Shops to pop-up in Buffalo

  • 2015-04-29
Following a popular trend, Buffalo is encouraging retailers to open ‘pop-up’ shops in the downtown area.

Storefronts on Buffalo’s Main Street will be free for two months to those who participate in the ‘Queen City Pop-Up’ endeavor.

Pop-up shops are small retailers who open a space for a limited time—anything from a day or two to several months—and then close again. The shops allow residents of an area to experience what it is like to have the retailer in the area, and the city allows the shops to operate in the hope that some of them will decide to remain permanently.

Retailers are being asked to turn in proposals that will enable them to operate rent-free for two months. The spaces being offered are in the Pierce Building, a historic structure at 653 Main. The space will be rent free for the period May 1 to June 30.

The Buffalo Urban Development Corporation (BUDC) and several other organizations concerned with revitalizing Buffalo’s downtown are backing the idea. Pop-up shops first appeared during the holidays, when rent-free space was provided for retailers in the Market Arcade Building. The concept was so successful that Buffalo has decided to repeat it.

Buffalo officials could work with a postcard printing company on a card to mail to residents about the pop-up initiative.