New: Buffalo Artisan Food Traders is Amherst's First *All Local* Specialty Food Market

Photo courtesy of Buffalo Artisan Food Traders

What do Issa’s Pita Chips, Nunda Mustard, Top Seedz, and Pasta Peddler all have in common?

They’re locally owned specialty food brands from Western New York and they’re all available at the brand new Buffalo Artisan Food Traders shop that just opened this week in Amherst.

Located in the Whole Foods plaza, Buffalo Artisan Food Traders is the first of it’s kind specialty market and eCommerce shop offering over 30 Buffalo brands upon opening.

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Everything they offer is made by local producers and purveyors from around Western New York. Started and carefully curated by Amherst native Rick Fickhesen, owner of Kissed By The Sun Spice Company, the idea came to be when he noticed the struggles of many of the small family owned businesses who frequent farmers markets and festivals to sell their products.

“As we talked to other small batch food makers and saw that our pain was being felt across the small business community we decided to do something more. Something to help not just our business but also all the small food makers who we stand in unity with.”

From there, the concept of the new store was born and has snowballed quickly from its inception in April 2020.

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One of the most noteworthy features of the store is the online version of the shop and the fact that they will ship any of the products they carry to anywhere in the country, making for an exciting gift giving opportunity for out-of-towners and expats. For Western New Yorkers, local delivery within a 15 mile radius ($75 minimum) is a major perk.

Want The Sweet Whisk delivered? Done.

Have a craving for What’s Pop-In Gourmet Popcorn? It might sound deliciously dangerous, but Buffalo Food Traders will deliver it to your house.

Have a holiday party coming up this weekend and need some charcuterie board essentials or hostess gifts to bring? Order online and get it delivered.

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Or you could just go there and browse for yourself, of course.

The geographically curated collection of gourmet goods includes over 30 flavors of pierogi, over 40 flavors of cheese, 20 flavors of popcorn, spices, oils, mustards, pickles, jellies, coffee, tea, seafood, chocolates, and more. Even dog treats! And every last one of the products are made here in WNY by family owned businesses.

The new shop is located at 4558 Bailey (across from Whole Foods) and offers in-store pick up in addition to the free local delivery within a 15 mile radius of their Amherst location – FYI that covers all of the city of Buffalo.

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“The response from the local community has already been overwhelmingly positive,” says Rick who hopes the store and initiative will continue to grow and put more money back into the local economy.

Here’s a current list of the businesses that you can find inside Buffalo Artisan Food Traders with more to come: