Levite views Buffalo Spree as mirror of region
by ALLISON WHALEN Intern

Laurence Levite scrutinizes a recent edition of Buffalo Spree, a regional magazine celebrating 40 years of publication. Photo by Amy Krakowiak Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

Laurence Levite's office contains the typical workplace essentials: a desk covered in paper, a computer, a bookshelf and cushioned chairs.

Aside from these necessary items, Levite, publisher of Buffalo Spree magazine, has several plush stuffed animals scattered throughout his office. A large, brightly colored kangaroo sits in front of the chairs, staring directly into the faces of office visitors.

Levite's office, a design that he purposefully injected with a little life and color, parallels his design for Buffalo Spree.

"Buffalo can be very beautiful," Levite said. "Our goal for the magazine is to focus on what makes Buffalo unique and beautiful."

Buffalo Spree, now in its 40th year of publication, only recently began to showcase what Levite terms the best of Buffalo.

In 1998, Levite and his late business partner, David McDuff, purchased the magazine. After drawing inspiration from publications in other cities, Levite revived the previously black-and-white product. Before he bought Buffalo Spree, the magazine featured poetry and fiction and had a controlled circulation, distributing free of charge to only selective households.

According to Levite, after he bought Buffalo Spree and essentially saved it from folding, its revenue quadrupled. Levite, along with Elizabeth Licata, editor in-chief, and Chastity Taber, creative director, transformed the magazine into a glossy, colorful publication rich with the architecture, arts, culture, history and local people of Buffalo.

Buffalo Spree also began to reach a wider audience after changing to paid subscriptions and becoming available at 75 to 80 locations throughout Western New York.

Levite attributes the recent success and future longevity of the Spree to the magazine's ability to appeal to the beauty-seeking side of Western New York readers.

"People want to read sexy, beautiful stories about interesting events and culture," Levite said. "We are not a newspaper. You won't find an article about the problems of the waterfront in the magazine. We're here to cover events that make the Buffalo metropolitan area look good."

"Sure, in Buffalo there are dirty areas and slums just like everywhere else, but we have beautiful people and places like other cities, too."

In order to promote the beauty of the Buffalo area, Buffalo Spree's covers and photographs concentrate on capturing positive aspects of the city, such as a new hip restaurant, modern architecture or a well-kept city garden.

Reviews of cuisine, theater and the "Who Was There" feature, a section devoted to showing notable Buffalo area residents who attend exclusive black-tie functions, inform readers of the culturally rich quality of life available to them in the Buffalo community.

In addition to the articles and photographs, Levite said the image conscious Buffalo Spree maintains its aura of exclusiveness through the advertisements that run in the magazine.

"Readers out there like to look at the advertisements. It's another reason they pick up our magazine," Levite said. "We make sure our advertisements are upscale, interesting and promote our image."

Although Levite said he enjoys creatively showcasing the Buffalo area through the magazine, he has experienced the other end of the spectrum as well.

Levite previously owned WBEN and two other radio stations in Syracuse. The Buffalo native and current resident said that he decided to purchase the magazine because it offered a welcoming contrast to the intensity of broadcast radio.

Levite, the 28-person staff in the Spree office on Sheridan Drive, and the freelance writers and photographers who contribute the bulk of the magazine's articles and photographs sometimes have to work a little harder to showcase the positive side of Buffalo. Despite the challenge a smaller city presents, Levite said ultimately Buffalo comes through with enough material for an uplifting city publication that will continue to thrive beyond its 40th anniversary.

"Buffalo is really just a microcosm of the rest of the world," Levite said. "There are times at night in bars downtown that someone could mistake Buffalo for a city like San Francisco. Do we have 100 fancy French restaurants in our city? No, but we do have some."