Our mission is to provide quality plants and expert service to the Buffalo gardening community.

About Us

How It All Started

In 2004, a dedicated group of people living on Buffalo’s West Side got together to brainstorm around the idea of developing a cooperative garden center in our neighborhood. We wanted to keep our dollars inside our fair city, but realized we were limited to big box or suburban stores. At the same time we recognized the opportunity for building a business in this up and coming neighborhood, five minutes from any yard on Garden Walk Buffalo. In 2005 we started offering “plant swaps,” polled area residents, and collected surveys. In 2006 we held our first plant and bulb sales featuring organically raised heirloom tomato seedlings. In 2007 we opened our doors at 428 Rhode Island Street and have been growing ever since.

Our Mission

Urban Roots Cooperative Garden Market is a consumer cooperative business in Buffalo, NY whose mission is to provide quality products for gardening. We aim to be an active and enriching member of the community.

  • We will offer affordable, unusual, heirloom, native, organic and local plants, and gardening supplies.
  • We will foster a working relationship with the greater neighborhood in order to encourage beautification and urban renewal.
  • We will engage the community through education, employment, outreach, and expertise.

Our Vision

Our vision is to serve our ownership and the community at large by assisting in their gardening needs. We set gardeners up for success through education and expertise so that they can obtain their ultimate gardening goals, thus enriching their lives and the community.

What is a Co-op?

A cooperative is there to serve its member-owners by providing the products and services needed. It also affords you a voice in the business decisions that are made through a democratic process. Profits are put back into the business to enable its growth instead of going to a lone or outside investor(s). In the case of surplus revenue, profits are shared with the member-owners based on the proportion that they use the co-op.

Become a Member Owner Today!

Your city. Your store. We are a cooperatively-owned, for-profit retail garden center, offering plants and plant-related supplies. We are open to the public and are committed to the betterment of our West Side neighborhoods and to the City of Buffalo.