Roaming Buffaloes

For all too long, Buffalo's greatest export was its people.  Although they left for many reasons, wherever they roamed Buffalo was home.  The Limited Edition Roaming Buffalo plates available on this site incorporate the city's skyline into the design, and are inspired by these roaming Buffalonians.  Each item is individually hand decorated.  The placement of the buffaloes are random and up to the artist.  Like roaming Buffalonians, sometimes the buffalos are alone, and sometimes they are in groups. 

716 China Store

716 China and Restaurant Supply was originally established to liquidate the remaining 300,000 pieces of finished dinnerware from the former Niagara Ceramics plant in South Buffalo, and to help fund the redevelopment of the shuttered manufacturing complex.  However, during this process it became obvious to us that there was no reason that this plant or any other American manufacture of dinnerware should be forced to close by having to compete with low cost, low quality foreign made dinnerware.  Simply put, the plates made at this factory were the most durable and best quality dinnerware in the world.  

 

In order to ensure that this does not happen to any other American manufacturers, we have supplemented the dinnerware from the former Niagara Ceramics plant in our store with additional high quality American made dinnerware.

 

Old Buffalo China Complex 

 

The facility located off of Seneca Street in the City of Buffalo was originally founded by the Larkin Company in 1901.  Over the years, the plant had a multitude of of names and owners, including Buffalo Pottery, Buffalo China, Oneida, and Niagara Ceramics.  The current facility originally built in 1903, expanded to over 350,000 square feet and became one of the largest producers of dinnerware in the world.  

Redevelopment Efforts

716 China's parent company, Hayes Place Management Group has set as its primary redevelopment goal; private sector job creation with an emphasis on returning manufacturing to the complex and employment within the complex of over 150 people.  As of May, 2017, HPMG will have reacted over 16 percent of its employment goal, utilizing less than 12 percent of the complex's floor space.