VISIONARIES: Prish Moran
Posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2010
by block club
Strength comes in many forms and many shades. When faced with horrible tragedy––the death of her 23-year-old son, Stefano Moran-Guiati in 2007––Prish Moran didn’t retreat the way many, understandably, would. Moran, who had spent years on the West Side of Buffalo rehabbing and decorating old homes and buildings for profit, turned to something more hopeful.
Prish found herself walking through her son’s neighborhood, months after his death, when she noticed the building at the corner of Grant and Lafayette Avenues. She made a decision then and there to buy it. Today, it is home to the popular Sweet_ness 7 Café, Grant Street Gallery and floral shop Mum’s and Daisy’s, owned by Prish’s sister, Rene, and several apartments; all of which Prish and a dedicated team of supporters breathed new life into. -Ben Siegel
What entered your thoughts the first time you saw this building?
I never thought about it ahead of time. I tell you it was powerful. That moment was extremely powerful. I knew at that moment I wanted this building, and I said, ‘I want to buy it.’ I don’t know what it was for. There was no thought. I wish I knew what it was. As freaky as it sounds, it was spiritual guidance. I don’t even imagine my life without it now.
Was it pre-ordained in some way?
I can wonder about that, too. It was no different for me than any other [building] I bought. You just see it and think, I love that. It has to be saved. And then I found out that week that Rite-Aid wanted to buy it, so timing is another thing, I think.
Did or do you ever have concerns about the attractiveness of the neighborhood?
It doesn’t have the same curb appeal as other parts of town. There’s no indigents here. They’re not here. Morning, night, middle of the night, never one. It was actually just pedestrians I would meet. And it was always positive. It was always, ‘Thank you. What are you doing?’ ‘Well I don’t know yet,’ I would say.
I pulled all the metal bars and gates up and my insurance company dropped me. I need people to see that it’s going to be different. I don’t want people to feel like they can’t come in. Not a window broke, and not a drop of graffiti has been on the building. You see a different face here. You see a happiness in people when they’re coming by. Eye contact––eye contact is huge, isn’t it?
It’s been just over a year now. What do you think of what you’ve done here?
There are so many stories. Somehow this one building changed the lives––including my life of so many, in so many ways.
Buying a building isn’t something most people just go out and do. How did you make this all work?
You know what I did? One day at a time. I think that’s the key. Really, as cliché as that is, I focused on one space at a time. Every day was fun. I’ll be honest with you, the treasures we found in walls, in floors, the crews that came through. There was always new energy. Those are the people that are a part of the grassroots America now.
So this is something anybody could perceivably accomplish?
I think we all have it. I think some of us artists have a little missing link. We don’t have fear connected to our thoughts. I think that’s where I’m a little different than many of my friends or family; I love that it’s instinctive. You can’t plan that. I wake up happy every single day. I do. I’m thrilled that it’s not false for my children.
I think, too, it’s almost perfect that it’s a coffee shop that helped to revitalize this corner. Everyone has changed their minds about the West Side. Lots of minds change sitting around a coffee table, watching, literally, the world going by; seeing, wait a minute, this isn’t so scary. And that’s what I love, that’s what I hear. To have other people like what I did is immensely satisfying. But then to see that the community responded so positively to it was just over the top. It was awesome.
What gets in the way for people?
If it’s not just about the money, if it’s something more important than that, why don’t more people dive in like you did? I just think people are so fearful. You can’t think about it. I feel very strongly that we think too much. And that’s why people aren’t doing it. It really has to be an innate happiness to do something.
