The Silo looking to extend summer season

New Peach Festival, Halloween-themed items planned

Second Helping with Joshua Maloni

More than the famous “Haystack,” the novelty ice cream caboose or even the million-dollar view, what makes The Silo Restaurant successful is its dedicated staff.

Now, that team is providing the iconic Lewiston location with an added bonus: an extra month.

“This year, we're pushing it to very late September,” General Manager Lexi Alfiere-David said of the summer eatery’s closing date. “We're planning for the 29^th. It's largely based on weather. So, if the weather is terrible and no one is willing to brave the bad weather, then we will call it early. But we are really planning for the 29^th – and if it's really great weather and it's going good, then maybe even later. But we're shooting for the 29^th.”

And why not stay open longer, when “The summer has been great, and we're very happy with the current August weather,” Alfiere-David said. “We hope that the sun continues to stay out as long as possible.

“We did switch back to our back-to-school hours in honor of our students, so they can get ready for school. And we lost some of our college students. We have our high school students that are going to be starting school next week. So, we're going back to 9 o'clock; and then Friday, Saturday, if it's still busy at 9, than we can stay open till 10.

“This summer has been really good, and this August weather has us really hopeful for September, for sure.”

With The Silo season extending, Alfiere-David said new opportunities abound.

One idea, “In honor of staying open into fall – because typically we're not here that late – we're going to be doing some Halloween fun in the ice cream caboose,” she said. “We're going to be doing some ‘Spooky Silo Sundaes,’ which the staff is really excited about.”

“We're focusing on ice cream, because we have a lot more flexibility and fun ingredients we can use,” Alfiere-David explained. “We ordered some really cool ice cream toppers that people can take pictures with. We're hoping that it becomes something that we can do every season.”

The Silo’s Camille Davis, and her bear-y good friend, admire the Lewiston restaurant’s new Halloween-inspired sweet treat.

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“For the month of September, we're going to be doing, on our ice cream sandwiches, monster eyes around the sandwich, so it looks like little eyes,” she said. “And then we got Halloween sprinkles and Halloween candy toppings for sundaes.

“The staff is really excited about it, of course, and I'm really excited about it. I think the customers will really take a liking to it, too.”

In honor of the Peach Festival, The Silo is offering a peach milkshake and peach nachos. The latter is peach ice cream with waffle cone nacho chips, hot fudge, whipped cream, nuts and a cherry.

Alfiere-David explained, “We're very lucky this year that we were able to work it so we have a person that can run register, and someone that can run the ice cream stand during the day” past the month of August. “We typically have that person, but this year, our staff is really good – really good, really well trained. I have two assistants that are just out of this world.

“They’re all well-trained. They're very good at their job, they're dependable, they're loyal. So, we're just going to stay open longer.

“And it helps them to not have to find a job sooner, and it helps us to be able to stay open a few weeks longer.

“I think it'll work out for everyone – and it gives our customers a few more weeks of ‘Haystacks,’ which is great.”

The Silo’s new crispy, spicy chicken sandwich has been a hit – earning the kind of customer praise normally reserved for “The Haystack.” The restaurant’s most-famous sandwich pairs shaved ribeye steak with melty cheese, crispy potato straws and mayo, all snuggled inside a soft bun.

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While the signature sandwich remains king of the hill, it’s had some company at the top of the customer wish list.

“Our current special that is literally flying off the shelves is our crispy chicken sandwich” with a delicious, diabolical bite, Alfiere-David said. “We cannot keep it in house. It is selling like crazy; so maybe we have to add it as a staple on our normal menu that's offered all the time. We ran that special, just to see how it would go – like two or three weeks ago – and everyone loves it.”

A new “Silo Slide” special is a nod to Western New York: the “Buffalo Tornado” combines vanilla custard, peanut butter sauce, and Honey Nut Cheerios.

“We thought that was like a fun, 716, Buffalo shout-out sundae, and it's been going well,” Alfiere-David said. Customers can pick any ice cream flavor they want, “But we suggest doing it with Bee Sting, because Bee Sting-Honey Nut Cheerios.”

While the food continues to earn rave reviews, Alfiere-David said, “We can't do it without our customers and our staff; so really, it's a big thanks to them. And we hope that staying open will go well, and we can do it every year.”

The Silo Restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at 115 N. Water St., Lewiston. For more information, call 716-754-9680 or check out https://www.lewistonsilo.com. Visit on social media at Facebook // X/Twitter // Instagram.