Guercio & Sons

Guercio’s is my favorite grocery store in the area. My family is from Sicily too, so I feel pretty partial. Although I don’t live nearby, I stop in at least once a month to fill up on items that I can’t find elsewhere. Usually, these include unique pastas, crackers, canned tomatoes, and cookies, as well as bulk chocolate chips for my cannolis. There is a full produce section where I usually pick up fresh oregano and basil, as well as seasonal veggies. I also usually pick up unique cheeses from their cheese case. Lastly, I always stock up on amazing olive oil. Love this place!

I want to love this place because I love the atmosphere and concept of an Italian deli. I have come here a couple times and don’t find the produce to be a good deal, in general. It is a great price for the olive bar though. 4.99/lb for hot green olives (at Wegmans I think it is 8.99/lb).

An Authentic Italian Market on Grant Street in Buffalo
Fresh produce (love getting the container of fresh garlic cloves) and avocadoes for 99 cents each!
Also carry many imported goods from Italy: many types of pasta, sauce, baked goods, prosciutto, other unique condiments too.
Local products are sold and found at Guercio and Sons… from one of my favorites Breadhive bagel and bread and El Cohens rye bread, Luigi’s Bread, Costanzo rolls, etc.
They offer cold cuts and various cheeses too. My favorite cold cuts they offer: Boars Head
Then they have an olive and salad bar with various pasta and Italian salads. I usually order a few types of olives (these are olives you can’t find at Wegmans olive bar!)
You have a choice between a small, medium, or large container!
If you want a sandwich or sub to go they will make that too for a reasonable price
This is an Italian local family business that’s been around for MANY yrs! Support local businesses and say «hi» to my friend Santina!

We LOVE LOVE LOVE guercio’s. It’s a weekly 20 min trip down to the west side to stock up on vegetables. Prices are unbelievable. Great selection of produce, cheeses, pastas and grains at great prices. Can also buy large bottles of spices at rock bottom prices. Everytime we come here we fill up the cart and its almost never over 30 dollars!
Guercio & Sons is one of our favorite places in the city!

My visit is inspired by piggybacking Unilocal reviews. If this is wrong, then I’m wrong. But two wrongs make a right, and here, two big bushy bunches of parsley are just one dollar! Woo! I want fresh produce at a great price. Who doesn’t? I think this Italian market should receive infinite praise. I have never seen such fresh/​affordable fruits & veggies. My eggplant was so perfect, it looked fake. I was gawking at it for like five minutes. Clearly I need more hobbies or friends.
Some high points:
Homemade local pastas– made of different flours and also spinach, carrot, etc. all around just 2.50 for a bag. Like, are you kidding? What a steal.
Tons of unique and local jams and fruit butters! The little jar of maple apple butter was calling my name. A ginger jam also caught my eye. Very large spinach, white, and wheat tortillas. Bought some – they were great.
The small market will surprise you. I found chestnut flour, shredded unsweetened coconut flakes, and spelt flour hiding in the crevices of the shelves. I also found pickled pearl onions and I can’t wait to use them.
The obvious stars are the produce and deli section. (I’ll return for you, deli) and as soon as I run out of coffee, I’ll be back to check out the overwhelming wall of flavored beans. This market excites me for my future cooking endeavors and I see I’m not alone.

This is a great place to pick up a good amount of your groceries. They have a lot of good produce at a great price. It’s where I get the majority of my produce and I’m always satisfied. They have a great selection of cheeses, especially mozzarella and feta — in fact, best feta I can find in the city. YUM!
And great for all the pasta/​italian food needs. You’ll find whatever pasta you’d like and be able to mix it with some good sauces or make base sauces from good starters.
If you haven’t been there, you should try it. I will say, you can’t get your whole shopping list here, but it’s worth the extra trip with how much you save in produce and you’ll support a cool business.

Guercio & Son’s is hands down the best market in Buffalo. Produce is fresh, seasonal and very very well priced. They have an excellent Deli counter and make phenomenal sandwiches.

