Buffalo’s film community just got a big shot in the arm thanks to a recent brick and mortar investment by Matt Quinn and Amy Cortese. While Amy’s business background will come in handy, Matt’s years of film experience is what led the two to opening a storefront – Buffalo Expendables – in the Millrace Commons building in Larkinville. The business sells grip tape, gels, fabric, rope, camera, electric, grip, and office supplies. There’s even goods and conveniences for the general public such as apparel, gifts, and various accessories.
Buffalo Expendables will also be a place where the film stage, and TV community can rally around, as the first dedicated business of this nature in Buffalo.
Matt and Amy credit the emerging area for film and television production as the reason behind the store’s opening. Having a local expendables supply house will not only be convenient for filmmakers that are already shooting here, it will also help to attract films to Buffalo due to the convenience that is readily available in other film communities. The shop will help to keep costs down as well, since producers will not have to ship items to Buffalo. And they can pick up the goods as needed, as films are ever-evolving works of art that call for all sorts of technical products – whether something breaks, or there’s a change in setting location and/or weather, calling for a switch-up in lighting effects.
Matt and Amy said that the growing film community was the reason behind opening the business. They also said that they wanted to be as close to the action as possible. Originally, they thought about Niagara Street, and the new soundstage being built. But then they realized that time was of the essence, and Larkinville’s proximity to WNED, and Buffalo Film Works was paramount.
“We want the space to be like the skateboard shop for filmmakers – a place for the filmmaking community,” said Matt. “Instead of just doing a warehouse, we felt that it was important to have a place that had a retail component – a place to gather and talk, participate… something that would give filmmakers a local place to depend on.”
Matt mentioned the excitement around Buffalo as a growing film center. He said that when he arrived here after graduating from film school in NYC, it was very ‘clicky’ here. But those days are long gone, and everyone in the industry is excited to work together towards growing Buffalo as a larger film attraction.
“More than ever WNY is starting to feel like a bigger film community,” said Matt. “We’re working closer with Rochester and Syracuse. I’ve been working as a union grip and a cinematographer, both in Buffalo and traveling. I’ve been very busy over the last few years, working on smaller network movies and union productions. There has been a need for this sort of amenity – it’s one of the last pieces of the puzzle. We have the talent, the people, the hard work ethic, the willingness to learn and collaborate. Word of mouth is that this is a great film city, that is convenient and willing to work with filmmakers. There’s good food, nice people, great scenery, and now there’s a store that a tech scout can stop into on the way to a shoot, just like they have in other film cities. For the filmmakers, there’s no need to bring the whole circus to town.”
Buffalo Expendables is located at Millrace Commons, 799 Seneca Street, Buffalo. Opens Monday – Friday at 10AM and Saturdays at Noon. Follow them on social media @BuffaloExpendables.
Get connected: info@buffaloexpendables.com | 716.431.3922 | Instagram
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