More than 40 restaurants are scheduled to participate in this weekend’s Taste of Buffalo in Niagara Square and Delaware Avenue. It’s an annual festival which has drawn visitors and their appetites for more than four decades.
“It's a time-honored tradition. It's the 43rd year, and it's something that people are so excited to come back down for, to try 42 different restaurants and food trucks and all the different wineries that'll be here. It's just so much to see and taste and be a part of,” said Kathy Sautter, public relations director for Tops Friendly Markets, the presenting sponsor of the event.
Festival organizers and a handful of vendors who will serve guests were there Friday morning to offer a preview. Among them was Siobhan Gibson of Hiibachi Fried Rice. It’s an eatery which opened two years ago on Chandler Street in Buffalo, but it’s one of 13 businesses making their debut at the Taste of Buffalo this year.
“It's the big show in Buffalo, so you want to get your restaurant out there,” she said, as she was preparing a sample of bourbon chicken. “You want people to know your name, so you try to do the big show. That's why I wanted to do the taste of Buffalo.” Her bourbon chicken features a special sauce and Maker’s Mark bourbon. She’ll also serve honey garlic salmon, vegetable hibachi fried rice, and hibachi vegetables.
Also out early Friday morning to help preview the event was Todd Carey, owner of Orchard Park-based establishment Not Just Cakes. This will be their third year, and last year they won an award for their chocolate brownie mousse cups.
”Being here just means so much because we're finding people that didn't know we were here, who didn't know we existed in Buffalo,” Carey said. “They're finding us here, they're sampling us here, and then they're visiting us in store.”
In addition to the food vendors, there will be places to rest “between the bites” as the festival’s 2026 chairman Adam Roma put it.
“Bleacher City along Delaware is one of those, so people can take a load off, take a seat, enjoy the festival,” Roma said. “We've also revamped our kids zone this year with new kids activities, including Buffalo Bills end zone games, samples of Crystal Beach Loganberry slushies for the kids as well.”
There will also be informational booths and exhibits, including a second-year visit by the Mobile Dairy Experience. It’s an exhibit that offers a farm-to-table explanation of dairy production and consumption, states the health benefits of milk, and celebrates the dairy industry’s impact on the New York State economy.
“There's nearly 3,000 dairy farms here in New York State, and all of them have a hand in producing not just milk, but cheese, butter, yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, and all of those delicious dairy products that we enjoy all year long” said Eileen Jensen, executive director for the New York Animal Agriculture Coalition.
There will also be food vendors who are ready to serve individuals who live with food intolerances. Azrael Buster is co-owner of D A Taste, located in Buffalo’s Larkinville neighborhood, where most of the menu items are gluten free.
“We really like that you can take just the everyday item. When people suggest that they have food allergies and things like that, you're like, wow, what can you eat? Well, you can eat a lot more than you think,” Buster said.
Tops is marking the nation’s 250th anniversary under their tent, by serving baby back ribs and apple pie a la mode. Sautter notes that each year proceeds from the Taste of Buffalo are donated to different charitable causes. This year, two will benefit.
“We're having proceeds go to two different nonprofits: Buffalo Niagara Honor Flight and the Jason Arno Memorial Foundation, as a firefighter who lost his life in the line of duty,” she said. “People are going to feel really good about the food that they eat under our tent because it's delicious, but also the fact that the proceeds will go back to those two wonderful organizations.”
Hours are Saturday, 11 a.m. until 8 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase at Tops Markets or on site.