Guercio & Sons is cool because they have very reasonably priced grocery items and fresh produce. The store is set up a little odd in my opinion, it reminds me of a maze, shelves here and openings to other parts of the store there. They have a decent selection of olive oils and vinegars and loads of coffee to choose from. I recently had their banana coffee and not only did it make my entire apartment smell amazing while brewing, but it tasted great too. I did however think that their coffee section could use some cleaning. The grinders were pretty filthy as if they hadn’t been wiped down in months. They have a decent selection of flavored decaf beans, which was very much appreciated. They also don’t have separate grinders for flavored coffee and regular beans which I thought may have been a good idea. If you are looking for a particular fruit or vegetable and they don’t have it out, always ask because sometimes they will have items in the back that aren’t displayed. For example, last week I came in looking for raspberries. Not only did they not have any out, but they also didn’t have any label indicating raspberries. I assumed they didn’t have any, inquired with the man working the cashier at which point he went in the back and found two perfect containers of raspberries for me, only $ 3 each. Not a bad deal for fresh stuff. I could definitely see myself coming here regularly for produce.

Wow wow wow… How did I not know this place was around the corner from my work??? What an awesome deli! Def my new favorite lunch spot! They carved the meat and cheese for my sandwich fresh and the tortellini salad is to die for!

I’ve been working on the west side of Buffalo for almost a year, so I go here for lunch maybe once a week. Based on other reviews, and the medley of aromas that hits you like a smack on the face when you walk in, I am probably under-​utilizing this place.
Deli order, once a week: turkey and swiss on a long roll. The mouth-​feel of this sandwich is something I have been looking for ever since moving to Buffalo and leaving the Italian delis of New York City behind over 10 years ago. I won’t argue with you when you tell me which kind of organic arugula to buy and which to skip, but if I know one thing, it’s deli sandwiches. My father ate them, my mother ate them. This is the best classic, old-​fashioned turkey and swiss the city has to offer.
They serve sandwiches until 3:30 pm Monday-​Friday, but get there early because they often run out long rolls. The long rolls are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and slightly shorter than your typical sub roll. They are VERY fresh, ALL the time. I won’t say that Guercio’s packs the meat any higher than any other place, but the cold cuts and cheese are sliced fresh for every order, right in front of you. If you are late and have to settle for a pre-​packaged Costanzo’s roll, the sandwich is still solid because of what’s in between the bread.
One strange quirk about this place is that there doesn’t seem to be a fixed price, even though there is a menu right behind the counter. I will pay (happily) somewhere between $ 4.15 and $ 4.65 every time I walk out. I don’t really know what’s going on there. This is not a complaint; paying less than $ 5 for an amazing sandwich is perfectly fine with me.
One last thing — you might want to avoid this place if you are in a rush. It can get crowded, and since they slice the meats fresh every time, it isn’t the quickest experience. They aren’t slow, it’s just that a lot of work goes into making each sandwich.
I should really explore the cavernous aisles of the store sometime, since I am in such close proximity to it. I don’t know why, but Guercio’s seems like a good place to buy anchovies.

Produce — fresh and seasonal, peeled garlic is super cheap and a regular on my list.
Spices — huge selection and big containers. It’s pretty much the only place I get my spices.
Deli — Call ahead if you’re going to order more than a few things, it’s really helpful and you’ll be much happier than waiting in line.
If when shopping you feel like your mom is kind of trailing you or yelling at you to get off the phone… you’re not alone. It’s a little charming with a hint of seriousness :)
BONUS — they always help carry out large items!

I love this place, I really do. BUT the ladies behind the deli and olive counter have ruined the entire experience for me. They are consistently rude and behave as though they are doing their customers a favor by doing their job. If its busy and you order a large quantity of something they deem annoying to do, you’re going to know about it. It is worth paying more at Wegmans for the sheer experience of not having to feel like you’re annoying somebody for asking them to do what they are being paid to do.

