Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp. awards $50,000 loan to downtown coffee house

Mayor Byron Brown welcomed "The 2nd Cup," a coffee house/restaurant to the downtown area. Located at 36 Broadway, the site of the former Buehl Block Building, which was featured in the 1930 Charles Burchfield painting "Rainy Night," the 2nd Cup features coffees and teas, as well as breakfast and lunch menu items. The building was recently rehabilitated and turned into office space and loft apartments. "In these challenging economic times, it is great to see Buffalo residents continuing to improve our city by opening new, small businesses," said Brown "With the help of the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp. (BERC) and their own hard work, Will and Kat Tyler have realized their dream of opening a second location to offer their unique coffees, teas and other treats. I am proud to participate in their grand opening and wish them great success at this great downtown location." "We wanted to serve more than coffee," said Kat Tyler, owner of the 2nd Cup and MT Coffee Cup in Hamlin Park. "We have a wide variety of breakfast and lunch menu items as well as catering, and we also rent the facility for parties and events. We are so happy with this location and look forward to more people coming in and checking out our new space. I would also like to thank the BERC and the Small Business Development Center for their assistance with our business." The owners received a $50,000 loan for working capital, machinery and equipment from BERC. They also received $25,000 through the Small Business Matching Grant program for furniture, fixture and equipment and $2,500 through the Ellicott St. Sign and Storefront program for security cameras. Since Jan. 2006, the BERC has funded 5 similar businesses, with assistance totaling over $250,000.