 pm on channel Events
|
Dr. Riyaz Hassanali: Talks about BOTOXposted November 26, 5:46 pm on channel Health
|
Viva Vivaldi Festival @ The First Presbyterian Churchposted November 23, 3:48 pm on channel Music
|
The Burchfield-Penney Opensposted November 23, 2:33 pm on channel Art
|
Synecdoche, New Yorkposted November 23, 12:24 am on channel Movie Trailers
|
One Day You'll Understandposted November 23, 12:12 am on channel Movie Trailers
|
Four Christmasesposted November 23, 11:53 am on channel Movie Trailers
|
Australiaposted November 23, 11:46 am on channel Movie Trailers
|
The Alphabet Killerposted November 23, 11:39 am on channel Movie Trailers
|
Nelson Starr Band w/Jeff Miersposted November 23, 09:49 am on channel Music
|
Bread Gone Wryposted November 23, 08:04 am on channel Music
|
Subscribe 