Mineo & Sapio is celebrating a century in business. Cranking out classics, from five cheese stuffed banana peppers to Italian sausage in every variety, the Mineo & Sapio plant churns out 16,000 pounds of product each week. It's mission? Keep the customers happy. "I think that making a quality product that we're proud of – we have a lot of support f...

Former Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello, who sits on the the board of North Buffalo’s (coming soon) Centro Culturale Italiano (CCI), has compiled an update on a number of recent advancements pertaining to the project. Not only have there been a number of significant donations to the cause, but work has been steadily progressing at the culturally sign...

Now that the statue of Christopher Columbus has been removed from the park bearing his name, there is a petition circulating to install a statue of a Buffalo-born Medal of Honor recipient and rename the park for all such local heroes.  Attorney Joseph Sedita has started a petition drive to rename Columbus Park on the city's West Side the Buffalo M...

The United States is a proud multicultural society. And one of our founding precepts – e pluribus unum (out of many, one) – underscores this storied diversity. However, in removing Buffalo’s Christopher Columbus monument – and stripping the park of its namesake – the Federation of Italian American Societies of Western New York has violated the spir...

Nearly a century ago, when Buffalo's West Side was heavily Italian-American, the Federation of Italian-American Societies installed a large statue of Christopher Columbus along Porter Avenue, in what is now Columbus Park. The statute is now gone and the park name will be gone soon, as well. Bella Ciao Buffalo describes itself as "next-generation It...

The Christopher Columbus statue in Buffalo's Columbus Park was removed Friday morning on orders from Mayor Byron Brown and agreement of the Buffalo Common Council. It followed a request by the Federation of Italian-American Societies of Western New York to have the statue taken down so it is not a distraction to the social justice movement currentl...

During his years as an undercover narcotics detective with the Erie County Sheriff's Office, Charles A. Mecca also worked in security at sporting events, concerts and at the old Record Theater. During the busy pre-Christmas period in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Mr. Mecca wore a Santa costume while guarding the record store on Main Street at Laf...

There is a renewed push to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus on Porter Avenue in Buffalo in the wake of unrest locally and nationally. A petition was created on Thursday night calling for the statue to be removed in Buffalo. Our requests for comment from the petition organizer have not been returned. “By keeping this statue in place, we are...

In the shadow of the City of Buffalo’s Art Deco City Hall at the beginning of Court Street you will find an impressive symbol of the past and present heritage of the Italian/American community in Buffalo and WNY. Surrounded by modern buildings and parking lots is St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church ‘The Mother Church of the Italian American...

“Hey Joe” “Hec, what’s up?” If I learned anything from my Italian father-in-law, and his brothers it’s that “old school” Italians are full of great stories, history, and they love to share it with whomever will listen. A simple ‘hello’ leads into the old days of Buffalo and you go down the rabbit hole filled with imagination and amazing stories. Th...