The BID is the organization of small business owners who work together to support each other and the village business climate in general. They’re the ones who host many of the special village events you’ve come to know and love, including the Trick or Treat Trail, White Christmas in the Village, and the Wine Walks.
They BID has had a website for a long time, and while it did provide a lot of information about upcoming events and special business promotions, it really was nothing to write home about. Frankly, it was rather … blah.
But recently that changed. It has a new, fresh look, great images (including an impressive drone video) and much improved navigation tabs. All while still providing tons of information about what’s happening in the village.
According to BID member Tom Spoonhower, the improvements have been a year in the making. He wrote,
In early 2020, (BID chairperson Elena Bernardi) formed a marketing/communications committee and a more interactive website was one of the outcomes. She contracted with a local company, CMS Max, to incorporate our information into their template and through them an outside video company was hired to produce the video that greets you on the homepage.
Spoonhower himself has taken the lead in adding to and updating the site. That’s more difficult than you might imagine, given all of the challenges COVID has thrown into the mix. But right now, he adds, “The business listings are pretty up to date and as the weather breaks we hope to get out into the community to update even further.”
When you check out the new site (and you should), you’ll find some convenient tabs across the top where you can read more about the BID, see a listing of member businesses and get information about upcoming events. Scroll down and you’ll find even more links to things like music and entertainment and a BID newsletter sign-up (this is the best way to stay in the know). There’s even a place where you can find out more about volunteering for a special event.
Basically, the site is one-stop shopping for Village of Webster business and event news. Actually, it always was, but now it’s much prettier!
So check out th new BID website, bookmark it, sign up for the newsletter, follow the BID on Facebook … do it all and you’ll always be up to date.
A few weeks ago, I introduced you all to my Webster Bucket List. As I explained in that first blog, I first developed the list more than 10 years ago, shortly after I began this blog, and was just getting to really know Webster.
That orginal list included more than 80 items from Webster and near-Webster (Penfield). It was pretty comprehensive list, but very out of date. It decided that it desperately needed an overhaul.
I started by throwing out some of the items which were no longer possible (businesses were closed, or events no longer happen, for example). Then I added several new ones, including many reader suggestions and others I came up with myself.
The final list still includes about 80 items, three pages of Webster and near-Penfield places you really should visit, or events that you really should attend. I toyed with the idea of including some more businesses on there (like the Waffle House and the new Cobblestone on Main restaurant), but if I started doing that, it would be tough to leave any one out. And of course the list can never be complete — there’s just too much to see and do in Webster. So if you think of something I should add, drop me an email.
You can download a .pdf of the list blow. Print it off and see how many things you can check off!
The Village of Webster’s newest restaurant — Cobblestone on Main — will be opening soon, and I know I’m not the only one excited about it.
Judging from the conversations I’ve been hearing from friends and on social media, a lot of people have been keeping an eye on the historic cobblestone building at 109 West Main St. as it’s been renovated over the last many months. The main rumors I heard swirling around was that it was going to be a brewpub, or maybe a high-end restaurant. Turns out, it’s neither — but a little of both.
When The Cobblestone on Main opens several weeks from now, patrons will find a comfortable, reasonably-priced restaurant for those looking for a hearty lunch or dinner, and a dozen taps behind the long bar, hosting several local and regional brews.
Dan, Sarah and Lynne Bresnahan
The Cobblestone is the culmination of a dream for Dan Bresnahan and his daughter Sarah, who will be teaming up to run the new establishment. Together with Dan’s wife Lynne, the Bresnahans, who are long-time Webster residents, are excited to bring their family-run restaurant to the village they call home.
Their journey began a little over a year ago, when Dan and Sarah happened to drive by the historic old cobblestone. Greg Chambery, owner of The Maplewood nursing home, owned that building as well and had already begun renovations. It got them thinking about their longtime dream of opening a restaurant.
“We had seen what was happening on the east side of the building with the new porch and roof line,” Dan said. “I said to Sarah, if we’re thinking of doing this, that’s the kind of place we need to find.”
It turned out that Sarah had grown up with Chambery’s daughter. Fate clearly had a plan for them. So last January, Dan met with Chambery and a deal was struck.
And then Covid hit.
Chambery had made significant improvements to the outside of the building, but had stripped the inside down to studs and bare stone. There was an amazing amount of work to do before the Bresnahans could open their doors to the public. But thanks to the pandemic, they couldn’t even begin their renovations until July.
Instead of getting discouraged, they chose to look on the bright side.
“That time period from early spring till July really provided us with the opportunity to think through logistics for such an old building,” Dan said. “What are all the things we needed to do to accommodate the public?”
When the pandemic didn’t relent over the summer, they had to keep moving their projected opening date back beyond the holidays and into the new year. Still, that was OK, Sarah explained.
“As horrible as the timing of it was, I feel like waiting and doing it the right way and taking our time to think through systems and processes to keep people safe” was important, she said. “It’s something we needed to think about anyway. It made us think through keeping things clean and doing it the right way.”
The current plan is to finally open the first week of March.
When everything is in place, Cobblestone on Main will feature a large main dining room door, with booths along the wall, several high-top tables in the middle and a farm table in the front window. Towards the back of the building is a second, smaller dining room with more farm tables, and in the basement, two more dining rooms which can double as private party rooms. Come this spring, they hope to add a fenced-in patio for outside dining.
In a nod to the building’s early-19th century history, the Bresnahans tried to emulate as much of the original structure as they could, including leaving some exposed beams. The decor is rustic and weathered, or as Dan characterized it, “homey.”
“Rather than taking it and making it into an industrial-themed restaurant which I think a lot of people are going towards, it’s a cobblestone building that feels very homey,” he said. “So (we’re) bringing that to the inside and making you feel like you’re going home to have dinner rather than feel like you’re going out to a restaurant.”
The menu will feature American classics with locally-sourced ingredients whenever possible. And even though there’s a bar, Dan said, the focus will always be on the food and the experience.
The Webster community is clearly looking forward to welcoming Cobblestone on Main to the village. That was especially illustrated during the holidays when they promoted gift certificates.
Dan remembered,
A week or so before Christmas we posted that we would have gift certificates available because we had a number of people inquire. We didn’t even have a jar of pickles in the place. I said to Sarah, I kind of feel guilty selling a gift card. But we put it on Facebook and the community support blew us away. It was a regular flow of people coming in, saying, “Hey we want to help.”
They ended up selling 115 gift cards in the week before Christmas.
“We love this community … and now we’re starting our first business here,” Dan said. “I didn’t want to do it anywhere else.”
“We wanted to be part of the community and give back and participate in community events,” Lynne added. “The support has been wonderful and we appreciate everything. And we can’t wait to give back to them what we have to offer.”
Read more about Cobblestone on Main on their Facebook page.
It was a beautiful night for a walk last night, so in between football games, my husband and I extracted ourselves from the couch and wandered down into the village to check out the sights.
I love how Webster looks at holiday time. It just sparkles from end to end, making an already charming village look even more so. If you haven’t walked along Main Street after dark recently, you owe it to yourself to do so; it will help brighten what for most of us is a pretty bleak holiday season.
But there’s also another reason to make the trip: many of the local merchants are participating in a Christmas Decorating Contest. Community members are invited to drive or walk through the village to check out all the decorations, then go online to the BID website to vote for the most colorful, the most creative and the one which most embraces the spirit of the season. You can also see photos of the entries on the BID website.
Here are several photos I took on our walk.
And here’s a quick note about a Webster Public Library program which the whole family will enjoy.
It’s a “Holiday Storytime Extravaganza,” a staff-wide holiday storytime special. It premieres Monday night at 7 p.m. on YouTube. Click here to join the fun.
This is the first time the library has done anything like this, so it should be filled with a lot of surprises. Get your kids in their PJs, boot up the laptop, and tune in.
The first, a Gingerbread House Contest, is going on right now through Dec. 12. Six village businesses have created some very fanciful gingerbread houses. Community members can see each one at the participating business or online at websterbid.com and vote for their favorites. Three prizes will be awarded for Most Creative, Best Decorated and Most Traditional.
The participating businesses include:
Bernardi & Company CPAs, 40 Barrett Dr.
Beyond Cuts Salon, 33 North Ave.
Finn’s Automotive, 45 E. Main
Martino’s Pizza, 160 W. Main
Xceed Credit Union, 189 W. Main
Maplewood Nursing Home (must be viewed online)
This contest ends on Dec. 12, so get your votes in soon.
And by the way, get together with your family and come up with your own gingerbread house creation. Take a photo and email it to Elena@websterbid.com, and you could win a prize, too!
Next is the Snowman Scavenger Hunt, which runs for one week from Dec. 13 to 19.
The kids are especially going to like this one. Each participating businesses will hang a snowman poster inside the store or in the window, and each poster will have a different word on it. Players need to collect all the words to reveal a secret phrase. There will be 15 snowmen in all, and hints for where to find them will be posted on theBID website. Participants are also encouraged to take a creative picture with each snowman.
