One of North Buffalo’s favorite dessert bar and bakeries has created an incredible opportunity for itself. Owner Diane Serra recently decided to pick up to move a few blocks east on Hertel to relocate into a storefront that looks to be relatively the same size (former La Marina fish market and Hertel Gallery). Why would a business move a few blocks away just to open in a space that is the same size? Well, Diane and her husband made the decision to expand an entirely new arm of their business into the rather large restaurant space next door (former La Marina and Victor’s Bar and Grille). “I didn’t want to leave Hertel,” Diane told me. “But we were looking to grow our business and we wanted to open up a bistro with a full bar, serving traditional Italian food with a simple scaled down menu…. soups, salads, paninis, pasta, meat and fish and chicken. Lots of specials all the time, so that the menu reflects the freshness of the food. We’re warming the place up and painting with soft Tuscan colors. Now we’ll have a bistro adjoining our bakery.”
If you’re not familiar with Caramici’s, then you need to backtrack just a bit and catch yourself up to speed here. Diane told me that the meaning of the word Caramici basically translates into “Nice place for dear friends to meet.” If there was ever a place where that sentiment rings true, it’s this precious little bakery. And if Diane follows the same sort of blueprints for her expanding restaurant business, then I feel that Hertel is going to be all the better for it. With her husband as host, and Diane taking care of the food operation, this family restaurant and bakery will be the best of all edible worlds. It helps that the two businesses are interconnected making it easy for customers to pop back and forth…. just in case they are looking for a little taste of biscotti before a bowl of pasta, or a bowl of Italian wedding soup after snacking on a cannoli. Either way you look at it, this all sounds (and smells and tastes) like a marriage made in heaven.
Caramici’s – Facebook
1501 – 1503 Hertel Ave, Buffalo, NY.
(716) 874-2253