By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – It was in the works for more than 10 years, but finally a brand new Tops Supermarket has opened on Buffalo's East Side.
Residents living in the Jefferson Avenue neighborhood bounded by Fillmore, East Ferry, Main and Best have been forced for years to shop at corner stores or travel outside their neighborhood to buy groceries. But now a 29-thousand square foot Tops store has opened creating 110 new jobs.
Tops Executive vice president and General manager Max Henderson told the crowd this was the most anticipated grand opening for a store.
"You've clearly built more than a store," Henderson said. "You've laid the cornerstone for the revitalization of an entire neighborhood."
A recent Black leadership forum addressed the declining health of East Side residents due, in part, to diet. But Frank Mesiah, NAACP's Buffalo chapter president, says the new supermarket will provide healthier foods and could spur more economic growth.
"It's a boon to the community and hopefully it becomes more than just a supermarket. It's the beginning of economic development for the community," Mesiah said. "This means jobs and a whole re-examination of the health of the community, economically and physically."
Other African-American leaders agree with Mesiah. State Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples says Tops has a chance to demonstrate to other businesses that money can be made in an East Side neighborhood.
"This is an opportunity for our community to demonstrate that we are business friendly, that we know how to respect other people's property and that we take only what we pay for," Peoples said. "We know how to do that."
Residents are elated with the new store. Ada Hopson-Clemons, a community activist, says the new Tops is the start of what she calls a "renaissance" of things to come for the inner city.
"It changes the image of it being deteriorated," Hopson-Clemons said. "When you have a big conglomerate like Tops come in, it will help those who don't have transportation to go to a known market for fresh food."
A new library is also being planned at Jefferson and Utica and the Good Neighbor Planning Alliance is also working for future revitalization along Best and Main Streets.