BUFFALO, N.Y. — The New York Department of State is gearing up for round 8 of its Downtown Revitalization Initiative, and one local business hopes downtown Buffalo gets a share of the multimillion-dollar investment.
Catherine Cravotta-Green has worked for Bacchus Wine Bar & Restaurant for 12 years, and ever since the pandemic, she feels that things have just been different.
“The foot traffic after the pandemic has really slowed down in downtown Buffalo,” Catherine said. “We’ve heard from guests; parking is an issue as well down here. It’s hard to get people in and out in a timely fashion.”
Bacchus had big plans to expand and open B-side restaurant next door in 2020, but it just never materialized when the world came to a halt.
“Unfortunately, we had to close that restaurant,” Catherine said. “It’s so hard to see it like that, because the potential is there.”
Catherine misses the way downtown Buffalo used to be, with more people exploring every day.
“I don’t think we will ever be able to get back to where we were,” Catherine said.
However, New York Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez has not lost hope in returning to that reality in downtowns across the state.
He visited Buffalo Tuesday to encourage applications for the 8th round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI).
“(The DRI is) focusing on supporting existing small businesses by building new housing and creating safe, enjoyable and accessible street-scapes,” Rodriguez said. “We need to hear from you which are the next round of communities.”
Every round, the state chooses ten downtowns across the state to invest $10 million dollars each into.
The City of Tonawanda, North Tonawanda, and Buffalo’s Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood have already won in previous rounds.
“There’s no one solution to revitalizing our downtown, it usually is a combination of factors,” Rodriguez said.
Catherine would love to see the area right near the restaurant on Chippewa street next on that list.
“This is a new time for us. We are hoping people can take some of these vacant buildings and build from them,” Catherine said.
Applications for local municipalities to fill out will be coming in September.
