BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — It's the Elmwood Village and there's changes happening. Bob Petrick owned Mother Nature Florist for 45 years. Recently, he says he's seeing a lot of changes around the neighborhood.
"We love this area," said Petrick, "It's deep in my heart being a true Elmwood Village area guy."
Restaurants like Nine 29 are sporting for sale signs, while Acropolis is listed for sale online. Cecelia's shut down in September after 18 years of serving brunch and Italian food.
"I think David didn't want to leave Cecelia's but he no longer owned the building and then the rent went up I guess," said Petrick. The same man who bought Mother Nature Florist from Petrick two years ago bought Cecelia's at the same time.
The owner of Red Siren said her store is shutting its doors because she's not seeing as much foot traffic, which could be linked to the recent move of Women and Children's Hospital from its longtime location on Bryant Street.
"Let's face it. Those people used to walk around and have lunches and dinners and drinks after work, and they're not around anymore," said Petrick, "I think right now we're just going through a slight little change, and you're going to see this come back big."
There's plenty of new things coming to the Elmwood Village, like the new apartment complex coming to the corner of Elmwood and Forest Ave.The president of the Elmwood Village Association, Therese Deutschlander, said there's more restaurants and bars to come too.
"I think it's a nice opportunity for the street itself to just change up even a little," Deutschlander said, "The street is definitely very good and thriving. The spring is going to be great."
The former Women and Children's Hospital is also transforming into mixed use buildings.
