Lewiston waterfront restaurant & ice cream caboose expands season

√ Silo loyalty program rewards customers

By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

When a sandwich is as good as The Silo Restaurant’s “Haystack,” customers should be able to enjoy it more than just five months a year.

“Honestly, people beg us to stay open year-round,” General Manager Lexi Alfiere-David said. “Our hate mail at The Silo is people angry that we're not open year-round. We're really lucky in that aspect.”

Last season, The Silo – Lewiston’s world-famous, as-seen-on-TV waterfront restaurant – remained open into October. Customers were able to take advantage of a few extra weeks of the “Haystack” (sliced ribeye steak on a fluffy roll topped with melty cheese, mayo and crispy potato straws), two new chicken sandwiches, the ice cream caboose, and the dynamite river views.

“Last year, we stayed open a little bit into October, and it was fun,” Alfiere-David said. “We were able to do Halloween sundaes and Halloween-themed specials. It went well, and we will hopefully be able to do that again.

“We really were only able to do it because the weather was not too bad – which, as we all know, it's going to depend till the day of, because it could say it's going to be great this October, and then we get there and it's not. It was good; it was successful; and it was fun for our staff – and hopefully we can do it again.”

The Silo Restaurant patrons can look forward to unique weekly specials inside the restaurant and over at the ice cream caboose.

“We leave our specials up to the staff, and we let them kind of have a creative take on it,” General Manager Lexi Alfiere-David said. “So, anytime a customer sees a special, they should know that a staff member made that up themselves, and then they bring it to us, and we approve it, and we bring it to the menu.”

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Weather notwithstanding, The Silo wouldn’t have extended its season if there wasn’t a demand.

“It makes us proud, because obviously we're doing something right,” Alfiere-David said. “But that's kind of one of the best parts about The Silo is that you can only get it in summer – and it's that kind of sign that summer's here – or summer is coming, anyways.

“It's a great thing that the demand is there for us to be open longer. And it's twofold: It employs our employees a little bit longer, and it serves our customers a little bit longer, as well.”

Last summer could’ve been a letdown for The Silo team, as the eatery celebrated its 25^th anniversary in 2023. But Alfiere-David said, “It was great. Every single year is a pleasure and something to celebrate. Even when it's not a special number, it's special to us – and it's an honor to be open and serving Lewiston and everyone that comes to visit us that's not from around here.”

To show appreciation to patrons, The Silo introduced a rewards program.

“We are really excited to be continuing the loyalty program that we rolled out last year, and it's kind of our way of giving back to the customers that visit us,” Alfiere-David said.

Customers can earn Silo perks every time they visit.

“It comes in the way of points; and every time they come to the register and they use the same phone number or email or name or credit card, it pulls up their account, and we get to see how many points they have; and then they redeem that for money off their order,” Alfiere-David said. “People get points for their birthdays, and if they visit us so many times, and then we'll randomly send out some free points.”

Fans can sign up with just their name and email.

“If they are not a part of the program, when they enter, our staff will ask them if they want to join; and at the end of every transaction, it will prompt our staff to ask them that,” Alfiere-David said. “If they don't want to join, it's OK; there's no issue. But if they do want to join, it takes a couple seconds. They can do it right at their table, or they can do it at the register.”

She added, “Once they log in, they can add any information they want – like if they want to add a cell number to receive messages via text instead of email, or their birthday to get points on their birthday – it's up to them what they input. And then, every visit, as soon as they have the account with us, it will automatically send them the points based on their order.

“So, the more they spend, the more points they get. … Even if they call in an order, it will see that their phone number is in the system, and it will automatically link their rewards to that number.”

Alfiere-David noted, “Everyone loved it. It was a huge hit. Within the first month, we had 700 subscribers. We were really proud of that.”

Continuing the theme of “more Silo,” the restaurant had a soft opening this week – well ahead of its official summer debut.

Alfiere-David explained, “Until May 1, it is going to be based on weather: If it's super-rainy all day, we're not going to open; and if it's nice out, we will likely be there 12 to 8. We encourage customers to call the restaurant just to confirm that we're open.”

Starting May 1, hours of operation will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closing time moves to 10 p.m. once the school year ends.

The Silo is located 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.

Easter special at The Silo

“For this Sunday, Easter, we are hoping to have our ice cream caboose open, likely not the restaurant,” General Manager Lexi Alfiere-David said. “We are going to hide some plastic Easter eggs around The Silo with an ice cream token in them. It's going to be one per customer. If they're the lucky winner that finds it, they can use that token for their purchase that day, or they can bring it back.

“It's going to be a super fun thing. We're just going to do a few. And then every few customers in the caboose line are also going to get a prize and a little egg. So, it may be candy, maybe a treat, maybe a token for their next visit.”

“We're planning about 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., and they'll have a full (dessert) menu, plus this fun, little, hidden Easter egg game,” Alfiere-David said.

 

The Silo Restaurant will benefit from recent upgrades to the Lewiston waterfront park, including a metal fence and staircase, and new curbing.

“We're absolutely thankful for that project,” General Manager Lexi Alfiere-David said. “It's gorgeous. It was much-needed. It looks amazing.

“We think it's going to help us a lot. It was a huge safety factor. That (old wooden) fence, we always would kind of run out to parents and say, ‘Hey, don't let your child go down there,’ whatever it may be.

“And the parking cinder blocks look great, and are going to be a lot more sturdy than the wooden planks that were there.

“We're very happy with upgrades, and we're thankful to all the crew that's been down there working hard. We spoke with some of them, and they’re fantastic people.”

 

Niagara Frontier Publications readers voted The Silo Restaurant as the “Best Summer Dining Spot” in the 2024 “Savory Summer” contest. The Lewiston waterfront eatery also took “Best Hot Dog,” “Best Hamburger” and “Best French Fries.”