Celebrating small business: 'Totally Buffalo trifecta' promotes local merchants, supports those in need

Totally Buffalo celebrating 5 years with special event on Nov. 15

By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

It was five years ago that journalist Mary Friona-Celani and her husband, musician Scott Celani, did what any reasonable-thinking couple would do in the middle of a pandemic, when the world is closed and people aren’t leaving their homes: They opened a retail store.

“I never even worked in retail – I never even had a job in retail!” Friona-Celani said Tuesday.

Totally Buffalo – the store – began with a goal of showcasing local creators.

“Thankfully, the vendors came in and everybody kind of set up their own spot,” Friona-Celani said. “But over that eight weeks, it was a really big endeavor, because I didn't have staff. I was literally there every day, from 10 in the morning till 8 at night for two months straight, every single day. I had people helping with my kids; my husband would leave work early; so, it was really hard – but it was so much fun.

“I just learned as I went along, and now I love it so much. I just love it. And the vendors and artisans that we work with have really become family, and they're so wonderful, and we've met new ones. I just knock on wood sometimes, because it's just so great.”

Totally Buffalo – the store – was an offshoot of Totally Buffalo – the blog.

Friona-Celani, formerly a news anchor with WGRZ-TV, said, “When I left Channel 2 and I was pregnant with baby No. 4, I was sure that I just wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, and that's all I'm going to do forever. And then, when the baby was a few months old, I was getting a little bit antsy, but I still wanted to stay home. So, I started the Totally Buffalo blog, and that really celebrates the amazing people, places, events, nonprofits – everything that's great about Western New York. I started the blog, and it's been so much fun to do.

“And from there, we started having events celebrating Western New York. We were the first really large-scale, local-only event at RiverWorks in May of 2017; and it was so much fun; and people loved it and embraced it.

“We were doing the events for a few years, and then we did have a long-term plan of doing retail at some point, but when COVID came along, we couldn't do the events. So, my husband jokingly said, ‘Oh, Walmart can be open. We should just open a store.’ And I said, ‘Let's do it! Let's do it.’

“We opened our first location on Friday, the 13th of November, in 2020. It was supposed to be temporary, just a few months – just to give those vendors and artisans a place to sell their stuff because, don't forget, they were sitting home all of the quarantine, just making stuff – all this stuff.

“We opened the store for a few months, and it was just so great; and people loved it – the customers loved it, the vendors loved it, I loved it. And so, we decided to keep it going. And then, a year later, another store; and then a few years later, another store. We have Orchard Park, Lewiston and Amherst.”

In a press release, the couple noted, “The Totally Buffalo Store features nearly 100 local artisans and vendors, offering Buffalo-themed apparel, home décor, jewelry, gifts, handcrafted goods, and exclusive community-inspired merchandise.”

Totally Buffalo – the store – and Totally Buffalo – the blog – would lead to the creation of Totally Buffalo Cares.

“Really, one of the most important things to our business model is giving back,” Friona-Celani said. “That's what Totally Buffalo Cares is all about – because you cannot be blessed with success and not give back. That's just not cool.

“We started Totally Buffalo Cares in my dad's memory (Philip Friona). He passed away eight years ago. We work with children, families, sick kids – anybody that needs help in Western New York. It all stays local right here, too.

“We use the stores to collect clothing to do our toy drive. We do raffles – we raffle off some of our stuff. It's pretty cool to be able to do that.

“After 20 years in the media, you form this relationship with people and kind of a credibility, so people know that I'm an honest broker, and it's going to get to where it’s going to go.”

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the “Totally Buffalo trifecta,” as Friona-Celani called it, each of the Totally Buffalo Store locations will host “The Big 5: A Hometown Celebration” on Saturday, Nov. 15.

“We are going to have our wheel; so, you can spin the wheel, win a prize, get a discount. Lots of great stuff,” Friona-Celani said. “We are going to, between 10 and 2, have $5 scarves, $5 coffee cups, a couple other little surprises, maybe. It's going to be amazing.”

For more information, visit www.TotallyBuffaloStore.com or follow on social media @totallybuffalostore.

Totally Buffalo Store locations:

√ Amherst – 3328 Sheridan Drive

√ Orchard Park – 3459 Amelia Drive

√ Lewiston – 467 Center St.

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