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New WhichCraft brewery comes to Webster/Penfield

3 Jul
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WhichCraft Brews is located in Baytowne Plaza on Empire Blvd.

There’s a new brewery in town and I think this one’s going to be really neat.

I had the opportunity to stop by the new WhichCraft Brews this afternoon, and even though it’s not open yet, owner John Moscato welcomed me inside to chat for a short time in the middle of the final-days-before-opening disarray.

WhichCraft is located in Baytowne Plaza, and it’s difficult to miss as you drive down the north side of the plaza. It’s right on the corner of that “street of shops” the plaza owners have tried to create, its bright white letters like a beacon calling everyone to gather for a pint.

Moscato co-owns the new brewery with three other family members. While none of them actually has owned a brewery before, Moscato also does own the 585 Rochester Beer store in Brockport.

Opening a brewpub wasn’t actually part of his original plan. They had originally wanted to open an “east-side bottle shop,” he said, but “it morphed into not what we really tried to do.”

What they wound up with is a 3-barrel brewery where you can also buy New York State wines, beers and spirits, plus to-go beers from all over the country.

There’s a lot to like about the new place. For starters, there are 55 taps behind the 27-foot bar. Five of them will feature WhichCraft’s own brews. The first round will include a Hefeweisen, a Scotch ale, two IPAs (a west coast and an east coast), and a stout. Future home brews, Moscato said, will be determined by what his customers want most.

For the other 50 taps, you can expect beers from all over the world, two wines, and a cold-brew nitro coffee. Plus, five to ten of them will be tapping brews from other local brewpubs like Stoneyard, Swiftwater and Empire Brewing. Moscato promises nine craft cocktails and a craft soda as well, plus plenty of non-alcoholic choices.

You hungry? No problem. There’s a food truck parked INSIDE the pub which will serve as the kitchen, and with seating for 160, there’s plenty of room in the rest of the place to accommodate diners and drinkers alike.

The food truck idea came from Moscato’s wife, whose full-time job takes her to New Hampshire and Vermont, where “you can’t go to a craft place without a beer truck” outside, Moscato said. “I thought, why not bring it inside? No one’s ever done it before.”

To continue with the stick-to-local theme, framed photographs by local artist Kevin Tubiolo will fill the walls, and many of them will be for sale.

WhichCraft will open its doors on Saturday July 8 at 10 a.m. Regular hours will be Sunday through Wednesday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to midnight.

Read more about them on their website here,  and “like” their Facebook page here.

Click here to read a more complete D&C article about the new WhichCraft Brews written by Will Cleveland.

 

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The Knuckleheads are kickin’ it again

30 Jun

knucklehead-logoKnucklehead Craft Brewing in West Webster is re-introducing a seasonal favorite

The Kick-It seasonal imperial IPA will be released on July 5. It gets its name from the fact that Knucklehead owners Len Dummer and George Cline will be donating proceeds from its launch to help fight cancer.

Len and George describe the brew:

We used Chinook, Columbus, and Cascade hops during the boil and dry-hopped it
with Willamette to finish at 94 IBUs. The sweet malt body is complemented by a mild hop bitterness (8.5% ABV).

The Knuckleheads first introduced their Kick It IPA back in 2015, with its proceeds benefiting the American Cancer Society. This time around, they’ll be donating $1 from each beer sold to the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester.

Back then, Len explained their reasoning:

Both of our families have been touched by cancer as well as many, many of our customers and close friends’ families. This is simply our way of saying ‘thank you’ to our supporters and it gives them a chance to enjoy a pint while knowing their money will go to a wonderful cause.

They ended up raising $5300 for the American Cancer Society. Let’s see if we can do even better this time.

 

Knucklehead Craft Brewing is located at 426 Ridge Road in West Webster. Check out their Facebook page and website for more information.

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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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Webster Tuesday mailbag

27 Jun

mailbagHere are a few community notes of interest.

Webster Brownie Troop Makes Blankets for Children in Need

Webster Girl Scout Brownie troop 60392 recently made knotted fleece blankets to donate to Project Linus, which then distributes them to children who are critically ill, have been traumatized, or are experiencing another form of need.

The 11 third-graders from Plank South Elementary made this a featured part of a sleepover event. They then donated them to Project Linus through Cafe Sewciety Quilts on Empire Blvd.

Troop 60392 Blankets

Pictured in the photo (from bottom left clockwise) are Megan Kelly, Ella Ellsworth, Kate Sayers, Becca, Dolan, Gianna DeMarco, Sophia Hachee, Olivia Salafia, Ashley Huss, and Avarie Chalachan. Not pictured: Mackenzie Mihalitsas and McKenna Simmons.

