‘You Want the Support You Thought You’d Get,’ Business Owner Speaks Out on Downtown Bazaar Controversy

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – A small business incubator located in downtown Buffalo is facing controversy in our community.

The Westminster Economic Development Initiative, also known as WEDI, launched the Downtown Bazaar less than a year ago. The Bazaar has faced financial difficulties for months, but after a meeting Friday, board members said the location would remain open.

A business owner spoke with News 4 about the struggles she’s faced since opening up shop at the Downtown Bazaar. She says many other businesses in downtown and other bazaar locations feel the same way.

“You present your idea on this platform and so you want the support that you thought you would get,” she said. “If you don’t get it here, where are you going to get it?” »

The business owner explained that when she made the decision to rent accommodation from Downtown Bazaar, she was told that she would have a lot of support to help her navigate the challenges of starting a business. a company. She was also told she would receive marketing help, but says those promises have not been kept.

Just eight months after opening, WEDI board members met to discuss closing the Downtown Bazaar as the organization faced a significant deficit. Board members say all staff work actively and hard to keep the site operational.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of our board and staff for finding ways to be creative and find a way,” said Steve Zenger, board member of WEDI. “There would never have been a decision today about whether it would close tomorrow. The purpose of today’s meeting was to brainstorm and get feedback on collaboration between our staff and our business partners there and try to find a creative way to keep these facilities open.

The board won’t explicitly say how it made the decision to keep Downtown Bazaar operating, saying it’s too early to share details. But they admitted keeping the site open has been an uphill battle.

“There are challenges there, I’m not going to lie. Many of these challenges actually have nothing to do with our choices or their choices, but with the economic reality of the inner cities of every city in America,” Zenger said. “The workforce and changing habits of where people live affect opportunities for businesses located in downtown corridors. »

Zenger emphasized that WEDI plans to make changes to fully support emerging entrepreneurs.

“Our team is always doing things to try to help our business owners. That’s really our mission,” Zenger said. “I think we probably need to think about trying to work harder and do more work to promote the Downtown and the West Side Bazaar.”

According to the business owner, WEDI wants to hold another meeting a month before its lease ends to develop a plan for the future. WEDI is also looking for people to serve on the board of directors to help with its efforts to keep venues like Downtown Bazaar open.