“I’m amazed at the warmth of the people,” Sweeny said. “It’s city where people love to say ‘hello’.  I’ve become a Buffalo cheerleader.”

This under-appreciated, marvelous city is filled with unexpected surprises for the whole family—add to that its affordability and Buffalo can’t be beat for a family adventure.

This buzzy new Buffalo is largely the effort of enterprising locals…who embody the blue-collar work ethic the town has always been known for.

“There’s eight people that are working there that are earning a great living, especially in one of the more rural parts of Western New York,” Rosenhoch said.

Invest Buffalo Niagara works as a concierge service to these companies and helps them navigate issues they may be unfamiliar with, such as legal, financial, and human resource matters.

The news this morning that Athenex has scored $100 million in new investment is another sign that big things are coming for the Buffalo-based developer of cancer therapies.

“This is the big picture,” said Steven Ranalli, president of Erie Canal harbor Development Corp. “This is what we want to do over the next 20 years.”

A presentation by Invest Buffalo Niagara officials Tuesday left members of the Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency board of directors hopeful of luring companies to ready and near-ready sites in the county.

Long known as the “City of Good Neighbors,” Buffalo and its environs have a well-developed support network that helps New Americans acclimate to a new country.

“When an industry leader like M&T comes out publicly at their annual meeting and says, ‘We’re placing our bet on Buffalo in the tech sector,’ that’s a really strong signal to others in the industry, that they believe they can find strong success here and others could, as well,” Rosenhoch said.