Buffalo Store Vandalized and Community Comes To The Rescue

Owners of a local retail shop got a call that no business owner wants to get.

According to WIVB, Stefan Coker, the co-owner of What’s Pop-In gourmet popcorn, got a call at 8:30 a.m. with news that the windows to their store had been smashed, yet nothing was stolen.

Staff of the West Ferry Street store spent time on Sunday cleaning up the broken glass.

It’s unfortunate that this happened. It’s not going to define us. We’re just going to come back stronger and better. Buffalo we’re way better than this.
-Austin Diana, What’s Pop-In, speaking with WIVB

Even though this is a tragic situation for this local business, the true Buffalove started to show when members of the community started to pitch in and help the business recover.

What’s Pop-In has received more than 300 orders since the incident and members of a local development group that owns the building their store is located in helped with cleanup.

In addition to this local community leader Jamil Crews set up a GoFundMe page to help this business raise the money necessary to pay for the repairs needed for What’s Pop-In to get back on its feet.

We’re in the midst of a pandemic, it’s a lot of economic uncertainty happening for a lot of people and the last thing anyone wants is to have to use their resources for a senseless act of vandalism.
-Jamil Crews, speaking with WIVB

This is just another example of why Buffalo is such a great city. I really hope the best for this business and all of the people who are involved with it.