Blackbird Ciders’ Buffalo Cider Hall

The city of Buffalo has participated in the country’s booming craft beer industry, and the past five years have been especially lively. Breweries seem to pop up every few months, their owners eager to participate in the sudsy zeitgeist. But while there’s been a commensurate expansion of the cider industry across the country, Buffalo has not experienced it. This is especially puzzling given that Buffalo is located in a region noted for its apple orchards. The city should be the perfect home to a burgeoning community of cider makers. Fortunately, that’s starting to change. I recently spoke with Scott Donovan, the owner of BlackBird Cider Works, one of Western New York’s few local cider makers. Over the past year, he’s been working to open Buffalo’s first dedicated cider bar, the Buffalo Cider Hall.

The Cider Hall is located in the Black Rock neighborhood of the city, a former industrial area that’s seeing an increasing amount of development. Situated within a repurposed manufacturing plant built in 1907, it retains much of the character of the original building. Century old stylings abound, including weathered brick walls, vintage trolley carts, and Edison lights. There’s plenty of seating as well as a small room for events, and the bar itself is concrete-topped with an etched stone edging, supported by rustic, grey hued wood. Donovan is committed to “celebrating local history” and his choice of location and layout strongly reflect that attitude. This commitment to history even extends to the design of a recently released cider, Lakeside Loganberry, which incorporates an image of a vintage postcard featuring the Lake Ontario shoreline circa 1905. It will be one of many selections Donovan plans to feature on tap. There will be between 8 to 10 (mostly BlackBird) draft ciders along with a selection of 12-14 craft beers. Food will also be available alongside a wide variety of beverages, with the yet to be determined menu featuring mostly small plate options.

Unlike many cider producers who put marketing ahead of taste, Donovan is much more focused on producing well-balanced, traditional ciders. His efforts have not gone unnoticed by the cider community at large as BlackBird has won over 30 medals in multiple competitions, including the Great Lakes International Cider & Perry Competition. Despite putting his recent efforts into opening the Cider Hall, Donovan has a few more surprises up his sleeve. BlackBird plans on releasing more new ciders in the near future, including one called Chandler Street Cherry Apple, which will eventually be available both in bottles and on draft. Although a specific date hasn’t yet been set, the Buffalo Cider Hall is scheduled to open in mid-September, just in time for the fall apple season.

Buffalo Cider Hall
155 Chandler St.
Buffalo, NY 14207