Archive | February, 2018

Benji’s Pizza and Grill opens in BayTowne

3 Feb

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I believe that a town can’t have too many pizza places. There are so many different ways to make a pizza — lots of sauce, little sauce, thick crust, thin crust, crunchy crust, flat  pepperoni, chunk pepperoni… and then there’s WINGS! It’s nice to have a variety to choose from.

That’s why I was pleased to find out that a new pizza place opened up just a few weeks ago in the strip plaza in BayTowne by the new Walmart.  It’s called Benji’s Pizza and Grill, and it didn’t take me long to check it out.

I met one of the owners, Jim Benjamin, who told me he’s been in the restaurant business since he was a teenager, in roles from kitchen help to cook, and has run several of his own places.  Benji’s is his latest endeavor, and he has high hopes for it.

Benji’s is located in the former Jack & Jill’s daycare in the small plaza located on the north side of Brandt Point Drive (which is basically the main Walmart access road.) When Benjamin and his business partner were looking around for just the right place for the new restaurant, they really liked the location. After all, thousands of people drive by there every day to go to Walmart and the condo development. But transforming it from a child care center into a restaurant would be a lot of work.

“When we walked in, I could see the potential for building a nice open kitchen, which is what I like to do,” Benjamin said.  So they got to work and spent a full six months renovating the building,  originally hoping to open by last October.  But, he explained, “every time we knocked down a wall, we’d go, let’s knock down one more wall. It slowed us down.” They finally opened their doors the first week of January.

The result is a large (3,000 square feet), bright, uncrowded place that feels more like a family restaurant than a pizza joint, complete with a separate banquet room and some very homey decorating touches. (And a sparkling women’s restroom that might be larger than my kitchen.)

The menu features a wide variety of lunch and dinner favorites including burgers, wings, quesadillas, wraps, subs — and pizza of course. And Benjamin takes pride in the fact that he buys everything locally.

Later this spring, customers can look forward to a new ice cream room with two outside serving windows, and an enclosed outdoor seating area with a gazebo and umbrella tables.

If all that sounds very family-friendly, you’re right. That’s exactly the atmosphere that Benjamin is going for. So you won’t find a noisy bar or even any alcoholic drinks, just plenty of space for parents and kids to enjoy a nice dinner.

And don’t be surprised if Jim Benjamin himself comes over to your table and invites you to have your family photo taken under the Benji’s logo. It’s a new tradition at Benji’s, but I have a feeling it’ll be going on for a long time.

Benji’s Pizza and Grill is located at 1998 Empire Blvd. Visit them online here, on Facebook here or call them at 585-446-0600.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

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Capt. Brad Ball named Firefighter of the Year

2 Feb

Ball-Brad-9955_57_thumbThere are lots of benefits to writing this blog. One of the best is that I get to meet — and become friends with — some of the finest people who ever walked the streets of this town. Captain Brad Ball of the Webster Volunteer Fire Department is one of them.

That’s why I am pleased to pass on the news that Capt. Ball was recently named the Webster Volunteer Fire Department’s 2018 Firefighter of the Year.

Here’s an excerpt from the write-up on Capt. Ball from the WFD website:

A lifelong resident of the Town of Webster, Brad chose to serve his community as a volunteer firefighter. Words often used to describe Brad include reliable, responsive, competent and resolute. As one of Webster’s most active and dependable firefighters Brad rose through the ranks to the rank of Captain. …

The ability to serve and protect the community ultimately relies on a department’s most vital asset, its people. … For nearly a decade Captain Ball has coordinated and conducted the recruit training for Webster’s nearly 75 new firefighters. …Captain Ball instills in his recruits a feeling of welcoming camaraderie that has helped foster an outstanding retention rate for new firefighters.

For nearly 4 decades Brad Ball has served his community as a volunteer firefighter. Brad’s service includes 11 years as a Line Officer. He has performed his duties and responsibilities in a remarkable manner and to the highest standards. From his recruit training efforts, to his Line Officer contributions, to his everyday rock solid firefighting performance, Brad has continuously demonstrated his dedication to community and commitment to excellence. Brad is considered a true leader by his peers and the Webster Volunteer Fire Department and the community we serve are extremely fortunate and grateful for his service.

We in Webster owe a huge debt of thanks to the dedicated men and women of our fire departments. “Cap” epitomizes the commitment each one of them shows every day, and the kind of quality people they are.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

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Spreading the joy of books at Schlegel

2 Feb

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How many ways can you find to read a book aloud? Schlegel Elementary School figured out about a half dozen ways to do that Thursday.

The occasion was World Read Aloud Day, and the entire school participated. Library Media Specialist Jamie Palmer took the lead. Step one was to assign all the students into small groups. Then, right after morning announcements, the school’s fifth graders fanned out to their assigned groups, leading them to classrooms where readers were waiting.

But not just classrooms. Students clustered in hallways, the gymnasium, the music room, the library … pretty much any space where they could settle in and listen to a few good books.

About 20 minutes later, the teachers (plus support staff and substitutes) swapped spots and read two more books to a new group of students. Then everyone convened in the cafeteria, where Supervisor Carmen Gumina read Aaron Reynolds’ Creepy Pair of Underwear to the entire school.

Other highlights of the day included when second graders performed books for kindergartners, and when three children’s authors Skyped in to chat with students.

It still wasn’t over. At the end of the day, everyone gathered in the cafeteria again to enjoy some whimsical poetry by Amy Ludwig Vanderwater from her book Read! Read! Read!

By the end of the day, every student had enjoyed at least six books read aloud to them –not including any that the classroom teachers worked into their regular curriculum.

If there was any question whether the students enjoyed the day, it was answered when at the very end of the afternoon’s assembly, the entire student population spontaneously started to chant “We love books!”

Here are a few photos from the day. I’ll put the rest in a photo gallery which you can see here.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

 

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