Local Business Stories
The businesses here are the heart of the 716, and every one of them has a story behind it — 29 of them so far
Every place on this page is a Western New York business you’ve probably driven past a hundred times. Chef’s on Seneca. Caputi’s on Sheridan. Kelly’s Country Store on Grand Island Blvd. Names you know, on corners you know. And behind every one of them is somebody who took a swing at something.
A twelve-year-old dishwasher who grew up and bought the restaurant. Families who’ve held down the same address so long the place became a landmark instead of just a shop.
None of them set out to be a story. They set out to open on Monday.
So we go dig. We research these the way we’d research any piece of local news, most of it done before we ever knock on the door, and we write down the part that never makes it onto the sign out front. It costs the business nothing, and it isn’t tied to advertising.
Do you run a place around here, or know one that deserves a story? Let us know.
August 27, 2026
The Guy on Lang Blvd Who Turned a Karate Studio Into Grand Island's Third Space
Derek Staubitz runs Hybrid Defense on Lang Blvd on Grand Island, and it has quietly become more than a self-defense studio. Free training for moms, Nerf Night, Game Night, a Third Space philosophy, and real-world safety response. Full story here.
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Dana's Stylin Pets
August 22, 2026
Dana Carver Built a Grooming Salon Where Dogs Don't Have to Jump and Employees Don't Have to Hurt
Dana Carver spent 15 years learning how to build a grooming salon that doesn't hurt the dogs or the people who care for them.
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August 16, 2026
Born in India, Raised in Texas, Built in Buffalo: The Story Behind Southern Junction
Ryan Fernandez was born in Kerala, India, raised in Texas, and built something in Buffalo that doesn't exist anywhere else on earth. Southern Junction on Connecticut Street blends Texas BBQ with South Indian flavors in a way that earned James Beard nominations and a spot inside the new Highmark Stadium. Full story here.
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August 11, 2026
The Bills and the Sabres Were Run Out of a Butter Warehouse on Scott Street. Look Who's There Now.
Did you know the Bills and Sabres front office used to run out of that big brick building on Scott Street off the 190? It was a butter warehouse in 1920, sat empty for almost twenty years, and there's a whole other story in there now. Wrote the whole thing up.
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August 8, 2026
The Backyard BBQ Idea That Turned Into Lockport's First Brewery in 100 Years
Ever wonder how NYBP in Lockport actually got started? It began with a couple, a cookout in Cooperstown, and a whole lot of people telling them it wouldn't work in Lockport.
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August 8, 2026
Grand Island Went Without a Laundromat. Carmen Scordo Just Fixed That.
After The Laundry Lounge closed, doing laundry on the Island meant crossing a bridge. Not anymore, and the parking lot tells you somebody thought hard about this place.
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August 8, 2026
A New Western New York Company Is Building AI That Answers the Phone
Janua Labs has launched in Western New York with a simple goal: make sure a small business never loses a customer to a call nobody picked up.
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June 22, 2026
Four Car Wrecks and a Way Home: The Story Behind Duquin Family Chiropractic
Did you know Duquin Family Chiropractic in Amherst basically exists because of four car accidents? Christian Duquin's mom went through a brutal stretch when he was a kid, and chiropractic was the only thing that helped her. He never forgot it. Great little WNY story, had to share.
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May 26, 2026
Brad Bowman: The Guy WNY Families Call When It's Time to Move
If you've bought or sold a house in the Tonawandas, you might already know this guy 👇
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April 17, 2026
A $6.99 Teapot and 35 Years of Feeding Western New York: The Hearts for the Homeless Story
Did you know the founder of Hearts for the Homeless once lived out of the back of a Ryder truck? That experience turned into 35 years of feeding and clothing Western New York, and now they just opened their first ever Niagara County thrift store right in the Niagara Falls Wegmans plaza.
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April 5, 2026
The Record Store on Delaware Street That Vinyl Lovers Can't Stop Talking About
There's a record shop on Delaware Street in Tonawanda that serious vinyl collectors have been quietly raving about. Owner Chris Baran has built something special — Japanese pressings, world music, live DJs, and a room that just feels right the second you walk in.
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April 4, 2026
Brian Castillo Has Been Fixing Up Grand Island Homes for Over 14 Years
Brian Castillo has been running CasXteriors on Grand Island for over 14 years. Here's a look at the exterior contractor who's been part of the 14072 since 2010.
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April 3, 2026
Grand Island Has the Biggest Indoor Pickleball Facility in All of New York State
Grand Island is home to the largest dedicated indoor pickleball facility in all of New York State. Here's the story behind Pickleball Island on Lang Boulevard.
