BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Downtown Bazaar in Buffalo's Theater District is closing less than two years after it opened.
Westminster Economic Development Initiative (WEDI) says it will not renew its lease for the bazaar at 617 Main Street in the former EXPO space. The lease ends on December 31, 2024, when the bazaar will officially close.
Watch: West Side Bazaar tenants look back at devastating Grant Street fire and their progress since then
According to WEDI, the closure does not affect any businesses at the West Side Bazaar on Niagara Street, but what about the downtown vendors?
Well, the vendors plan to start a new chapter soon.
"I love the spice and the aromatics. It's just the most delicious, exotic food," regular customer Laura Hartman shared.
WEDI's Downtown Bazaar has been home to several international cuisines since April 2023.
Ryan Connors comes about every other week.
"The variety of places and some of the best food around in Buffalo, honestly," Connors shared.
The Main Street location offers like Burmese, North Sudanese, Ethiopian and Filipino cuisines.
"Usually Pinoy Boy for the most part. I've tried them all, so I try to rotate," Connors added.
It brings folks like Don and Laura Hartman from Tonawanda who are excited to sink their teeth in injera, a flatbread staple in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Laura Hartman said, "We're foodies. We go everywhere!"
Though, these foodies will have to change dinner locations by the end of the month.
"We just told the owner we'll follow them wherever they go," Don Hartman said.
Laura added, "We're looking forward to an individual restaurant. I hope they can pull it off and we wish them the best of luck in doing that."
The Downtown Bazaar was created as a temporary solution after business owners were displaced by a fire that happened in 2022.
After being in this location for almost two years, it was able to continue being a stepping-stone so that entrepreneurs could expand and relocate into their own spaces.
Announcements will be made here about the relocation of businesses.
While this location goes dark, the West Side Bazaar is here to stay.
WEDI says this decision is unrelated to the growth of the West Side Bazaar on Niagara Street.
Most of the restaurants at the Downtown Bazaar are choosing to open at a new location, she explained.
"A lot of people don't realize this. The West Side Bazaar and the Downtown Bazaar are both small incubators. It's not just a food court to get food. It's also a training facility for those business owners how to run their own business," WEDI Executive Director Carolynn Welch said. "Which we'll be announcing soon. I look at it as our mission coming to life. Our goal is for people, who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity, to be able to get out into the community to get their own restaurant or retail store.
One restaurant to look forward to is Malkia and Co. Gourmet restaurant, where customers can find Congolese comfort food.
Owner Nathalie Zola Malu hopes to open her brick-and-mortar one day but enjoys her restaurant's home on the Niagara Street location.
"I try to mix a lot with European desserts because a part of my life was in France. So, I'm trying to mix a lot of all the cultures together and revisit my African food," Malu said. "My restaurant has a goal so people can eat without guilt because everything is homemade. We tried to mix a lot of organic food. Not processed food. All the food is homemade."
Watch: Ribbon cutting for new West Side Bazaar ushers in new chapter
