please get some retail and eateries on the strip. i'm not into the late bar scene but i do like a civilized happy hour once and a while with light fare and possibly light gift shopping. kinda like starbucks with wine or beer (hey!). i don't see much of that on chippewa..but guess who's coming? health now with 1300 employees, new era cap with 250+ employees and all those new downtown residents looking for a more heterogeneous social experience. i work early in the morning so i need my sleep but i always don't want to go home at 5:00 PM either. i could see stopping on the "strip" for a burger and a beer at 5:30 PM. also its a good time to think about traffic on the pedestrian mall. i think this would help. further, is anybody marketing to the offices during the day trying to get these folks into the eateries and drinkng establishments after work? during thursday in the square there are many folks passing out literature and invitations for their bars...but that's mostly all it is...bars. buffalo is rising!

Retail and restaurants is EXACTLY what Chippewa needs. I just ate at Flappy's and I could not believe how crowded it was at 6:30pm on a Saturday of all days. And when I walked to my car, the line was almost out the door at Salsarita's. It is prime time for the strip to mature. The best thing that could happen down there would be some larger "destination" stores that can't physically fit on Elmwood, or might ruin the Elmwood Village feel on Elmwood. Something like a Barnes&Noble or an H&M would do amazing at Delaware/Chippewa, and would start the trend. There is a lot more room for these bigger shops downtown and would reduce the need to mall to shop, which is part of why people are moving into these new lofts in the first place. All it took was Mark Goldman to boldly put his bar on Chippewa to start something a decade ago... now we need some developers to ante up and court the kind of retail that turned Richmond St. in Toronto into the "shoppertainment" district that it is now.

As a downtown resident inthe West Village I regularly walk on Chippewa. In the morning and afternoon getting my daughter to & from school, to the movies at Market Arcade or for the plethora of other offerings such as ice skating in fountain plaza in the winter.

And yes, I agree we need more downtown. I like the idea of shoppertainment. As a kid living and then visiting relatives in Brooklyn each block always had one bar with a mix of other shops, eateries and the like. I dont enjoy the Chippewa bar scene all that much, but the potential is there to create more especially with a critical mass of people living and working downtown.

Re-open The Continental! We need PUNK, not drunk!

You've raised a great point. Besides the Elmwood strip, one of the most dynamic entertainment districts I've visited is "Old Town" in Alexandria, Virginia. Sure, there's a pub on every corner, but the pub's are punctuated with cool little shops which increase the foot traffic, and make the neighborhood much more interesting and complete.

Except for the dicey book store, there's no retail on Chippewa.

Well, I have always thought that the 20s crowd and all their bars would be migrating to the cobblestone district around the Buffalo Casino cause thats going to be a 24 hour location.

It should actually work out well cause the teen and 20 something crowd can only really afford those dollar beers but they can supply to 24 hour nightlife of a vegas strip which would attract make those older "loser" gamblers feel like their in the middle of things.

I always thought that the Chippewa District was meant to mature into the urban fabric of Buffalo and the adjacent Theater District, Allentown District, Philharmonic District, Government District and Business Districts.

The Chip. strip could certainly use retail or any other diversity of uses. Jane Jacobs, in her classic "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" warns about entire blocks that cater toward the same use, and how once a trend that keeps the district populated wanes, then the entire street may fade out.

A B&N would be great. It would bring plenty of people downtown who crave the qunitessesntial peoplewatching experience.

It may be over down there folks...Level, McMOnkeys, Third Room, La Luna all for sale as well. The only places that make money are SoHo (Uggh) and Crocodile (blow anyone?) Everyone else is running for the exits including Mark Goldman...his bars are for sale...and his building.

Mo, would you say this is because the 'kids' are moving on, because the street is maturing...so they don't want to be where their parents are? Or would you make the general statement that the district itself is dying? If its #1, I would think this is the best time as an investor to come in and get some good property and continue the evolution. Also, where is it that the 18-25yr olds are going then if they are steering clear of Chippewa? Are they staying closer to home like Molly's and Goodbar?

If Mo's right, sounds like turnover time on the Chip Strip. Perfect time to install some commercial diversity. Neighborhood should cater to nearby working stiffs during the day, 21-40 somethings at night, with bars, restaurants, shops, bookstores, coffee houses, etc., or whatever appeals to the downtown residential demographic -- the ppl inhabiting Sidway, Berger's, Holling Press, etc. It could be a very cool transition.

There use to be a small, late-night CD/music store/coffee shop on the corner of Chip. and Delaware, Sadly I think it failed/closed. I also miss the Martini Bar that use to be past Delaware and Chip I have no idea what it was called and I have lived out of Buffalo for seven years and I only get to visit these places when I visit home. It was lively when I was there, I am not sure why these places are failing, but again, I did not go there everynight.

Chippewa isalive and well. An older professional crowd hangs out weekly thru the night and then the attack of suburbanites comes over the weekend. With people moving downtown, a new audiance is emerging in the area. Bars and restuarants catering to professional crowd are doing well. There is a huge need for retail.

Maybe Goldman will do something with his building on top floors or turn McMonkeez into a "Urban Outfitters" Store!!

jen, i think you were referring to the Kingsnake Martini Bar on Chip. It was kinda where Salsaritas is now below the Hampton. That place still kind of exists on Main St. next to Sheas under a different name. I loved the Kingsnake. One of the best bars in Buffalo's recent history. Who else does Gin and Tonic in a pint glass. And that record store that used to be on the corner, was doomed from the start. They opened right when Napster killed CD sales. And they were charging mall prices to boot. I thought about an Urban Outfitters as well, but thats a little out of Buffalo's price range. I mean, who wants to pay $70 for a pair of rebranded Dickies work pants when you can get the real deal at Tent City. :) The best kind of retail Chip can get right now would be anything that keeps you in the store for more than 20 minutes.

