Silo, Gallo team for charity hot dog eating contest

Proceeds to benefit Niagara County SPCA; Latina providing support

By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

Talk about giving new meaning to the phrase “dog days of summer.”

Lewiston’s Silo Restaurant and Gallo Coal Fire Kitchen are teaming to host a hot dog eating contest on Saturday, Sept. 3. Proceeds will benefit the Niagara County SPCA.

“We're doing a little ‘last taste of summer’ event, if you will, and we're going to fundraise a little bit for the SPCA,” Silo General Manager Lexi Alfiere said.

The event begins at 2 p.m. at Gallo, 402 Center St. Competitive eaters will have five minutes to eat as many hot dogs as possible.

“And I should mention that, if they throw up, they’re automatically disqualified,” Alfiere said, laughing.

For the top dog devourers, “We have $500 in prizes,” Alfiere said. “We're going to do a first place, a second place and a third place; and we're going to give away gift cards as part of the prize: a Visa gift card, Gallo gift card, Silo gift card, some merchandise; and accept donations there for the SPCA.”

Latina Food Service is providing the hot dogs.

For this “Dogs for Dogs” event, Alfiere explained the goal is to have participants bring a donation for the no-kill shelter – beds, litter, food or toys.

Patrons can register, buy tickets and find more information on the Gallo website.

Alfiere said she’s hopeful the SPCA will have pups on hand – celebrity dog Lloyd may even make an appearance.

The sun may be setting on the summer season at The Silo Restaurant, 115 N. Water St., but there’s still plenty of time to stop by for an ice cream, hot dog or “Haystack.”

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Silo Wrapping Summer Season

The Silo season will end Sept. 18.

“We had a great summer,” Alfiere said. “We had no issues. It was very busy. We were really happy to see all the events back in Lewiston, and we're really looking forward to Jazz Fest this weekend. And we will be there again with the tent.”

She and owner Alan Hastings “wanted to thank the staff for another great season, and thank the community for their support, again, for this season.”

“We were really lucky to have our staff the entire summer,” Alfiere said. “It’s such a well-trained staff. We got great reviews from the customers, we did the jet boat again with our staff, and we had our Employee Appreciation Day. So, overall, we had a fantastic summer.”

The Silo is placing a weekly “buy one, get one free” coupon in the Tribune/Sentinel to “thank all the locals for the support this season,” Alfiere said.

She added, “We are already preparing for a super-fun celebration for our 25^th year” in 2023.