Can’t-Miss Vendors at The Broadway Market
Tucked into Buffalo’s historic Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood, the Broadway Market at 999 Broadway may look unassuming from the outside—but step inside during Easter season and you’ll find a lively tradition filled with color, flavor, and community spirit. A city-owned landmark since 1888, the Market reflects the neighborhood’s Polish roots and evolving immigrant influences.
Spanning two levels with free ramp parking, the Broadway Market hosts dozens of year-round and seasonal vendors. At Eastertime, it comes alive with families shopping for holiday staples, kids lining up for photos with the Easter Bunny, and live music filling the air. The scent of horseradish, blooming hyacinths, and sizzling sausage creates an unmistakable experience.
Holiday shoppers browse for hand-painted eggs, Polish dishware, and Buffalo-themed treats. Long lines form for sausages, pierogi, and the beloved butter lambs. Here’s a taste of some standout vendors you’ll meet during Easter season and throughout the year at The Broadway Market:
Babcia’s Pierogi
Right inside the Broadway entrance, Babcia’s serves dozens of pierogi varieties. Owner Linda Ziolkowski Lund began Babcia’s (the word grandmother in Polish) nearly a decade ago using her grandmother’s recipes. From traditional flavors (cheese, potato, sauerkraut, and mushroom), Linda expanded into varieties pleasing to true Buffalo palates like beef on weck, the “pizza-rogi”, and Buffalo wing. She sells up to 350,000 pierogi each Easter season.
Famous Horse-Radish
Wanda Skup sells freshly grated horseradish—plain or with beets—along with potted hyacinths and other root vegetables at this cash-only stand. A Broadway Market staple since 1987, Wanda greets each customer with a “Happy Easter.” Famous Horse-Radish’s recipe is simple, Wanda says: “We have to wash and peel the horseradish root, grate it, and mix it with vinegar.”
We R Nuts
We R Nuts is a mom and son business that has been operating year-round at the Broadway Market since 2006. Pearl Omphalius is quick to offer a tasty, nutty sample like the newest flavor, hot honey cashews. Son Kody began his popcorn business five years ago and has expanded the family business footprint to include nearby stand KO’s Kettle Corn with its tagline “Big Popcorn, Big Flavor.”
Camellia Meats
A market institution since 1935, Camellia’s Broadway Market stand is known for sausages, smoked hams, prime rib, and rack of lamb. Veteran employee Elaine Pasternak, a mainstay at the market for more than four decades, rings in the season wearing festive earrings and a signature holiday hat.
Strawberry Island Chocolates
Known for sweet treats like chocolate-dipped Peeps and sponge candy, Strawberry Island also sells the legendary “Charlie Chaplin” candy. Legend has it that the treat was invented when the famed actor was in Buffalo and was asked by a radio show host what his favorite sweets were. His answer was coconut, cashews, marshmallows, and chocolate: the ingredients that make up the candy sold in loaf form, on a stick, or sliced.
Potts Deli & Grille
Potts Deli has been a fixture here for more than a decade and serves Polish-American fare from a counter and booth setup in the heart of the market. Make sure to try cheese pierogi made with farmer’s cheese and hearty breakfasts like the Polish Cowboy: scrambled eggs with Polish sausage mixed in.
Lupas Meats
Lupas Meats has been a butcher destination at Broadway Market for 50 years, proudly cutting fresh meats to order. Easter shoppers take a number and patiently line up between stanchions before approaching the well-stocked cases. In addition to meat, Lupas carries chubby pierogi, cheeses, a classic array of pickles, and neatly-coiled fresh sausages (known as “beehives”). Don’t be surprised if you catch employee Forte Tomasella breaking into song on stage.
Malczewski’s Butter Lambs (Easter season only)
Malczewski’s, the originator of Buffalo’s beloved butter lamb, sells thousands each Easter in various sizes. Their stand is a must-visit—and even sells butter lamb earrings. Malczewski’s is named for the late Dorothy Malczewski, who invented the butter lamb in 1963 and whose image is on view near the counter.
