BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Western New York institution is preparing to close its doors, marking the end of a business that has served generations for 175 years.
M. Steffan’s & Sons, a leather goods and repair shop that traces its roots to 1851, will shut down at the end of March. The closure brings to an end a family-run operation that began when Buffalo was a young, rapidly growing city of fewer than 100,000 residents and a crossroads of the United States.
Inside the shop at 761 Main Street, remnants of the trade are everywhere: tools, materials, and records carefully preserved over five generations. Cabinets, drawers, and boxes hold decades of history, from shoe stretchers to handwritten sales books dating back to the 19th century…