Guercio’s is great for all the reasons everyone mentioned.
I typically go to replenish my spices, as they have huge containers of a wide assortment for a fraction of their price elsewhere.
Once there, I can’t resist stocking up on canned artichoke hearts, also a bargain, and specialty vinegars.

great little Italian store with a little of everything. I found Italian «00» flour here which isn’t easy to find.
I also stopped by the deli to grab a quick sandwich. The Vincenzo is a fantastic creation of fresh mozzarella, arugula, tomato slices, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, oil & seasoning… a wonderful treat.

After originally using the name «Gherkin & Sons», the owners were bombarded with queries such as «how can a gherkin have a son?», and «don’t you know we call them pickles here in the US?» So they changed it to «Guerrilla & Sons» to honour all of the fallen Italian Grocery Store owners that fought in the jungles of Italy during the Great Pasta War of 1669. That didn’t go down well, in fact they were accused of terrorism because of the name. So then they realized that the owner is very good at co-​ercing people into buying his amazing pasta salads, fresh sandwiches, imported goods, fruits and drinks, so he changed his name to Guercio, and they came up with the catchy slogan «Guercio will Co-​erce you», and thus was born the name «Guercio & Sons.» And that’s a true story, or I don’t have 5 quintet sisters all named Tina Turner.
What to get: The Guercio sandwich. Their Pesto Arugula Tortellini Salad. Their Crab Salad. Their imported Bulgarian juices.
Wow. Wow. Wow. Guercio & Sons, where have you been all my life? My friend Alex K (who is the reason I tried this place, after reading his «best sandwiches in Buffalo» list), said he was surprised I’d never been. Then again I only just discovered the amazing West Side Bazaar just down the street, so it seems there are many gems to be unearthed that I’ve merely just begun foraging for.
Guercio & Sons, as per my attached pictures, has many fresh fruits and veggies, imported grocery goods, an Italian base/​theme but they have all sorts. I have suspicions that some of the owners might be Bulgarian, as they have all this incredible imported Bulgarian stuff.
Their fruits and veggies are significantly cheaper than Wegmans and Tops, and are often very good quality. Check them out and see for yourself.
My favourite things in this massive three-​section store are to the right as you walk in, where you can get the fresh-​made sandwiches (they stop serving them after 2pm), and the fresh-​made salads (one of which is probably the best pasta salad I’ve ever had), and the drinks. I’m all about drinks (non-​alcoholic… sorry!), and my word they have a phenomenal selection here.
The ones that really rock my world are called «Premium Fresh», they are from Bulgaria, they are $ 1.99 for a very large carton that will last you for days, and they come in all kinds of luscious flavours like Guava (pretty good), Blood Orange (amazing, like the orange drinks in the UK or Europe… perfect)… and my favourite so far, which is the Blackcurrant. You can’t really get Blackcurrant over here in the US, but it’s the European version of Loganberry, only way, way better. If you’ve ever heard of Ribena for example, that drink is based completely on Blackcurrants. They’re an addictively delicious berry type fruit and this drink rocks my world. You can get an imported Polish blackcurrant drink in the international aisle at Wegmans… it’s twice the price and not nearly as delicious as this Bulgarian one. The other flavours they have are Lemon Mint, Pineapple, Mango, Blood Orange, and tons more that I will be trying over the coming weeks!
Then they have a bunch of bottles of things like Mistic Pina Colada and other tropical stuff, all of them are around $ 1.19 and such. Which is ridiculously cheap compared to what gas stations are charging for far inferior drinks. Just be careful because juices have lots of sugar and are not great for your waistline! Especially when they are this addictive and delicious!
Now on to the food. The sandwiches are good, and amazingly fresh. The first time, I got the combo, which was basically lots of different delicious tasting cold cuts on a fresh sub roll, enough to last for 2 meals, heavy as hell, and very cheap.
The second time I got the «Guercio» and it was much better. I loved every bite, and it was one of the tastiest and freshest sandwiches in the area. Try it. I recommend asking for some extra oil on there, because my first one was a bit dry.
The salads really steal the show. The crab salad is excellent, the Buffalo Chicken Salad is okay, but the Pesto Arugula Tortellini (I think that’s what it’s called), with the bits of white cheese and the amazing oil all over it… omg. It’s literally the best salad I’ve ever tasted… the best pasta salad anyway. Now you have to understand I don’t even like pasta salad… never did… and yet I could live off this stuff. I’ve attached a picture of it. You MUST try it. It’s remarkable, incredible, and irresistible. Another similar one with olives in it is very good, but not as good as the crab, and nowhere near as good as the PAT.
That just about sums up this place. You can do tons of shopping, buying exotic, delicious, imported foods, amazing drinks that are miles better than anything made in the US (sorry), and get fresh amazing pasta salads and sandwiches, and walk out of there spending very little. Skip the u, e, r, c, i, and the sons, and just GO to Guercio. Now!

Guercio and Sons is the benchmark of what every great grocery used to be before the advent of the corporate grocery store. Don’t get me wrong, Wegmans is great but I can’t help but feel more than a little robbed every time I cash out. Guercio is a whole different experience; small, intimate, convenient, friendly, and most importantly cheap. You will find everything you need here in the way of fresh LOCAL produce, dry goods, baked goods, Italian imports and deli meats, cheeses, olives, and sandwiches. They even feature locally produced goods like Luigi’s bread and Yancy’s cheeses. We have never spent more than 50 $ here on a weeks worth of groceries, a fraction of what we would have spent at Wegmans or Tops for way better quality.
Family owned and operated since the 60’s this place is a West-​side staple and once you visit once you’ll be back. It’s got a distinctly Italian theme but still has all of the amenities of any small grocery store. The owners are nice as can be, more than happy to help and even still operate the cash registers. Shop local, save money, and have fun at the grocery store… What more could you ask for?

How many people get excited to go to the grocery store? Count me among that number, as going to Guercio’s, as often as it happens, so often counts as a highlight of my day. See, when I visit, I know that I will bet getting the best produce and some of the finest Italian specialty goods that money can buy for a pittance of what the same things would cost me at Wegman’s (if even available), let alone an importer in Brooklyn or a D’Agostini’s or Zabar’s in Manhattan. More than that, I know I will be in and out quickly thanks to the staff’s pride in efficiency. More than that, I leave with the knowledge that I have spent my some-​odd dollars and some-​odd cents patronizing a fantastic local business of historic proportion.
When Guercio’s arrived on the scene, it was one of many such stores on or near Grant Street, a newbie, a latecomer. As the city emptiecd and so many residents fled the suburbs, people began to see it as a straggler, a holdout. The neighborhood population and its remnant’s affluence declined, and Guercio’s transformed itself into a wholesaler of import, stocking the kitchens and larders of the city’s best restaurants. And so it endured, slowly and steadily expanding until the city came full circle. From latecomer, to straggler, to outpost, to institution, Guercio’s has endured because it does what it does very, very well.
Occupying the combined confines of several adjoining buildings, Guercio’s can best be imagined as divided into several sections: (1) produce, (2) fresh items, (3) grocery, and (4) deli. For me, the highlight of the Guercio’s is its produce by far. They source and package almost everything themselves, and their offerings are of fantastic quality and superb value. Avocados are a dollar each, when they could otherwise be found at $ 1.29 apiece at Trader Joe’s and yet more at Tops and Wegman’s. Mesculun runs at less than $ 4.00 a pound. Arugula remains high at just under $ 11.40 a pound, but I must impart that their arugula is the tastiest leafy green I have ingested since leaving Japan nearly five years ago, possessing all of the spice and crunch that encyclopedia entries long insisted it possesses, that actual offerings from Whole Foods and Wegman’s have so often refuted. From fresh basil to eggplant, leeks, scallions, fruits of all type, Guercio’s has it covered.
The next section of the store, what I have labeled «fresh items» consists of an amply stocked cheese refrigerator and a wide assortment of baked goods. I can’t speak well to the cheeses section, but the baked goods section is singularly distinctive. Along with stocking locally produced breads of all sorts and sweet treats both locally produced and imported from New York City, they have also continually stocked long Luigi rolls, a multifold improvement on the roll offerings available at any other local grocery store. Marvelously doughy on the inside yet ever so slightly crunchy on the outside, these 75 cent each delicacies make the perfect canvas for any sandwich artist, are so good that I have often found myself chowing down on them alone with just a tad of olive oil.
The grocery section contains all the staples, although it admittedly doesn’t possess the redundancy of the much larger markets. However, the breadth of its Italian goods aisles, replete with an array of pastas, sauces, garnishes, sweets, meats, and so on surpasses the selections of any of its competitors. And it offers many of these items at breathtaking prices. Some items, like sauces and pastas, actually are produced in-​house as well. Among sauces, the dandelion tomato and portabella mushroom tomato deserve special distinction. Their selection of generically packed couscous and nuts number among their better grocery items. Continue through the aisles, and you may also be surprised by the sheer number of locally produced items, from Gondola tortellini to Pasta Peddler linguini, and so forth. Lastly, Guercio’s has also recently dedicated ever more space to items of Southeast Asia, catering to an increasingly large neighborhood constituency helping to fuel the Grant Street renaissance.
Sadly, I cannot speak much to the deli section of the store as I don’t regularly eat cold cuts, but I must comment that aside from canned meats and bacon, the deli counter is the only place in the store to offer any kind of meat whatsoever, providing the usual staples, some excellent capicolo, and individual sausage links (I believe from Mineo and Sapio’s, a local Italian sausage maker).
Honestly, you have probably already tried many of Guercio’s produce and cheese offerings at restaurants such as Tempo, Mother’s, Hutch’s, and Left Bank. You probably thought to yourself, «Wow, this is excellent. This is incredibly fresh. I wonder where they get their produce from.» From Guercio’s. Do your belly a favor and stop by. Guercio’s isn’t «five star for Buffalo.» This West Side institution would earn five stars no matter what city it was in.

