'I never want this to happen to anyone else': Buffalo business owner recalls nightmare applying to WEDI's West Side Bazaar

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- A Buffalo business owner is speaking out after her application to join the Westminster Economic Development Initiative's (WEDI) West Side Bazaar was denied.

WEDI's West Side Bazaar is a small business incubator where aspiring entrepreneurs learn the fundamentals of running a business. The Bazaar, located at 1432 Niagara St., houses several restaurants that serve different types of food.

Tori Epps is the owner of Belle V's, a business that sells healthy soul food with vegan options. Epps wanted to be a part of the West Side Bazaar since early 2022. At the time, she said the available location wasn't the right fit for her.

She stayed in contact with Kat Carter, the business incubator manager at WEDI, for years, hoping an opportunity would arise that fit her lifestyle. In May 2024, Epps received an email from Carter about an open house for WEDI's West Side Bazaar.

"I met with Kat," Epps said. "We went over my menu, my business plan, what my logo was, what my business stands for, and how my business got started."

A few weeks later, Epps met with the WEDI committee to talk about her work history, her education and her menu. That's when she said things started to take a turn.

Epps said she presented her menu to the committee and questions started arising. She said Carter was asking her to change items on her menu, specifically deep-fried salmon and banana pudding, because they weren't fitting the "healthy standards." Epps refused to make changes they were asking for, saying the item is a money maker.

"She (Carter) acted like she didn't understand that and basically told me that I was trying to change my brand," Epps said. "That I would have to go back in front of the committee because I have to stick to this menu that I choose for a year, and I could rebrand in a year."

After a few emails back and forth, Carter told Epps she would join her as she went in front of the committee for a second time to address the menu concerns.

Instead, on Aug. 8., Epps received an email saying her application was denied. She said she never received an invitation to the secondary committee meeting, and instead Carter attended it alone.

"So, what changed with this committee to now say that I can't do this?" Epps said.

WIVB News 4 reached out to WEDI in August to try and get that answer. WEDI told News 4 it was conducting an investigation into the matter.

After completing the investigation, WEDI denied News 4's request for an on-camera interview, saying information is bound by confidentiality. WEDI's Executive Director, Carolynn Welch, provided this statement below:

“WEDI applies consistent standards to the applications of businesses we seek to incubate and support. This is good for them, as well as the other businesses in our bazaars. There are multiple factors involved, including such elements as past business experience, growth potential, product selection, potential staffing, etc. We do not comment on the specifics of any evaluation, so we do not offer specifics in any case. But we are confident that the process in this case was fair and complete. In addition, after this inquiry, we freshly reviewed the process from start to finish for this client and found it met our usual standards.”

Epps said she wanted to get her story out to the public to help others who might consider applying to the West Side Bazaar.

She believes she isn't the only person this has happened to, but she's thankful things worked out the way they did.

"A brand is an individual. It doesn't have to be like anybody else," Epps said. "The purpose is to brand it how you want it, and I refuse to let her (Carter) tell me how I should brand."