Book Signing at Orchard Park Public Library

Did you know that you (yes, you) can use your words, photos, and videos to help restaurants you love survive?

2026 has all the ingredients to be the worst year for family-owned restaurants since the Great Depression. Every cost on the spreadsheet is going up, while customers are staying home in droves. On the information front, getting the attention of potential new customers has never been harder.

On Feb. 21, at the Orchard Park Public Library, I’ll show you how to help the places you want to keep. Social media is remarkably effective at getting the word out about great things, and on social media, the coin of the realm is a real person with an authentic opinion. Carefully considered words and images can actually move the needle for small businesses struggling to survive.

I’ll teach you how to do that at my mini-seminar on food writing, photography, and effective social media. I’ve been teaching journalism at the University at Buffalo since 2000.

Afterwards, I’d be happy to sign copies of my first book, What to eat in Buffalo 2026. It’s a pocket paperback with color photos, spotlighting 175 locally-owned restaurants, bakeries, and food stores making a difference, for $13.99. (Also available at fourbites.net/shop).

After 37 years as a professional journalist, including 25 years at The Buffalo News, I run my own ship now, at fourbites.net. It’s an ongoing experiment in whether a food writer can make a living serving an audience instead of a publishing company.