Buffalo Spree Magazine

South Buffalo goes indie
Small businesses run by women are making a big impact

By Leanne Shear

“People may not have the most money in South Buffalo, but they’re rich in other ways.”
—Devon Donovan, proprietor, Chique Boutique

Debbie Clotselter,
owner of Caz Coffee Café.

In an age where iterations of multi-national corporations (Rite Aid, Burger King, Wal-Mart, Starbucks) are causing every city, town, and hamlet in the country to have the same uniform, façade-like look of a low-budget movie set, four female entrepreneurs along the Abbott Road corridor in South Buffalo are demonstrating the transformative power of small-scale development—and its huge implications for the city of Buffalo.

“We need new small businesses to attract people back into South Buffalo from the suburbs,” explains Debbie Clotselter, who opened Caz Coffee Café at 688 Abbott Road in July of 2004 to fill the void of what she saw as a lack of cozy gathering spots in the area. “What’s key—what’s been key to me—is creating a small, unique business you can’t find anywhere else. It’s a great tactic, being grassroots, for a neighborhood-oriented place like ours.

Tracy McCormick, owner of Tracy’s Retreat at 1156 Abbott Road (which she started in November 2005), notes, “I live here, and wanted to work here. The rents are reasonable. And there’s nothing like this in South Buffalo—I’m the first little day spa.” She adds, “These businesses are making Abbott Road really viable—we South Buffalo people take a lot of pride in our neighborhood and are trying to make it a great place to live.”

In the view of many observers, Buffalo has been dragging its feet, stopping short (or perhaps more appropriately falling short) of the business development necessary for its revival, but in certain neighborhoods the trend has been reversed. Everyone knows about the successes of such communities as the Elmwood Village and Hertel areas, but upward trends can be observed throughout the city. In South Buffalo, “something is really happening,” says Ann Enger, the executive director of the Greater South Buffalo Chamber of Commerce, an organization formed in 2001 to address the evolving business needs of an increasingly vibrant—and underserved—market. “The Rite Aids on every corner are going to come whether you want them to or not. But with more entrepreneurs and better guidance for them, great things are happening.”

Devon Donovan,
proprietor, Chique Boutique.

Devon Donovan is a case in point. She was born and raised in South Buffalo, attended Canisius College and after a brief stint in corporate America, decided to return to her roots—opening Chique Boutique (1059 Abbott Road) in June 2006.“Because my mom was an artist, I grew up shopping on Elmwood Avenue, where I always had an eye out for the arts, jewelry, and other funky stuff, but I’m grounded in this area.” So, says Donovan, she decided to bring Elmwood to South Buffalo. “In South Buffalo, the customer loyalty is like no other,” she declares. Plus, she adds, “If you spend money here, it stays in South Buffalo. It’s a domino effect—that’s why all the products in my store are locally made. The motto is all about buying local—keeping the money where it should be spent.”

Claire Sumbrum, a hairstylist who started C-lon across the street from Tracy’s Retreat in November 2004, concurs: “I chose South Buffalo because I obviously grew up here and live here, but I wanted to help out Abbott Road and the area in any way I could. I’d rather be here than anywhere else.”

And that, says New York State Assemblyman Mark Schroeder (who was instrumental in establishing the Greater South Buffalo Chamber of Commerce), is what constitutes citizenship. For these women, he explains, “It’s about more than the business or making money. There isn’t anything [they] will not do for the community—that’s a service they provide to the neighborhood you can’t even measure.”

Of course, while women have now overtaken men, world-population-wise, they still have a long way to go to gain equal footing with men in another numbers game: salary. A recently-released study by the D.C.-based American Association of University Women Educational Fund found that one year out of college, women working full-time only earn eighty percent of what men earn. Ten years later, that number shrinks to sixty-nine percent. This troubling trend is mitigated by the idea that entrepreneurial activity—like the small-scale enterprise going on right now in South Buffalo—might be another avenue through which women can make broader gains.

And the women in South Buffalo are taking note. “The collaboration between the [female entrepreneurs on Abbott Road] is amazing,” notes McCormick. “We talk to one another all the time, share suggestions, help each other out. We all tell our friends about each other’s businesses and make recommendations that they go. Total collaboration.” Echoing a sentiment expressed by her peers, she adds, “There’s no competition between us because all of our businesses are unique. We don’t step on each other’s toes. That’s the thing about this community—everyone wants to see each other succeed.”

Tracy McCormick,
owner of Tracy’s Retreat.

The synergy—and energy—of the female self-starters along Abbott Road is simply the new face of South Buffalo’s long history of entrepreneurial activity (businesses helmed by both men and women), including—but certainly not limited to—South End Floral, the Tara Gift Shoppe, Park Edge Sweet Shoppe, Ko-Ed Candies, Overdorf Insurance, Imperial Pizza, Abbott Pizza, Candace’s Tailor, Rainbow Daycare, and Smitty’s Restaurant. For a long time, this neighborhood had the feel of a place stuck in a time warp, reluctant to embrace change; and while that’s not always a bad thing—kids still play hockey in every street in South Buffalo from April to October, like they did from the 1950s onward, instead of sitting in front of their computers or X-box consuls—an overall stagnancy became endemic.

For that reason, citizenship and the notion of “giving back” is a two-way street: small businesses thrive through, first and foremost, a politically based support system. Young leaders like State Assemblyman Schroeder, Congressman Brian Higgins, Erie County legislator Tim Kennedy, and Buffalo Common Councilman Michael Kearns are replacing the old guard, and offering, according to Enger, “energy, which is rare, and the possibility for meaningful, inspiring change.” This is absolutely vital, she explains, because “Perception is reality. People need to know something is getting done.”

In a city with world-class potential (particularly given the waterfront—which permeates South Buffalo—as a centerpiece), Assemblyman Schroeder firmly believes the new spate of female-run businesses in South Buffalo is not evidence of another pipe dream or smokescreen, but a microcosm of what could be, and what almost is: “What’s happening in [South Buffalo] is we’re setting ourselves up for the future, and for the economic rebirth of South Buffalo and Buffalo in general—it’s a snowball effect.” In other words, in addition to delving deeply into their community in multifaceted ways, these tenacious women offer not only fresh ideas and unique experiences, but also a roadmap for other people to follow in their footsteps.

Leeanne Shear is a freelance writer based in New York City. She has written for Glamour, the Huffington Report, and other print and online publication.

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