“Buffalo is experiencing a resurgence.” It’s been a hot topic in Western New York for the past few years. New restaurants, bars, and businesses are opening in the city and breathing new life into the area. What those in the know want you to know is that Buffalo isn’t the only area in WNY that’s experiencing a resurgence!
The cities of Tonawanda in Erie County and North Tonawanda in Niagara County are also experiencing new growth. Tonawanda just unveiled its intermodal hub which will draw cyclists and other pedestrians to area. These new faces can look to the Retro Block in Tonawanda for all their shopping needs! Cats Like Us shares the Retro Block with Atomic Barbershop and Salon and Sweet Heart Pin Up; All three businesses feature retro style and products for WNY and beyond!
Owners Amy and Jay Berent opened the first Pulp 716 in Lockport in 2015. When asked how they chose their second location, Jay and Amy said, “We picked North Tonawanda because the location has the perfect "Main Street America " feel that fits us perfectly.” They are also excited to be across the bridge from the retro block: “Being down the street from Cats Like Us is a dream come true. Julie Ann and Andrew have always been an inspiration to us and we're ecstatic to be within walking distance now.” We assure you the feeling is mutual!
Amy at a recent Pulp 716 event at Cats Like Us.
Pulp 716 were the first business in Niagara County to offer bubble tea, a Taiwanese drink that features a tea base with milk or fruit juice and chewy tapioca balls (boba) or fruit jelly added. They even grow some of the ingredients they use in the bubble tea like peaches, apples, cranberries, Niagara grapes, and mint!
According to their website, “Pulp 716 also offers our exclusive "Retro Blend" coffee that we prepare in house. Our staff went to great extremes to capture the flavors and characteristics of coffees that were served during specific times in history. Here you can sip a "Roaring 20s" blend or if you're really adventurous you can order our "Erie Canal Builder" blend and taste what coffee was like in the 1830s.”
You can also pick up some locally made baked goods from Fat Cat Sweets and Chrusciki Bakery to go with your drink!
This is owner, Jay Berent, with some of the tasty offerings at the front counter. (He’s rocking a Frankenstein T-Shirt from Cats Like Us!)
Once you’ve picked a tasty treat, you can check out the games they have available for people to play in the cafe!
Pulp 716 offers stacks upon stacks of comic books, graphic novels, and trade paperbacks! They carry a variety of titles from different publishers and new comics come in every Wednesday.
Don’t have time to stop in Wednesday for your favorite title? You can sign up for a pull list and they’ll save the titles you want for you to pick up at a later time.
Comic books have been experiencing a recent spike in interest because of movies and television like the ever expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe and Wonder Woman movie. Comic books and retro fashion go hand in hand. The Golden Age of Comics spanned to 1930s to 1950s - the same era the inspires many of the fashions carried at Cats Like Us!
DC recently released pin-up covers of their DC Bombshell titles. Look at these amazing ladies!
Pulp 716 also offer nerdy gift ideas and gift cards which will be great for the upcoming holiday season!
I got really excited about the Lumberjanes patches they had - they’d make a great base for a Halloween costume or Cosplay!
I ended up choosing a Butterbeer milk tea and purchasing a Billie Holiday graphic novel they had for sale because Billie Holiday is the best. My tea was delicious (I love the chewy tapioca bubbles!) and the graphic novel is beautiful. I definitely plan on returning to Pulp 716 repeatedly.
Spend a day in the Twin Cities and visit the Retro Block and Pulp 716 Comics and Coffee! Tell them Cats Like Us sent you.