The top two puzzle solvers and the most creative photo with a snowman will each win a prize.
Finally, the week before Christmas, make sure to get downtown to see the village sparkle as shop owners decorate their windows and doors for the BID’s Window Display Contest. Community members can vote online for the Most Creative, the Most Colorful and the best Spirit of the Season.
For more information about all these upcoming holiday events, visit the BID website.
I’ve also posted several videos at the end of this blog.
The Village of Webster tried something new last night: a reimagined Holiday Parade of Lights to replace the very popular parade which winds down Main Street during the village’s White Christmas celebration every (non-COVID) year.
It most respects, it was very successful. Most would say too successful, actually.
While organizers expected only 4,100 cars to weave through the 1/2-mile long “parade,” many more unexpectedly showed up, creating very long wait times.
It was an unfortunate and aggravating situation for everyone, to be sure. But those who endured the invonvenience were rewarded with a magical and spectacular display courtesy more than 50 first responder agencies, community groups and local businesses who came out in force and endured the weather, their bodies and vehicles covered in twinkling lights.
People waiting their turn in the staging parking lot might have been grumpy, but when they saw what awaited them in the main lot, their frowns disappeared.
What I saw during my time there were kids and parents beaming, leaning out the windows waving back at the exhibitors. One girl yelled “This is AMAZING!” As they finally came to the end of the parade, the children positively exploded with delight upon seeing Santa wishing them a “Merry Christmas,” and many parents took the time to honk their horns, show a thumbs-up or yell “thank you!”
There’s been a lot of grousing on various social networks by families disappointed with the event. The criticisms are legitimate. But I’m sure the organizers and exhibitors would love to hear from folks who enjoyed themselves, despite the aggravations. These are people who spent hundreds of hours pulling together miriad details to create a much-needed holiday event, some of whom were outside in the cold and rain and snow for more than 12 hours.
So I would ask that comments here be positive and supportive. Because despite everything, The Holiday Parade of Lights gave everyone who waited in those long lines one magical night when we could forget about COVID and life seemed a little bit more normal.
Perhaps it’s just the fact that “Black Friday” has turned into “Black Friday Week” because people are spending more time at home and shopping online, but it seems to me that this year’s Black Friday craziness has been a little muted.
I’d like to encourage everyone to not let that happen to Small Business Saturday, which happens tomorrow, Nov. 28.
Our small business owners need our support more than ever this year help them survive this pandemic. Especially if we’re headed to an orange designation which might throw us back into another round of retail restrictions.
So I propose this challenge: sometime this holiday season, make a commitment to purchasing at least one gift at a small business. Even if (or especially if) you just need stocking presents, step into a small shop you’ve never been in before and I guarantee you’ll find something unique and perfect.
The North Bee, for example, at 27 North Ave. This is one of my favorite shops in the village, because I can always find something fun and different for office gifts or stockings.
The North Bee is packed with products from the hive, but goes far beyond just honey. (But if you or someone you love fancies honey, there are countless varieties here.) You have to check out her beeswax Christmas ornament tree, and beeswax statuettes for example. There are candies and even soft drinks, all honeybee-based. And Amy has really begun to focus her product line on health and wellness, like natural elderberry syrup and propolis products.
The North Bee has just celebrated its second anniversary, so Amy must be doing something right.
Another one of my favorite shops is The Village Quilt Shoppeat 21 E. Main. I’m not a quilter, but I like to stop in here occasionally just to say hi to the owners, Vanetta and Monique, who are two of the nicest people I have ever met. They’ve got all sorts of sales going on right now and a chance to win a gift raffle.
This is the perfect place to find a gift — or a gift card — for that quilter on your list.
And of course I can’t sing the praises of Lala of Webster enough. This adorable shop at 38 E. Main is packed with unique and creative gifts and is a must see for anyone shopping in the village. Owner Lisa Scholnski always has something new up her sleeve. Stay tuned for news soon of a special offering for seniors that’s in the works.
These three are just my favorite village shops, but li’l old Webster has so much to offer. Here are a few highlights:
Know someone who would rather read than do just about anything else? Grab a gift certificate from Yesterday’s Muse booksellers, 32 W. Main.
How about supporting the musician in your family with something from The Music Store, 18 E. Main?
Grab some beautiful hand-made holiday chocolates at The Goodie Shoppe, 83 North Ave.