Webster Marching Band Boosters Host Food Truck Rodeo

The Webster Marching Band Boosters have announced their second annual Food Truck Rodeo, scheduled for Friday July 21 from 5 to 9 pm in Webster Schroeder High School’s front parking lot.

The Marching Band Boosters sponsor various fundraising events throughout the year to help pay for the Webster Marching Band’s equipment, show productions, and competition-related trip expenses.

Eleven food trucks have already signed on for the event, including Macarollin, Tuscan Wood Fired Pizza, Rob’s Kabobs, The Meatball Truck Co., Midnight Smokin’ BBQ, Meat the Press, Le Petit Poutine, WingNutz, Abbott’s Frozen Custard, Kona Ice, and Smoothies Plus.

There will also be face painting for the kids, a visit by a West Webster Fire Department truck, and live music provided by the Aaron Rizzo Trio. Admittance to the rodeo is FREE, and all proceeds from the food trucks will benefit the Marching Band Boosters and Webster Marching Band members.

Webster Schroeder High School is located at 875 Ridge Road.

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Webster Hots has new owners

14 Jun
Mutschlers

Webster Hots’ new owners Kelly and Bill Mutschler, with their son Aidan.

Have you driven down Webster’s East Main Street lately?

Lately it’s been looking like a ghost town, with more “For Rent” signs than “Open for Business” signs in the storefront windows. Aside from the fact there’s usually a lot of good parking spaces available, there seem to be fewer reasons every day to head down there.

Bill and Kelly Mutschler, the new owners of Webster Hots, want to change that.

The Webster residents took ownership of the restaurant just a few weeks ago. For Bill, who was looking for a career change, it was the culmination of a long-time dream to open his own small business in Webster. When he and Kelly, found out that Webster Hots was for sale, they jumped on the opportunity.

Bill and Kelly decided to keep the name Webster Hots because that’s what people have come to know. But they readily admit they’re fighting against the negative reputation hots places can sometimes have of being small, and dark and catering to the young, late-night crowd who only want plates.

They want to be known for more than just plates. But don’t get them wrong. “I think our plates are really good,” Bill said, made better in that they make their hot sauce and mac salad on site. But he points out that their menu features so much more.

There are burgers and dogs, of course. But there are also plenty of sandwiches, wraps, appetizers, and even a beer-battered fish fry. Plus, they’re already planning to expand that menu, adding more options for kids, among other things.  And it’s all served in a bright, spacious environment.

Then there’s the ice cream. “The village has been missing ice cream since Hank’s left,” Bill noted, so the Mutschlers know how important it was to bring it back. They’re especially proud to have been able to contract with Purity Ice Cream, a very well-known and highly respected shop in Ithaca. (And if the sea salt caramel is any indication, it’s pretty fantastic.)

As Webster residents, Bill and Kelly are already involved with the village, but now they want to make sure that community connection also extends to their new business. They’re hoping especially to build stronger ties with the high schools, and start hanging photos of local sports teams and businesses. You can also expect to see them getting involved with village events like the Wine Walks and the Jazz Fest.

So when you walk into the new Webster Hots, you actually won’t see many differences … yet. But rest assured that now that Bill and Kelly Mutschler are at the helm, Webster Hots is stronger than ever, a great family spot for lunch or dinner, and will definitely help revitalize East Main Street.

Webster Hots is located at 55 East Main Street in the village of Webster. Connect with them on Facebook and call (585) 265-0824. 

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insideWH storefront

 

 

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Community Blood Drive returns this week, with a new twist

4 Jun
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A peek at some of the prizes that can be won at this week’s Webster Community Blood Drive

The Webster Community Blood Drive will return to St. Paul’s Church and the Webster Rec Center this week,  and it’s got a brand new feature this year.

The semi-annual two-day blood drive, heralded by the huge white signs placed all around town, is always one of the most popular and best attended drives of the entire year. It stands out among all others by the tremendous support it receives from Webster businesses.

This year, instead of receiving a packet of coupons, every presenting donor will be handed ten raffle tickets, which can be used to take chances on 30 different prizes provided by local businesses.