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April 3, 2026
Mesmer's Dairy on Love Road and the Generation That Built Grand Island While Fighting a World War
Before most people knew Grand Island had a Love Road, the Mesmer brothers were building a dairy there. The milk in half the fridges in Tonawanda and Kenmore came from that plant, and the Orange Zing they sold was the drink every kid in the 716 remembers.
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March 19, 2026
Ronnie's Chair: The 90-Year Story of Gene McCarthy's and the Heart of the Old First Ward
There's a chair at 73 Hamburg Street in Buffalo's Old First Ward that nobody sits in anymore. It has a Yankees license plate that says Ronnie on the front. The man who sat in it for more than 50 years passed away in May 2024. This is the 90-year story of the bar he loved.
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March 17, 2026
There's a 9-Foot Alien Made of 1,200 Recycled Metal Parts Standing Inside a Plant Shop on Grand Island Boulevard
There's a 9-foot alien made of over 1,200 recycled metal parts standing inside a plant and artisan shop on Grand Island Blvd. Leaf, Stone and Steel opened in 2024 and it's unlike anything else on the island.
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March 13, 2026
He Started With a Van and a Plan. Thirty Years Later, His Sons Are Running the Routes.
Don Benoit started Cross Controls Electric out of his family van on Grand Island in 1996. This year they turn 30, his sons are running the business, and their vans are still all over WNY.
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March 10, 2026
Someone Brought a Range Rover to Grand Island Blvd and Left With a Mirror.
Someone brought a Range Rover to Grand Island Blvd in 2020 and left with what they described as a mirror. The story behind Adam's Detailing is a good one. 👇
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March 10, 2026
The Name on the Door Is GK Property Maintenance. The Person Answering the Phone Is Gary.
Gary West lives on the Island and runs GK Property Maintenance out of the same community he has been part of his whole life.
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March 10, 2026
A Grand Island Kid Built a Business Around the Jobs Nobody Wants to Do Alone
A Grand Island High School grad built a whole business around the jobs the rest of us keep putting off. 👇
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March 7, 2026
She Grew Up in Martinsville. Now She Makes Soap There. And the Story Goes Back 180 Years.
She grew up in a neighborhood older than North Tonawanda itself, and named her soap business after it — this story goes back to 1842 👇
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March 6, 2026
Aerial Insight LLC — Grand Island's Eye in the Sky
Tannon Montea has been flying drones out of Grand Island since 2017, building Aerial Insight LLC into a trusted local name for real estate, construction, and inspection work across the 716.
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March 4, 2026
When the Whale Goes Back on the Roof, Summer Has Officially Started in Tonawanda
When a giant blue whale named Wanda goes back on the roof in Tonawanda, WNY knows summer is here — and the story behind her is a good one 👇
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March 1, 2026
From Fire Trucks to Ice Cream Cones: How Josephine Ciffa Built Grand Island's Favorite Little Shop
Josephine Ciffa went from volunteer firefighter and Fire Company president to opening Grand Island's go-to shop for Perry's Ice Cream, Red Osier roast beef, and locally made gifts.
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February 27, 2026
Kelly's Country Store: Four Generations on Grand Island Boulevard
In 1962, Walter and Grace Kelly traded their Buffalo home and one dollar for a tiny building on Grand Island Boulevard. Four generations later, the family is still there.
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February 25, 2026
What the Soup Lady Meant to North Tonawanda
After eleven years in a tiny train car diner on Oliver Street, Barbara Gauchat is serving her last bowls of soup this Thursday — and North Tonawanda is feeling the loss.
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February 23, 2026
Chef's: The 12-Year-Old Dishwasher Who Bought the Restaurant and Built a Buffalo Legend
A 12-year-old dishwasher borrowed $8,000 from his dad and bought the restaurant on Seneca Street. Over 100 years later, the Billittier family is still there.
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February 22, 2026
The Caputi Family: 80 Years on the Same Mission, from a Veteran's Loan to a Tonawanda Legacy
The Caputi family has been part of the Buffalo and Tonawanda community since 1946, when Vincent Caputi came home from WWII and opened a liquor store with a Veterans loan.
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February 19, 2026
The Grand Island HVAC Guy Your Neighbors Keep Recommending
Eric Novellino launched his family HVAC business right on Grand Island, and with Winter coming to an end and AC season around the corner, his neighbors are glad he did.
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Every business on the co-op postcard gets a story like these, written by us and published here — on the house. You read it and approve it before anything goes live.
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