That said, what has become the new Buffalo brewery district nearly doubled in size during the last two years.

Ketry – an accountant who put himself through Canisius College a half-century ago while working at Bethlehem Steel – decided to open RiverWorks after he sat in a lawn chair in what is now River Fest Park in the Old First Ward. He saw the backside of sprawling former warehouse complex across the Buffalo River that he believed could serve as the front side of a waterfront sports, entertainment and restaurant business, and one day feature a brewery tucked inside six former grain silos on the property.

RiverWorks opened in 2014 and added a brewery three years later, becoming the fifth craft beer maker along the waterfront.

“I think as you're seeing the neighborhood grow and change,” Domres said of Larkinville, “and when Belt Line opened earlier this year, that was kind of a game changer for us, because they did a really good job of getting a lot of traction” on social media.

People are coming into the new district to hit a couple or three breweries, grab a bite to eat, and explore the neighborhoods or waterfront on foot, by bike or kayak, said Boccabella, the co-owner of Belt Line Brewery & Kitchen.