Buffalo’s Amazing Downtown Bazaar Is Closing For Good

A building known for hosting restaurants offering international cuisine in downtown Buffalo will be closing within the next couple of days.

People who love ethnic food will soon be without another restaurant in the theater district. Buffalo's Downtown Bazaar will close its doors at 617 Main Street, Buffalo on December 21st. For those who haven't gotten to experience it, the Bazaar is a food court with multiple restaurants offering cuisines such as Ethiopian, South Sudanese, Filipino, Burmese, and Thai.

The reason for the closing is pretty straightforward.  The lease has ended and they've decided not to renew it.  When it opened it was never meant to be a permanent fixture.  It was always meant to be a temporary spot for the restaurants to go after being displaced in 2022 by a fire that destroyed the original location, the West Side Bazaar.  It's all part of an initiative from the Westminster Economic Development Initiative (WEDI) to offer immigrants a chance to get businesses started here in the United States.

They will be assisting the restaurants in finding new locations to re-open in the future.

“After careful consideration, we decided to close the Downtown Bazaar and assist our businesses in transitioning to new locations that will better support their future success,” The bazaar on Main Street, which set up in April 2023 in the former EXPO space, ends its lease Dec. 31, 2024 and will close Dec. 21, 2024.” WEDI Executive Director Carolynn Welch

We will certainly miss it in our family.  We've always loved getting downtown early before a show at Shea's to enjoy all the food that they had to offer at the Downtown Bazaar.  WEDI is encouraging people to keep an eye out on their website over the next month to see where these restaurants will be relocating.