New look for BBF; Red Lobster owes $$$ to 40 WNY companies

Subscribers to our print edition are going to see that a lot has changed when they pick up today's issue.

As Publisher John Tebeau puts it in his column:

We’ve been working behind the scenes for months, and we’re excited to finally share this with you — our first new look in a decade.

What hasn’t changed, and won’t ever change, is our mission. We exist to connect business leaders and bring you exclusive market intelligence to help grow your business, accelerate your career and simplify your professional life.

We've got a fresher, cleaner design; a higher-quality newsprint; an expanded public records section; and a new format that will create a better experience for our advertisers, many of whom work with our sister publications in other market.

We're excited for our new look, and we think you'll love it.

Click here to read more about the changes from John and click here for more about them from Editor-in-Chief Donna Collins.

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Red Lobster owes money to more than 40 WNY businesses

When Red Lobster abruptly shut down May 13, Kevin Monaco held out hope that a 25-year relationship with the company would give him a chance at seeing the $15,000-plus owed to his company for landscaping services.

Monaco Enterprises of Western New York has never been faced with a similar situation in its 27-year history, he said, and this one will hurt.

"For me, the worst part is we had a relationship with them that goes back a couple of decades. The regional managers, they'd call and promise they were going to take care of this, but they string you along," he said. "We've worked with all of them in Erie and Niagara county and they were great to us, until the last six months."

Monaco is among more than 100,000 creditors listed in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed May 19 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida. |  Read more

Plus, the former Zetti's Pizza site will reopen under new ownership; a Lackawanna pizza spot gets new leadership, including the owner of Mulbbery; a restaurant and brew pub will open across from the airport; and Tracey Drury catches up with chef Camille LE CAER, who's balancing cooking, teaching and stints on TV with training for a very different side gig.

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Buffalo State to cut 30+ programs

Buffalo State University President Bonita Durand on Thursday addressed the campus Thursday about the university's finances and shared the news that 37 degree programs, concentrations, minors and certificates will be deactivated. (We've got the full list.)

She said 27 of the programs were already vetted through the school’s process and are in review by SUNY, while the remaining 10 are under review for deactivation by 2025. The 34 students currently in the programs make up 0.6% of the college’s student body, Durand said, and they’ll be allowed to complete those programs. No new students will be admitted to the programs after the fall 2024 application cycle. |  Read more

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Braymiller Market plans more changes downtown

Braymiller Market is making more changes at its downtown store.

The local business has already seen an increase in traffic since getting approval in July from the city for a forgivable $561,000 loan. But more innovation is on the way, according to owner Stuart Green.   |  Read more

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Inside the Monroe, the former Record Theater

The development team behind the Monroe had big plans when they acquired the former Record Theatre at the corner of Main Street and Lafayette Avenue in 2019. Then the pandemic hit, supply chains were stressed to the breaking point, and financing became scarce.

Nearly five years and a major change of plans later, the $8.4 million mixed-use project is nearing completion.  |  See inside now

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Buffalo stays high on U.S. News' Best Places to Live

Buffalo has dropped a bit in the rankings, but we're still in a pretty good place on U.S. News & World Report's 2024-25 Best Places to Live: No. 34 out of 150.  |  Read more

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This Weekly Edition was compiled by Sara Paulson Meehan. Questions? Comments? Concerns? Send them to [email protected].