Buffalo (New York) Money and Shopping

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Elmwood district www.foreverelmwood.org/index.php is located along the southern portion of Elmwood Avenue. This area contains a variety of small shops with a very 'independent' feel - you won't find national chain stores here. Used books, specialty coffee, one of a kind fashions, organic and local produce, artists' studios, and musical instrument shops line this commercial and residential district. Bidwell Park where it meets Elmwood Avenue hosts a farmers' market on Saturday Mornings from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Hertel Avenue district, located along Hertel Avenue between Delaware Avenue and Parker Avenue in North Buffalo is home to a wide assortment of shops as well. Art stores, used bookstores, as well as eccentric independent stores like 'Terrapin Station' dot the street that has seen a resurgence as in recent years. Hertel is quickly becoming the new "in" strip in Buffalo.

Allen Street district can in some ways be considered an extension of the Elmwood strip; however, it has a unique life of its own. Amidst the myriad of bars, you'll see bookstores, studios, and even antiques along this well traveled downtown strip.

Main Street in the University Heights district is not known for its shopping as much as its bars, but there are worthy places along this strip. The corner of Kenmore Ave. and Main St. has a more suburban strip-mall style appearance along with some more mainstream retailers like AJ Wright and Starbucks. Main Street has its share of video, specialty, comic, and other second hand stores worth a look as well.

Visitors looking for a more mainstream shopping experience should check out the Walden Galleria www.waldengalleria.com in Cheektowaga (10 min from downtown). The Walden Galleria, being the region's largest mall, has added 60 new stores and services to their original 200+. New stores include Bebe, Lucky, Sephora, Coach and other high end retailers. New restaurants include Bar Louie, the Cheesecake Factory, the Melting Pot, Hyde Park Steakhouse and more. The smaller Boulevard Mall www.boulevard-mall.com on Niagara Falls Boulevard at Maple Road in Amherst is about 20 minutes from the city as well. The Boulevard Mall is located along one of the area's busiest shopping corridors, where big box retailers like Target, Best Buy, and Home Depot dot the landscape. The McKinley Mall is located 10 miles south of the city, at McKinley Parkway and Milestrip Road, and is easily accessible by both the I-90 and the 219 expressway.

• www.foreverelmwood.org/index.php
• www.waldengalleria.com
• www.boulevard-mall.com