Actually about stores like Urban Outfitts, you may be on to something. The WNY area (even the shopping malls) seriously lacks "hip" clothing stores like UO and H&M. If a few of these were to locate on the same block this would create a viable retail destination. There would have to be some coordinated effort though. These sort of stores won't locate there all by themselves. I know i'm dreaming, but an urban retail district successfuly competing with a mall would do wonders.

REtail would be great. Unfortunately BonTOn just closed at Galleria, third largest tenant there and that is not a good sign. However, it would be great to grab some more small shop retail like Urban, Thunder bay type shops with some Larger stuffed in between. Calumet would be a sick Urban Outfitters, H&M, Century 21(longislanders) it would even be a sick Barnes - Noble or Borders. restaurant wise we need some names...PF Changs or Cheesecake Factory would be ideal...hip, stylish, integrates well into older architecture (would be great in the old Masonic temple /Macaroni Co. /Century Grill across from the Hyatt on Pearl) Those are buzz places which are much needed and affordable not $100 a head like the Fat Guy's overrated CHopHouse who feeds fat politicians because he lines their pockets so he can renovate places without going through city inspection processes! We need some outside corporate money to come in and legitimize the area even further. then the retail chains see that corporate restaurants are there, and there needs to be a Macy's or H&M, then Gap/Old Navy/ Banana republic hears of the traffic and other tenenats need to be there...it is a whole cycle that is originated by people like Benderson development who have these contacts in the industry and can single handedly turn an area around overnight. This is the help we need but it has to start small and grow to a point where some big guns start to find it attractive and hip (probly cuz their kids were down there spending money on daddys credit card) It can happen. Damn i feel good right now cuz im ranting

This type of conversation should be happening at city level.

New mayor could ask a team of officials to contact "urban" style retailers and showcase Chipp District. there are retail sites around which would blend in nice....oh by the way..anyone go to Syracuse and Armory Square district? Good basic model for us to look at for our city and economy.

Why not Gucci, LV or Ferragamo? Should we settle for crap like urban outfitters? Lets have some luxury in this town. As if the prices for recycled junk at uo isnt enough of a turnoff, jack hayne is major bush supporter. Yuck.

Gucci, come on bro think the crackheads living in the Chippewa Hotel above brinks wouldnt be all over that shit? REALITY CHECK....we dont have the demographic to support these retailers. Lessson for anyone who doesnt understand big business. IT IS ALL ABOUT THE NUMBERS. PERIOD. IT'S NOT PERSONAL. They look at population, demographic, income, pop. growth, job creation, taxes, and political assistance. we dont fit one of those criteria...YET! Urban outfitters is a vibrant store that loves rehab projects and would be great for the area...An Old Navy would fit GREAT! Affordable stylish clothes...lets start there.

Mo's right, affordbale is key. This is not an upscale, luxury market. This is working middle class/college student/recent grad. Go to Toronto for Gucci, etc.

Not trying to bash...any ideas are better than what our govt leaders can come up with...just trying to set some realisitic goals for us. How a bout a new Thunder Bay down there (uhhhh hummmm) Newell. anyone beside me love PF Changs...anyone know it???

Major Bush supporter? WHO CARES! Is that a reason to turn away significant investment and development? I think not. Guys this is why the powers that be sometimes look at us with a tilted eye. They think were a bunch of treehugging liberals who just want to sip coffee, paint and be artsy all day in our NewBalance Sneaks. We need to lose the bias of politics, be better than the poloticians and just get things done to get them done regardless of his/her left or right lean. I am a republican and still have many beleifs both in business and personal that are dem based. In this age it doesnt matter...getting things accomplished is what matters. So BFLOnian YUCK back to you. Put down your bias and move on. (Excuse the typos Im on a roll here)

One of the best examples for mixed medium is Ybor City in Tampa, FL. Although known for it's club scene/nightlife, Ybor has many boutique style shops in both retail and service orientation. That's what allows it to thrive year after year in an area at least ten times the size of Chip. Additionally, Ybor is surounded with lower income neighborhoods that are slowly experieincing increased interest and rehab. We just need to remember that rehab and increased beautification should never mix with social gentrification.

Let the 20 somethings go towards the casino, let's start to rehab the focus of Chip now.

Agreed..Ybor kicks ass. the area around is really starting to boom. Althoug, late night down there can be scary just like Chippewa.

I would be very suprised if Chippewa Street is still the Bar District once the Buffalo Casino opens. I agree with previous posts that the late hours bars are going to migrate to the 24 hour casino.

The Chippewa District is going to mature to a more stable clientelle more integrated into the existing districts like Elmwood and Allentown have integrated their renaissance into their community.

I can see more shops, more restaurants, more music...but also more businesses.

Lets be honest, the kids are great but theres a limit to who can occupy the upper floors of those buildings with the noise and the bars below.

But one of the biggest things about the Chippewa Street Id like to see is some of those two story buildings have a couple more floors added (while keeping the exterior the same).

Read this from ny times...Now this is development

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/16/realestate/16evanston.html

The Chip Strip definetly needs Retail stores. This will help make the district busy 24/7. Retail shoppers in the day to party goers at night. From books to cd's, to funky wear to shoes and accesories...How nice. Imagine being able to buy a new out fit on the same block you'll later party on the same day? imangine being a downtown employee and being able to shop either on your lunch break or after work instead of having to wait to get the burbs.