Slice of WNY Hertel Avenue between Admiral and North Park By Lisa Kane; photos by kc kratt The holiday season is a great time for a walk along Hertel Avenue—and if art, antiques, or other one-of-a-kind objects are on your shopping list, you can’t beat the section between Admiral Road and North Park Avenue. It’s only about a third of a mile, but so dense with interest you can easily make a day of it. Walking west from Admiral, a good first (and second) stop is at the building that houses Arts & Antiques at 1590, where owner Frank Scheuttle specializes in regional, folk, and outsider art and country and “paint” antiques (the latter being pieces that have their original paint, like the nice late-1800s blue and white barber pole I saw there). Not fitting into Scheuttle’s typical categories, but another cool purchase for the right person is an “Easy Rider-style hippie coat” with hand embroidery, c.1968. Korona Jewelry, Buffalo’s longest-running family-owned jewelry store, occupies the building’s other storefront. Continuing past Parkside Avenue, there’s Michael Donnelly Interior Design, one of several home interior businesses in this section with a showroom definitely worth a stop. Also typical of this stretch—and Hertel in general—is its overabundance of great restaurants. This block features old-timers Kosta’s, Del Denby’s, Bob & John’s La Hacienda, and the Wellington Pub, as well as the newer Shadow Lounge & Restaurant. At Buffalo Antiques, in the same block, owner Guy Andriaccio offers furniture and “smalls” from the 1800s though the 1950s, with a few newer examples. Andriaccio notes that most of the dealers in the area have their own niches; for instance, Coo Coo U is the place to go for twentieth century modern. The common element among Andriaccio’s pieces is their high quality. (“If it’s quality,” he says, “I’ll buy it.”) On a recent visit, I wanted a beautiful John Widdicomb-designed matte black chest, which is from the fifties but looks like it could have been designed today. This annual event, which will be held this year on the first weekend of December, has become an eagerly awaited tradition for many families. The Hertel Holiday Walk features horse-drawn wagon rides, visits with Santa and Mrs.Claus, and, at many of the shops, food and drinks. This year, watch for the handy shuttle running between Virgil Avenue and Parkside. —L.K. Continuing along to Sterling Avenue, there’s more great shopping and browsing at Fineline Gallery, Hertel Gallery, and Atlas Antiques & Art. The Artery offers framing and art supplies. Past Norwalk Avenue, there’s the impressive, fairly new Empire Grill, whose architecture seems to share elements of the much-older building across the street that houses the North Park Theater. In the same block, at Oddball, owner Lynn Perillo sells “mostly retro, from the fifties, sixties, and seventies.” Part of what sets Perillo’s merchandise apart is that she refinishes much of what’s for sale. Part of what sets the shopping experience apart is Perillo herself, who has been known to (playfully) lock customers in the store until they agree to buy something and who keeps a 1960s school bell on hand to ring “when my customers get out of hand.” As of this writing, there are eight antique shops, nine art-related businesses, and five interior design businesses in this section. With many of these business owners meeting monthly to find creative ways to market this outstanding section of the city, Hertel’s Antique & Arts District seems likely to become even more of a destination for shoppers both local and from out of town. For more, go to www.hertelhasit.com. Lisa Kane is a freelance writer living in Buffalo. SUBSCRIBE NOW Back to the Table of Contents Back to Top