I like this place but am not sure what all the rave reviews are about. However, I do like the family owned aspect and the fresh greens. I find the selection to be interesting as it changes, clearly by whats «fresh today» and that’s fine if I happen to find what I’m looking for.
Their packaged goods are all small distributors I think and that’s great. They have Pasta Peddler here, which is nice.
Parking here is ok, in the lot across the street.
I’m inclined to give it 3.5 stars, but I’ll round up due to all the other 5 star ratings,. Maybe I’m missing something.

Great prices and quality on fruits and vegetables, including a lot of seasonal specialty items (locally grown garlic scapes and rhubarb were on the shelves for today’s visit). During warmer months, you can shop from the sidewalk, then wander in with your selections to peruse a nice selection of imported cheeses, olive oils. vinegars, and other specialty items (plus most of the stuff you’d expect to find at a regular grocery store). My husband is the only meat-​eater in the family, and he gives their deli sandwiches a big thumbs up. Lots of Buffalo-​made products are also available (Gondola pastas, GoVeggie burgers, Mineo & Sapeo sausage, etc.). Really a wonderful gem.

Guercio & Sons is Buffalo’s best grocery store. Hands down. Sure, it’s marketed as a specialty Italian store, but you can find almost anything here.
You will find great prices on fruits, vegetables, as well as find some unique items you wouldn’t find at other stores. At this store, you can get farmer’s market prices on veggies at non-​farmer market hours. Avocado’s at 89 cents each? Tomatoes at 99 cents per pound? Red peppers at $ 2 per pound? Check, check and check (prices obviously vary with season!). Although you can find prices like this at Aldi’s, you can tell Guercio has put care into sourcing these fruits because they taste absolutely amazing :).
To top it off, it’s also a great place to stop for lunch on the weekday’s. Go to the deli counter, grab a number (you may have to wait for a while if you go right at lunch time) and then pick a sandwich. It’s around $ 4, huge and fresh. Or you can opt for a delicious salad. Yum! Guercio also has some specialty cheeses that are not sold in other grocery stores around Buffalo, so be on the lookout!
It’s places like this that make me proud to live on the West Side. It’s been open for over 50 years and I’m so happy to live only a few blocks away.