At long last, the new West Side Bazaar has opened, and thankfully, the events of the last four years haven’t really affected what the new location is all about.

“The vision for the West Side Bazaar has remained the same because we always try to work true to our mission, which is using education and entrepreneurship to create equity in our region,” says Erin St. John, WEDI’s director of external relations. “And the most public way we support entrepreneurship is through the bazaar as a business incubator.”

It might be a humble incubator, but the new West Side Bazaar is one of the city’s brightest gems. With more than 16,000 square feet, the bazaar offers a multicultural mix of food and retail options. New restaurants include:

• Bamboo Ridge (Vietnamese)
• Egyptian Bites (Egyptian)
• Malika & Co. (African)
• Millions Tin Sushi (Japanese)
• Orso Nero Pizza (Italian)
• Phyu Thein (Malaysian)
• Ramree (Burmese)
• Williams Kitchen (Korean)

Importantly, the bazaar is the only spot in Buffalo for Malaysian and (shockingly) Korean food, making these restaurants particularly welcome additions to the city’s food scene. The new West Side Bazaar also features retail and professional services from:

• Manchester Place Baking (Bakery)
• Citygate Market (African grocery store coming soon)
• Bubble Tea & Smoothie Bar (Bubble Tea)
• Read It & Eat (Book Shop and Food Subscription)
• Danielle Prester LMHC & Elisabeth Burn LMHC (Counseling)
• Honey Bee’s Driving (Driving School)

On our opening day visit, conversations buzzed and bubbled as we slowly slurped away at a volcanic kimchi jjigae — a spicy kimchi stew. While all of the door vendors were up and running, it was clear that they were very much in soft opening mode.

In addition to the restaurant, retail and office spaces, the new bazaar also has a commissary kitchen for culinary training, cooking classes and pop-up rentals. There are dedicated spaces for large events, workforce training spaces, a technology hub, a classroom hub, a conference room and an economic development office.

“We want to be a place where the community can find an economically priced gathering space,” St. John Kelly says. “There’s a real dearth of affordable spaces in the city for people looking to have weddings, showers, or meetings.”

The one glaring drawback to the new West Side Bazaar is a lack of parking. WEDI is negotiating for a parking lot right now, but at the moment, none of the lots near the bazaar are currently for the bazaar’s customers. (People have been parking in them and getting blocked in.) WEDI has pointed out that there’s free parking on Niagara Street and in the nearby side streets. But given that the organization expects at least 80,000 visitors each year, those parking options are a bit skimpy. Therefore, WEDI is also recommending that people — gasp! — leave their cars at home.

“We want people to take the bus, or walk, or ride their bike on Niagara Street’s beautiful bike paths,” says St. John Kelly. “We want to help make it a greener Buffalo.” WEDI expects bike racks to arrive any day with outlets for e-bikes as well.

Hours at time of publishing (Subject to change): Tuesday to Thursday 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m., Sunday and Monday CLOSED

Written by Brett Llenos Smith at Step Out Buffalo