07/28/2017
To Our esteemed Clientele:
It is with the greatest sadness that I write these words, but indeed, the time has come: The Gourmet Store Cafe, located in Olympic Towers at 300 Pearl Street since 1990, will be closing for good tomorrow. Locally owned and operated, Locally supplied, Caterer of the most diverse array of events at locations from Letchworth to Wilson to Angola, with Clientele including Heads of State(PM of Kenya, made him an omelette!), TV production crews (Trading Spaces, both locations), Theater Groups (The Wake, 7 years @ Karpeles on Porter), NFP's, Law Firms, Lawyers, Judges, Mechanics, Social Workers, Research Scientists, Professors, Students, County Clerks, Security Guards, Sheriff's Deputies, Police, Fire, Doctors, Dentists, Nurses, Investment Bankers, Parking Violations Officers, Mayors, County Executives, Attorney's General, Sanitation Department workers, Candidates for elected office of 'both' parties - presidential on down, every single Food Service worker in the Buffalo Public Schools @ Hertel Academy (got to use their kitchen!), every single employee of Niagara Mohawk in one day when they became National Grid (3 Coffee/Bagel&Pastry 1-hour sessions, 1200 Line workers each, then 2 1-hour afternoon Beverage/Cookie-Pastry for 600 Admin Workers each in the Electric Tower), the final 'transformation' party of a Trans-Gender person celebrating (finally!!) the matching of their identity with their physical self...not to mention the "Backyard Wedding Reception Luau" with 18-foot high erupting Volcano on Grand island or the fundraiser at Old Fort Niagara, the Red House Wedding, the many Bar- and Bat Mitzvahs at Temples and homes, the Solstice Party at GreyCliff, the surprise violin serenade for 'Mom's' 75th birthday, and so many more...we are closing our doors at Olympic Towers. We are humbled by the outpouring of support and expressions of outrage at our predicament, and it was truly an honor to be a part of so many of your lives for so long. I'm truly sorry the landlord group reached their decision, though I'm not surprised at the behavior of Commercial Real Estate "investors" who don't live in the community where they've "invested" and face no personal accountability for their "actions."
When Jane and I got married November 11th 2000, we could not foresee so many things to come: neither the pathway to buying a business presented upon honeymoon-return, nor my Mother's near-terminal stroke a few weeks later, When we purchased this Cafe in 2001 ("because of the Chili!"), the process was somewhat surreal, feeling like an Econ 507 Independent Study SBA Loan Class with real-world consequences. When we closed the sale 3 weeks after 9/11 and had a 75% negative difference in December sales year-to-year, I knew I was in for an even bumpier ride than I anticipated in this most difficult industry, and I had no exit strategy other than survival. My stubbornly stroke-surviving mother and saintly-supportive father arrived to the Buffalo area a month after we closed on the sale, despite the doctors' best guess of "6 months-to-a-year," and took up residence in Williamsville, and later in Amherst. When we paid that 10-year loan off 13 months early, we'd bought a house in N. Buffalo and had begun raising our family, improving our property, and continuing to thrive in an ever-changing Downtown Lunch Food 'Landscape.' Introducing Mom & Dad to Finn and Fiona as they've arrived and thrived has been a "gift of borrowed time in perpetuity." As my mother - at first, and more recently my father - have required more comprehensive care in the last few years, we've truly been Blessed by the presence of The Brothers of Mercy group of facilities in Clarence, where both of them still reside as I write this today (it's why they call it medical "practice"), and I'm looking forward to bringing our Rescue-turned-Therapy Chihuahua 'Sweetness' out to see them and the other residents more frequently this August. I am incredibly excited that I will be able to play more music in the near-term, as my mother's tireless dedication to seeing me well-tutored in Classical violin studies my entire childhood has gifted me with an entirely different and recently neglected way of 'sharing the Love' in this brief chance we get at Life on this planet.
Our food and our ability to serve it to our community is being put on "pause" against our will and not by our conscious choosing or financial distress. I've been given another remarkably unforeseen thing: an 'exit-strategy,' and after meeting Roger (my moving guy) today, I now know how you can move a 26-year-old restaurant business out of its location in 72 hours: my final logistical challenge of this portion of my career. My employees are going to land on their feet; people of such character, loyalty, kindness, and dedication to Craft and Service will find some new reeeaaally happy employers! Chef Dave already has, leaving our all-electric no-fryer little galley after 12 years (STANDING OVATION!!!) at your Service last week, though he was gracious enough to put in more than a few extra hours here during the transition to literally keep this place afloat this last week and help us provide the fresh, healthy (or not!) made-to-order Lunch you've become accustomed to. Tiffany's nearly 8 years here were more than memorable, and I will never hear a New Kids on the Block or Lynyrd Skynyrd song and not think of her for the rest of my days! The ability to remember the specific detailed dietary preferences and names of just about each and every 'regular' customer with such accuracy and, um, personality, is a a Gift I do not possess, and she will be able to just be "mom" for a few weeks until she decides what her best path forward will be. All of my employees and their hard work over the years here are the reason we were here for as long as we were - without them and their willingness to go above-and-beyond for our customers, my efforts alone would be for naught; Service is not easy or a lowbrow profession, and Good Service is increasingly hard to find these days. This business and all its employees strove for perfection each and every day, and Excellence of Service was and always will be our Hallmark. The particularly bittersweet irony of receiving our 2nd "People Love Us on Yelp!" sticker at the beginning of our last week in Service to our Community at this location can only be mitigated by the bigger and better things to come. We will not be gone from the Buffalo food scene for long, and I'm going to use this unique opportunity for reinvention to pursue a dream I've had since my kids were quite young through an imminent Kickstarter campaign. We only live once, and I believe it's a pretty good idea involving people and cooking and education that's been percolating long enough! More on that in the next few days...
As I stirred my last pot (for now!) of Contradiction Chili this morning, I wished once again that I'd installed cameras and microphones all over this Cafe to record some truly memorable moments over the years. Our gong has taken more than a few of you by 'cookie-followed' surprise, and Reality TV has lost a most excellent window into the heart and soul of the "Kill em with Kindness" philosophy as applied to food Service in a Fast-Casual Gourmet setting. It's sad and it's sweet, it's exciting and uncertain, but our future is bright: we have made far more deposits in the "Bank of Karma" than withdrawals, and that positive feedback loop will see us through this externally-imposed hiatus. We - our business, employees, and customers - are the victims of some "ham-handed, knuckle-dragging TomFoolery," but as a countryman of my Austrian-born mother famously said, "I'll be back!" We'll be back, sharing the Love and creating deliciousness somewhere else. It has truly been an honor and a privilege, Buffalo! Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!
Sincerely,
Martin Safford-Cameron, ChEfO