Nest Things at 11 E. Main is kind of like an upscale Grandma’s attic, packed with “carefully rechosen items” for the home, mother-to-be, and children. Lots of surprises in here.
Brighten up your holiday table and home with some flowers and wreaths from Kittleberger’s Florist, 263 North Ave.
And don’t forget to save some time to enjoy a snack and beverage at one of the village’s restaurants and pubs. You should definitely stop into Barry’s Old School Irish just to see the lights they’ve strung.
Have you heard about this year’s reimagined Parade of Lights, happening Saturday Dec. 5?
This very popular event, always the highlight of the Village of Webster’s White Christmas, was cancelled because of COVID restrictions. But it’s back — albeit a little different.
Normally, fire trucks, community and business floats, and marching bands, all covered in twinkling holiday lights, parade down Main St. past thousands of spectators. This year, the trucks and floats will be stationary, and spectators will drive past them, enjoying the lights and music from the safety and warmth of their own cars.
More than 1,500 cars have already registered to drive through and enjoy the display. Now it’s time for more businesses and community agencies to jump on board.
As an exhibitor, you’ll be assigned a spot where you can park your vehicle for the entire parade, where upwards of 2,000 cars will drive past to see your holiday lights display and business information. (At an average of four people per car, that’s 8,000 people.) Plus, every participating business can provide marketing material for a VIP goodie bag which will be safely handed out to spectator vehicles as they enter the parade route.
This is an outstanding opportunity to reach out to thousands of new and existing customers, and remind everyone that you’re still in business. So get registered, grab some holiday lights, and plan to have some fun!
The Village of Webster Holiday Parade of Lights is scheduled for Saturday Dec. 5 from 3 to 8 p.m. on San Jose Dr. rain or shine. Participation is free, but you’ll need to register so organizers know how many vehicles to expect. For more information and to register, email 2020websterparadeoflights@neqals.org. Registration is required by Nov. 25.
This year’s Parade of Lights will look a bit different, but will still be awesome!
The holiday season isn’t going to be a complete bust after all.
Our local first responders have come up with a way to still enjoy Webster’s annual Parade of Lights, the sparkling climax to the Village’s annual White Christmas celebration. Even though White Christmas has been cancelled, the parade will still go on … sort of.
Instead of all the trucks and floats driving past spectators along Main Street, this year spectators will be able to stay in the warmth of their cars and drive past the trucks and floats.
Here’s how it’s going to look:
On Saturday Dec. 5, first responders (fire deparments, EMS agencies, police departments), businesses and community groups will bedeck their vehicles in lights and decorations and line up in one of the very large Xerox parking lots off of San Jose Drive.
Then, from 4 p.m. through 8 p.m., families will be invited to drive through the lot and check out the light display. A pre-event viewing time from 3 to 4 p.m. will be reserved for those with special needs and the elderly.
Spectators will be directed to approach the event via Salt Rd, turning west on to San Jose Drive. Visitors will be asked to sign up online for one of the eight 30 minute time slots to manage traffic flow. Visitors can register on the EventBrite website, searching 2020 Webster Holiday Parade of Lights or byclicking this link.
Businesses and community agencies who are interested in participating should email 2020websterparadeoflights@neqals.org to get a link for on-line registration.
Details are still coming together, but organizers have started up a Facebook page where they’ll be keeping everyone up to date, so make sure to “like” the page. But in the meantime, mark yor calendar today for Dec. 5, and sign up for a time slot!
Congratulations to the winners of the first ever (and hopefully only) Village of Webster Virtual Costume Contest!
The village normally holds its costume contest at the beginning of the Trick or Treat in the Village event. Of course that didn’t happen this year, so instead, families were encouraged to get all dressed up and email photos to the judges at Village Hall.
Fifteen families accepted the challenge. The winners were:
1st Place: Mint Chip Ice Cream
2nd Place: Baby Horse Jockey
3rd Place: Headless Horseman
4th Place: Shark Family
Here’s a slideshow of all the other costumes as well:
The contest was sponsored by Monroe County Legislator Matthew Terp, who is providing gift cards to not just the four top winners, but to family that participated.
Hopefully next year, Trick-or-Treating in the Village will be back, along with the costume contest. But in the meantime, thank you to everyone who helped pull this together and who joined the fun.
I feature the people and places and events that make Webster the wonderful community it is — and throw in some totally-not-Webster-related personal ramblings every once in a while as well.
I love it when readers send me news about the great things happening in their schools or the community, so please email me anytime at missyblog@gmail.com
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