As the Taste of Buffalo was in full swing this past Saturday, a small bakery shop opened up just down Delaware Avenue in Allentown. I wrote about The Rooster and Two Chicks last week, telling the story about three old friends moving back to Buffalo and finding a common business opportunity to launch (see here). On Saturday I was introduced to co-owner Rick Smith (The Rooster) who told me that his longstanding retail experience in NYC will help the team to get up to speed quickly in their new location. “I want to make sure that we are open for customers needs, and we are willing to work long hours to give people time to shop. So often businesses are open limited days and hours in Buffalo, and we want to make sure that the neighborhood knows that they can count on us being here.”
The mindset of working extended hours is a bit unusual for Buffalo. In a city that sometimes gets pegged with a more relaxed midwest collective attitude (sometimes justifiably so), it may be true that many small businesses do have spotty hours of operation. I’m curious to see how the public will respond to this particular business – part bakery and part retail shop – and the aggressive hours that it is keeping.
Last evening (Sunday), after eating dinner at Don Tequila (just a few doors down) I sent a friend down to pick up some baked goods. Upon returning to the restaurant, my friend, who recently moved from Allentown to South Buffalo, exclaimed, “Why couldn’t these places (Don Tequila and A Rooster and Two Chicks) have been around when we lived here?” He was partially referring to the range of businesses, but he was also referring to their commitment to the ‘seven days a week’ work ethic.
As for the retail offerings at the bakery shop, Rick has put together quite the collection of oddities for sale. While some of the artistic decor is for display only, there are plenty of tchotchkes available for purchase, including a number of Day of the Dead figurines and colorful artwork (salt and pepper shakers, wall hangings, etc.). As for the baked goods, there are cupcakes, gluten-free brownies, 7-layer bars, chunks of caramel pretzel bark, cookies, breads (banana Nutella, lemon tea, chocolate chip bran), pecan mini bites, and even healthy chickadees. Best of all, the baked goods are all made from scratch right on Allen Street, which means that they are fresh as can be!
So after you’ve had your fill at one of the various Allentown establishments, consider heading over to this unique bake shop filled with all sorts of unusual sights and aromatic smells, brought to you by a repat rooster and a couple of ‘born again Buffalonian’ chicks.
The Rooster and Two Chicks | 93 Allen Street | Buffalo NY | (214) 770-3996 | facebook