Author: Schyler Norton

Earl Ketry is a busy guy. Owner of both Pearl Street Grill & Brewery and RiverWorks (among others), he has quite a lot on his plate. Luckily I got a chance to speak with him this week about his newest endeavor – super fun transportation in the downtown area. For years Earl has been trying to “connect the dots” in downtown. After reaching out to the NFTA to no avail, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Earl knew that he wanted something fun, not just a regular shuttle to take people from point A to point B. He wanted to give them an experience, something distinctive and pleasurable while they were traveling, so he looked at many different modes and concepts of transportation. He looked into a type of trolley on wheels, but in the end it wasn’t quite what he was aiming for. The inspiration came when he was watching an Alfred Hitchcock film and saw an old double decker bus and decided that was exactly what he needed.

If you’re picturing modern day busses in London, you’re a little off. The busses that Earl is bringing in are from the 1940s and 50s. They’re truly vintage vehicles. Earl is bringing them to Buffalo all the way from Denver, Colorado, and giving them some much required TLC. Keeping with the vintage vibe is very important to Earl – he’s going to make sure that each bus is equipped with a bell and an outrageous horn that is authentic to their time.

Earl wants to make it easier for people to enjoy downtown, he wants to connect Pearl Street with RiverWorks and include points of interest in between. Earl’s idea is to make it a four day weekend full of all the best places that Buffalo has to offer and market it to tourists from other cities. Buffalonians already know how special our city is. Why not show it off in a unique way to others? The goal is to show places such as, the Darwin Martin House, Niagara Falls, Canalside, and City Hall with the biggest focus being on the downtown area. “If I’m gonna move people, I’m gonna move people in a way that they’re going to tell their friends about tomorrow.”

We can look forward to seeing these double decker busses around the downtown area as soon as this coming summer!