After years, upon years, of seeing a vacant storefront at 500 Elmwood Avenue, a quality tenant has moved in. This retail location has been empty for so long, that I actually stopped thinking about it. But now, Alex Almontaser has set up shop with his Elmwood Village Convenience Store, which, he told me, is all about bringing a little Brooklyn to Buffalo.
It was while visiting Buffalo, from Brooklyn, that Alex decided to invest in the deli location.
“I was here for a wedding, visiting family, and I was looking to get some good deli food, like I am used to in Brooklyn,” he told me. “After not finding anything that compared to the delis that I was involved with in Brooklyn.”
As Alex prepared turkey breakfast sandwiches for me and my friend, I spoke to his younger cousin, Monty Almontaser, who travels between Brooklyn and Buffalo. He told me that they are still in the process of sourcing local goods to round out their convenience store and deli offerings. He mentioned that they are hoping to find a good local bakery, which would provide them with fresh bagels, among other baked goods. I’m thinking that while they get their feet wet, it would be great to see Saturday bagel drops, until they have a established a solid customer base. The goal is, of course, to get them in and get them out, to ensure that they are as fresh as possible.
The middle section of the shop will eventually be filled in with more product, as Alex adds to the inventory. He is currently taking note to see what the neighborhood wants, while researching wholesalers. In the meantime, he is up and running with his made-to-order subs and sandwiches…