The raffle prizes will include:

  • Gift cards from Abbott’s Frozen Custard
  • Gift certificates from Barry’s Old School Irish
  • Paul Mitchell products from Beyond Cuts Salon
  • Gift certificate from The Chicken Coop
  • Gift card from Eastway Liquor
  • Free hair cut certificates from Great Clips
  • Gift basket from Hegedorn’s
  • Gift basket from Kittelberger Florist
  • Grumblers and pint glasses from Knucklehead Craft Brewing
  • Free month of classes from Matsunami Karate
  • Gift certificate from Natural Alternatives
  • Gift certificate from Ron’s Auto Repair
  • Gift certificate from Rubino’s
  • Fruit gift basket from Schutt’s Apple Mill
  • 10 free classes from Strike Back Martial Arts
  • Decorative vase and Lenox candle holders from The Garage Sale Store
  • A free ice cream cake from The Goodie Shoppe
  • Free month’s membership from World Gym

And there will be even more prizes that aren’t on this list.

Donors will also be pleased to hear that not all the coupons are history. One of the most popular coupons of all — from Bruster’s — will be returning. Every presenting donor will receive Bruster’s “Pint for a Pint” coupon, good for a free pint of ice cream or a free ice cream cone.

Wait! There’s  more! On top of all that, each donor will also be handed a free t-shirt from the Red Cross (while supplies last).

The Webster Community Blood Drive is scheduled for Wednesday June 7 at St. Paul’s Church, 783 Hard Road, and Thursday June 8 at the Webster Recreation Center, 1350 Chiyoda Drive, from noon to 7 pm each day. Make an appointment by calling 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767) or by logging onto http://www.redcrossblood.org. Walk-ins are also welcome.

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D&C reporter Gary Craig introduces new book

22 May

History and mystery buffs will be interested in a book-signing event scheduled for Barnes & Noble this Saturday May 27.

My Democrat and Chronicle colleague Gary Craig has just published a new book, titled Seven Million: A Cop, a Priest, a Soldier for the IRA, and the Still-Unsolved Rochester Brink’s Heist.

Gary has spent several years researching and writing the book, and the result is a fascinating, in-depth exploration of one of the twentieth century’s most notorious unsolved crimes.

Here’s some more information about Seven Million, from Amazon.com:

On a freezing night in January 1993, masked gunmen walked through the laughably lax security at the Rochester Brink’s depot, tied up the guards, and unhurriedly made off with $7.4 million in one of the FBI’s top-five armored car heists in history.

Suspicion quickly fell on a retired Rochester cop working security for Brink’s at the time—as well it might. Officer Tom O’Connor had been previously suspected of everything from robbery to murder to complicity with the IRA. One ex-IRA soldier in particular was indebted to O’Connor for smuggling him and his girlfriend into the United States, and when he was caught in New York City with $2 million in cash from the Brink’s heist, prosecutors were certain they finally had enough to nail O’Connor. But they were wrong.

In Seven Million, reporter Gary Craig meticulously unwinds the long skein of leads, half-truths, false starts, and dead ends, taking us from the grim solitary pens of Northern Ireland’s Long Kesh prison to the illegal poker rooms of Manhattan to the cold lakeshore on the Canadian border where the body parts began washing up.

Seven Million is a fascinating real-life tale of cops and FBI agents, prison snitches, the IRA, and the unfortunate fate of one Ronnie Gibbons, a down-and-out boxer who was in on the early planning of the heist, only to disappear after he came to Rochester to demand his cut.

You can learn more about the case, and meet Gary Craig in person this Saturday when he holds a book-signing from 2 to 3 pm at the Webster Barnes & Noble, Towne Center Plaza. Read more about the event on the Barnes & Noble website and event Facebook page.

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Post office helps Hope House Stamp Out Hunger

18 May

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Hey everybody, if you participated in last weekend’s annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive sponsored by the post office, I thought you might be interested in seeing where some of your donations wound up.

I got these photos from my friends at Hope House in Webster, a social justice ministry supported by Holy Trinity Church. Hope House provides food, clothing and other assistance to individuals in need.

Hope House staff members estimate that postal workers collected over 4,000 pounds of food, helping to fill the shelves.

Thank you to Kerri Kiniorski for these photos.

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Webster Rotary invites community members to “Gear Up!”

9 May

rotaryYou’ll read more about this event in my Our Towns East Extra column this Thursday, but I think it’s such a great idea, I wanted to highlight it here in my blog as well.

The Webster Rotary has created a brand new community bike-riding fundraiser in honor of the Rotary Foundation’s 100th year.

The event, called “Gear Up!” is a long-distance community bike ride hosted in conjunction with the Town of Webster, the Webster Chamber of Commerce, and the Friends of Webster Trails. It’s scheduled for this Saturday May 13.

