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Buffalo Business First
Buffalo Business First launches new chapter with updated design
Looking at this week's print edition, you will see that a lot has changed.<\p> 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.<\p>
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. <\p> Monaco Enterprises of Western New York, which also runs the Monaco Garden Center in Hamburg, has never been faced with a similar situation in its 27-year history, he said, and this one will hurt.<\p>
Buffalo startup brought on 60 colleges as customers in past year
A Buffalo-based online therapy tool for college students has been adding customers and key hires over the past year.<\p> BetterMynd has added about 60 colleges as customers over the past year, which means it now works with about 113 schools. The business expects to reach around 135 by year-end, according to CEO Cody Semrau.<\p>
Lackawanna pizza spot under new leadership, including Mulberry owner
Sonny Red's restaurant in Lackawanna has a new leadership team.<\p> Existing owner and co-founder Justin Barends is still running the show, but he's joined by three others — including original co-founder Joe Jerge, owner of Mulberry Italian Ristorante.<\p>
Buffalo State to cut 30+ programs as it ramps up cost-saving measures
A local university is cutting 37 programs as a cost-saving measure.<\p> SUNY Buffalo State University President Bonita Durand addressed the campus Thursday about the university's finances and shared the news that 37 degree programs, concentrations, minors and certificates will be deactivated. <\p>
Can Buffalo succeed with highly visible real estate left untouched?
"Not too big, not too small, Seneca Mall. Wherever you are, it’s an easy drive. Just off Exit 55."<\p> It’s a nostalgic tune than many Western New Yorkers may remember as the radio jingle for the former Seneca Mall in West Seneca. But the catchy song also showcases the potential that the site — largely empty for about 30 years — has to offer. <\p>
Amherst-based public company names new CFO
A public company in Amherst named a new CFO. <\p> As of June 3, James Michaud will serve in the role at Allient Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNT), succeeding Michael Leach who recently announced his retirement after eight years with the company. <\p>
Developer plans to restore and expand historic downtown buildings
An Orchard Park developer has a plan to restore a long-vacant pair of commercial buildings at 138-140 Seneca St. in downtown Buffalo.<\p> In documents filed with the city Preservation Board, David Robida details plans to rehabilitate the building with commercial space on the first floor and apartments above.<\p>
Restaurant and brew pub to open across from airport
A new restaurant and brew pub is opening across from the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.<\p> Iron Cedar Brewing and Meadery has leased space from Ellicott Development at the Comfort Inn & Suites Buffalo Airport at 4345 Genesee St. in Cheektowaga. The Landing Bar & Grill closed there early in the pandemic.<\p>
A Covid-era option for bankruptcy filings is about to expire
Small businesses will be left without a useful Covid-era bankruptcy tool when it expires in the coming weeks — a development occurring just as bankruptcies are on the rise.<\p> The program, called Subchapter V, was created to enable businesses with less than $2.75 million in debt to go through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization process in a streamlined way. In March 2020, as the pandemic took hold across the country and worldwide, Congress raised that benchmark to $7.5 million, allowing many more businesses to use the Subchapter V option. <\p>
The 'lock-in' effect is hitting homebuyers. It may get worse.
Americans expect high mortgage rates to rise even more in the coming years, a perspective that could further dampen the housing market.<\p> The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s SCE Housing Survey found Americans expect mortgage rates to climb from just under the 7% they are now to 8.7% a year from now and 9.7% in three years — the highest recorded since the agency started asking Americans that question in 2014.<\p>
CEO and CFO buy manufacturing company to keep it in Western New York
A 120-year-old manufacturing business in Falconer is changing, thanks in part to a loan from the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency. <\p> Dahlstrom Roll Form CEO Jeremy Blum and COO Brad Renwick will acquire the company in a $9-million stock purchase from owner and president Robert White, according to Carol Rasmussen with the CCIDA. Blum and Renwick have been in those roles at the company for the last seven years. <\p>
Apartment market cools with record amount of new supply wrapping up
The national rental-housing market has continued to cool, with differing outcomes based on geography and unit type.<\p> Several markets in the South posted significant year-over-year declines in apartment rental rates as of April, according to a new Realtor.com analysis. Those declines were led by Nashville, Tennessee, and Austin, Texas, the latter of which has seen an 8.3% annual drop in asking rents and an 11.5% drop since peaking September 2022. <\p>
Workers with learning disabilities face stigmas in the workplace
There remains a big stigma facing workers seeking workplace accommodations for certain disabilities — and those employees worry asking for help will hurt their careers. <\p> A new survey by The Harris Poll on behalf of nonprofit Understood.org, which works with people who have learning and thinking differences such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia, found while 69% of workers know their employers must provide reasonable accommodations for disabilities, about 60% said there is still a stigma around asking their employer for support.<\p>
Financial learning center moves into larger Amherst space
The Establishment, a financial education center run by Joseph Dileo and other financial advisers with Vision Financial Group, recently upgraded its space to fit more people after growing significantly in the last decade. <\p> Dileo, CEO of Vision Financial Group, a Mass Mutual firm, said that while the financial learning center started out with four classes and four educators more than eight years ago, the Establishment now has 20 educators and 19 financial courses. <\p>
Firefighting hopeful balances cooking, teaching, stints on TV
It’s a Wednesday night in May and chef Camille Le Caer is set up to teach 12 people how to prepare filet mignon, mushroom risotto and asparagus with chocolate mousse for dessert.<\p> But first, Le Caer has a brief safety lesson for the group assembled in his rented kitchen on the third floor of 27 Chandler St. in Buffalo. He demonstrates the right way to walk with a knife through the kitchen, as well as how to grab a pot handle on the stove using a kitchen towel.<\p>
Tech staffing firm expands industries and services
A Buffalo-based technology staffing firm has diversified and expanded services to continue growth during a challenging time for the national tech industry. <\p> JMS Technical Solutions, headquartered at 686 Main St., Buffalo, has actively grown into more industries and about a year ago launched a staffing solution to become more of a “one-stop shop” for employers.<\p>
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