Village of Lewiston

Silo caboose may have a home

by Joshua Maloni
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, June 20, 2009

At the conclusion of Monday’s Village Board and impromptu Planning Board meetings, a location for The Silo Restaurant caboose may have been located. Ironically, after months of haggling between residents, project developers and municipal leaders, the spot is not too far from the location first approved by the Planning Board in January.

Trustees unofficially disapproved of the initial proposal, which called for the 36-feet-long, 8-feet-high and 9-feet-wide railcar to be situated on a deck north of the restaurant (about 35 feet away), overlooking the fishing pier. Though no vote was taken, the board agreed with neighbors who claimed the caboose would obstruct their view of the water.

On Monday, after almost two-and-a-half hours of combined meetings, trustees seemed open to moving the caboose farther down that path, to the edge of a grass incline that’s much closer to the parking lot. Alan Hastings, who manages The Silo, also seemed comfortable with that idea.

The Board of Trustees has the final say on the project, as The Silo and the land it sits on both belong to the village. Richard Hastings, Alan’s father, leases the building and property.

There is no timetable for a vote. Trustees meet again on Monday, July 6.

During the meetings, residents again spoke out against adding another structure to Water Street.

“A caboose could look good; I don’t know if it could look good here,” North Water Street occupant Steve Kassay said.

Al Soluri, a former Planning Board member, said the waterfront was intended to remain pristine.

“What you’re doing is placing a structure ... that is going to devalue that pristine (area),” he said. “There was never an intent to put any other structures there.”

Al Soluri asked Trustee Terry Collesano to confirm that idea, and the board member said, “I would agree with that.”

Mayor Richard Soluri, a distant cousin of Al’s, said, “What you’ve overlooked is the LWRP (the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program) told us we should find a use for the silo (the building), and probably what it is now.”

He said the silo - a former coal storage building - was in shambles when the village took ownership in 1994 and, through the efforts of Richard Hastings, has turned into an oft-praised, popular eatery.

“That is still owned by the village; it is an asset,” Soluri said.

Moreover, he said Richard Hastings “put in an investment. He’s brought people to the village.”

Without such businesses, “We wouldn’t have survived,” Soluri said. “We would’ve looked like every other village.”

Both Richard and Alan Hastings have said the goal in establishing an addition to The Silo is to add restrooms, unclog the congestion inside the restaurant and increase ice cream sales.

Currently, the father-son tandem only has 900 square feet to utilize.

With some added space, “I think we could accommodate all of our customers better,” Alan Hastings said.

“He knew what he was investing into,” Al Soluri said. “ I don’t see the absolute need for another ice cream stand.”

Mayor Soluri replied by saying, “When a developer comes, you listen to them. You can’t just say ‘no.’ ”

In terms of ice cream sales, Soluri said the expansion is more than that. “They desperately need restrooms,” he said.

The mayor also referenced a painting in his office that depicts a Lewiston of the past.

“There was a railroad down there (on the waterfront),” he said, suggesting the caboose would fit in with the village’s historic nature. “The railroad is part of the history of the landing.”

Marianne Gittermann, at the Planning Board meeting outside of The Silo Restaurant, said a business looking to expand is a good problem to have these days.

“Let’s try to get everyone together, thinking as a group, to discover what will benefit everyone,” she said. “Let’s work together as a group; as a team.”

For the full history of this issue, visit www.wnypapers.com.