Three different courses have been mapped out. Individual participants can ride 26.5 or 53-mile road routes which take riders as far east as Pultneyville and south to Walworth.

A much shorter, 5-mile long trail ride is designed for families, guiding younger riders and their parents along Webster’s Bird Sanctuary, Chiyoda and Hojack trails. Registration fees are $26.50 for the longer rides, and $45 for the shorter ride, regardless of number of family members participating.

The unusual registration cost and ride distances are based on the fact that the Rotary Foundation began a century ago with a single donation of $26.50.

In addition to this being a nice family event, organizers hope that the longer distances will attract riders who are training for the 100-mile long Ride for Missing Children on May 19 or the Tour de Cure on June 10.

All of the proceeds raised in the Gear Up! ride will benefit the Rotary Foundation and its six areas of focus: clean water, literacy, maternal health, peace and conflict resolution, disease prevention and economic development. This year the Rotary is also focusing on raising money for End Polio Now, an initiative spearheaded by Bill and Melinda Gates.

The Gear Up! benefit bike ride this Saturday May 13 will begin at 8 am at the Webster Parks and Recreation Center, 1350 Chiyoda Drive. For more information and to register online, click here. Last-minute registrations will also be accepted at the Rec Center the morning of the ride.

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Friday Webster Mailbag

4 May

mailbag

The Penfield Village Nursery School will be sponsoring a golf tournament on Friday June 2 to help celebrate the school’s 50th anniversary.

The tournament, held at Shadow Lake Country Club in Penfield, costs $100 per player, which includes 18 holes, a golf cart, and goodie bag, raffles and lunch.

Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. and play begins at noon.

Interested players, sponsors or businesses interested in donating prizes should contact Kacey Kiley at kldunbar@yahoo.com.  Organizers ask that completed registration forms and payment be submitted by May 15.

The Penfield Village Nursery School and Kindergarten is located at 1862 Penfield Road. Read more about the school in a blog I wrote about them last fall.

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The Webster Arboretum Plant Sale will return on Saturday May 13, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Arboretum, 1700 Shlegel Road.

Visitors will find plants of all varieties offered for sale by the Arboretum, local commercial growers and local clubs. The Country Gardeners of Webster Garden Club members have chosen selected plants from their own gardens. What this means is that all of the plants for sale will definitely grow in Webster with some sun, water and your tender loving care.

Celebrate the much-anticipated arrival of spring by stopping by the Webster Arboretum on he 13th and get some new plants for your garden (and maybe a Mother’s Day gift). Admission is free and the event happens rain or shine.

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And the accolades for our Webster music teachers just keep on coming.

The College Board has appointed Webster Central School District’s Laura D’Angelo to its Advanced Placement (AP) Music Theory Development Committee.

D’Angelo has been teaching music for 23 years, 20 in Webster Central School District where she presently teaches Music Theory I and AP Music Theory at both high schools. Laura currently serves The College Board by grading AP Music Theory exams. She also has been a speaker at the AP National Conference, as well as at the reading sessions for AP Music Theory.

“We have one of, if not the, biggest high school music theory programs in the nation. When I go to Cincinnati to grade exams (for the AP board), Webster is very well known for our program. I am extremely fortunate to be in a district that supports this program,” D’Angelo said.

D’Angelo’s three-year appointment to the AP Music Theory Development Committee will begin in July.

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In other school news, remember that the Board of Education and budget vote is scheduled for Tuesday May 16th, from 6 am to 9 pm at Webster Schroeder High School, 875 Ridge Road.

You get find out more about the proposed budget by clicking here, and you can meet the Board of Education candidates Wednesday May 10 at 7 pm in the Spry Middle School auditorium. Four candidates are running for three positions this year. They are: Andy LaManna, Mike Suffoletto, Bill Kent and Jan Strege.

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Knucklehead Craft Brewing needs your votes

3 May

knucklehead-logo

The Knuckleheads at our favorite local craft brewery need your help.

Len and George at Knucklehead Craft Brewing are in the running to be named New York State’s Best Craft Brewery, and it’s up to us to start showing the love. To do that, all you have to do is go online and vote.

Simply visit https://taste.ny.gov/vote to cast your vote. The website asks for your email address each time, so it might only take one vote per email. But if you have two email addresses (or four, like I do), you can vote from every one of them. The top five finalists are invited to the final challenge to be the best.

Voting runs through May 12, so click on that link right now and cast your vote. And also please share this notice to let as many people know as possible.

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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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