Torn-Down Tuesday: South Buffalo’s Twin Fair, 1979

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

While many of the former Twin Fair locations live on as Tops, Big Lots and other retail outlets, the former Twin Fair location probably remembered best by South Buffalonians was torn down only within the last couple of years.

The checkout area of the Seneca Street Twin Fair, 1979. (Buffalo Stories archives)

The sign from the Elmwood Avenue Twin Fair, now home to a plaza which includes Tops and PetSmart..

The sign from the Elmwood Avenue Twin Fair, now home to a plaza which includes Tops and PetSmart.

Cutting the ribbon on Twin Fairs tenth store, on Maple Road in Amherst. The site is now home to Tops. In the photo are Harold Egan, Twin Fair President; Edith McArdle, Twin Fair employee since 1958; Al Dekdebrun, Amherst Supervisor, sporting goods retailer, and 1946 Buffalo Bisons quarterback; and Andy Heferle, store manager.

Cutting the ribbon on Twin Fair’s 10th store, on Maple Road in Amherst. The site is now home to Tops. In the photo are Harold Egan, Twin Fair president; Edith McArdle, Twin Fair employee since 1958; Al Dekdebrun, Amherst Supervisor, sporting goods retailer and 1946 Buffalo Bisons quarterback; and Andy Heferle, store manager.

After serving as the home of Gold Circle, Hills and Ames, that South Buffalo/city line location had been eyed by different developers after years of vacancy. Plans for a Walmart on the site never materialized, but in 2014, the old Twin Fair was torn down, and a 100-unit building for those living with mental illness was built on the spot.

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Steve Cichon

Steve Cichon writes about Buffalo’s pop culture history. His stories of Buffalo's past have appeared more than 1600 times in The Buffalo News. He's a proud Buffalonian helping the world experience the city he loves. Since the earliest days of the internet, Cichon's been creating content celebrating the people, places, and ideas that make Buffalo unique and special. The 25-year veteran of Buffalo radio and television has written five books and curates The Buffalo Stories Archives-- hundreds of thousands of books, images, and audio/visual media which tell the stories of who we are in Western New York.