subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Mon, Oct 06 2008 

Published: July 21, 2008 09:21 pm    print this story   email this story   comment on this story  

VILLAGE OF LEWISTON: Business not sweet for chocolate house

Owners want side business moved elsewhere

By Dan Miner
E-mail Dan

Niagara Gazette

Business isn’t booming for all the establishments along Center Street.

The two owners of the Little Yellow Chocolate House showed up to the Village of Lewiston Board of Trustees meeting Monday with a couple requests they say will make it easier for them to do business.

Business partners Jonathon Boas and Cathy Yolevsky opened the business in January, selling chocolate, ice cream and other treats to eat on the go.

The village reduced the monthly rent at the site — which the village owns — about a week ago, from $850 to $750, after Boas and Yolevsky discovered they were paying a higher rate than other comparable local businesses.

In return, the village sent the couple a letter with a number of requests, including removing a picnic table in front of the business and to stop the practice of playing music on a stereo out front, Boas said.

Those requests especially have hurt business, he said.

“There’s no visibility out front and business has really dropped off,” he said.

Boas and Yolevsky complied but in return asked that the village remove the Visitors Center, currently located at the site, somewhere else. The couple has been maintaining the center but have run into difficulty running it, especially because, as out-of-towners, they lack the necessary local knowledge, Boas said.

They also asked for a formal lease of the property, since the current agreement has never been set out in writing.

Village Mayor Richard Soluri said he thought the Visitors Center would have helped business but acknowledged the two sides did not agree on that. The village had been waiting until they could complete transferring the Little Blue House across Center Street and into Academy Park to put the center there. Now, they will find somewhere else in the interim, Soluri said.

He also said they would get together and formalize the lease soon.

The Little Yellow House had been host to the Lower Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce, which moved to a converted house on N. Third Street because of the need for more space.

In other village news:

n Trustee Terry Collesano voiced concerns over the 42-acre plot of land the village acquired recently from the New York Power Authority.

Before the land was acquired in the late 1950s by the power authority to dump excavated rock during the construction of the Niagara Power Project, Collesano said he personally witnessed trucks from Stouffer Chemical pour a yellowish substance that smelled like sulfur onto the dumping grounds at the site that were later covered by the excavated rock.

Collesano expressed concern about wording in the deed, which absolves the state and power authority from any responsibility at the site and that if the material is hazardous, the only place for it to go under thousands of tons of rock is toward the Niagara River.

Soluri said the village will check with the power authority for any tests that might have been done at the site.

print this story   email this story   comment on this story  

Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.



monster
wheels
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Featured Jobs

HOUSEKEEPING/LAUNDRY AIDE
Full time. Contact Bonnie Kunselman, 716-791-4211 or apply in person, Heritage Manor of Ransomville, 3509 Ransomville R...>MORE

COOK
Cook Short Order. Nights & weekends. Apply in person to: Jetport Resturant, 7100 Porter Rd, Niagara Falls, NY....>MORE

HUMAN SERVICE POSITIONS
Mental Health/Disabilities Coordinator-Full Time, $35,500/yr. L.C.S.W. or qualifying L.M.S.W. Knowledge of treatment str...>MORE

DRIVERS
Solos & Teams
? $44K-$55K 1st yr
? Bonus every 30k miles
? Pay increase every 60k
miles
?
...>MORE

SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Niagara Catholic
High School

This newly created position that reports directly to the Board of Trustees
...>MORE

MEDICAL TECHNICIAN/PCA
Skills required in assisted living facility. Responsibilities include assisting resident service director and passing me...>MORE

COOKS
• COOKS • DISHWASHERS
• HOSTESSES • MIDNIGHT SERVERS
Must Be Over 18 - All Shifts
Please apply in person<
...>MORE

GRAPEVINE RESTAURANT
Line/Prep Cook, Servers. Apply Grapevine Restaurant, 2545 Niagara Falls Blvd., NY. Great work environment. No experien...>MORE

HOME HEALTH AIDES/PERSONAL CARE AIDES
Healthcare EOE/MFVH

ARE YOU LOOKING
FOR INTERESTING
OPPORTUNITIES?

HHAs/PCAs
neede
...>MORE

WAREHOUSE POSITIONS
WAREHOUSE
EMPLOYEES
NEEDED!
1st & 2nd shifts available in Niagara Falls. Ship/ Rec, pick/pack & computer
...>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2008. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index