HAMBURG, N.Y. (WKBW) — Tops Friendly Markets and local designer Abigail Lee celebrated the launch of their new Tailgate Club collection Saturday at the South Park Avenue Tops store in Hamburg, debuting a line of tailgating gear and game day food ahead of the Bills home opener on Thursday.
The event featured hundreds of new pieces from By Abigail Lee, along with national brands and appearances by the BFLO cheerleaders.
Lee's business started in 2017 making pieces in her backyard and selling at local festivals. The company, formerly known as Bleached by Abigail Lee, held its first Tops launch last year.
"This year we have created the Tops Market Tailgate Club with Abigail Lee, so kind of just bigger and better, being able to engulf all of the things about tailgating and what it means to this community," Lee said.
Lee said the Tailgate Club is meant to include everyone, whether they are watching at home, in the parking lot, or attending the game, noting this season will be different with the new stadium.
"If you live in Buffalo, you know that tailgating is everything." Lee continued, "We are the number one fans in the United States out of the NFL, so it's just, it's everything to us."
The new collection features Lee's Buffalo Royalty print on items including t-shirts, crew necks, and socks, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the Patricia Allen Fund at Golisano Children's Hospital of Buffalo. Tops Brand snacks including tortilla chips, popcorn, chips, dip, and houseware items are also part of the collection.
"This is on 10 different items that you're going to definitely want to bring to your tailgate, from chips and dip to bottled water, everything that you want to either have at home or to the tailgate when you bring it down to the stadium," Kathy Satter, director of corporate communications and public relations for Tops told WKBW.
The new food collection will reach most Tops locations, and tailgate merchandise will be sold in select stores at nearly 30 Tops locations in a pop-up style boutique. Lee said items are also available on her website as well.
Tops will host another event next Friday from noon to 2 p.m. at the same Hamburg location, featuring Joel and Lavon Allen, Josh Allen's parents. The Allen family operates Allen Family Farms in California and have expanded to an exclusive line of merchandise at Tops including hats, t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, and tote bags. A portion of proceeds goes to the Patricia Allen Fund.
Join the Southtowns Community News Facebook group to connect with neighbors and learn about what's happening in your community.
