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Lewiston can be unfriendly. At least the town.
Samantha Bassett runs the Little Bakery, on Buffalo Avenue and Elmwood Avenue in Niagara Falls as well as an outlet on Saunders Settlement Road. Samantha and her fiancee also live on Saunders Settlement.
In their bakeries, they sell great old-fashioned pizza and Italian bread.
At Christmas and Thanksgiving, and when anyone needs it, they give away food. Social media has, on occasion, been mean to them.
Now they are taking it on the chin from the Town of Lewiston for running a business without a license in a home zoned residential on Saunders Settlement Road. The town also alleges a shed and pool were erected on the property without permits and that a ticketed cigar event being hosted for charity is actually a business endeavor.
You can read the story about the hassles below.
I wrote this on Christmas, 2022 when we were snowed in but snuck out:
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Mother nature thought she could keep Christmas from coming but alas, it was right here in Niagara Falls.
We didn’t need to drive to Alden in search of pantookas and wuzzles.
Samantha and Jackson at The Little Bakery were handing out spaghetti and meatballs and Christmas gifts on Elmwood Avenue.
As we entered, she was on a video call with her fiance trying to turn off the ovens so they could go home. Son Joe and I were late to the party but not the joy.
“Who are you with?” she asked, “we don’t like social media or blogs. The comments are out of control.”
“Niagara Express,” I said, “and I control the comments.
“A year ago I wrote on Facebook about that grumpy guy who’s usually here and you called me out for it. I told you then I’d come back next year.”
“That’s sweet,” she said, warming a bit.
“We had gifts with our kids at home and got here at about 10” she said. It was 2:30 p.m.
“It was lined up out the door earlier.”
Another family came in.
“All we have left is some sauce and meatballs and bread” she said apologetically. She began to pack some food for them.
“Do you want anything?” she said to us.
“Maybe a loaf of bread.”
She handed us two.
“How much?”
“Nothing. It’s Christmas.
She refused payment. I put some cash in the empty tip jar on the counter.
Jackson was boxing 13 ungiven gifts and they were beginning to puzzle about what to do with them.
We left, filled with joy.
"And they're hanging their stockings," he snarled with a sneer.
"Tomorrow is Christmas! It's practically here!"
Then he growled, with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming,
"I must find some way to keep Christmas from coming!”
But this sound wasn't sad!
Why, this sound sounded glad!
Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small,
Was singing without any presents at all!
He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming! It came!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!
Merry Christmas!
Here’s a link to recent coverage of Samantha’s kerfuffle. https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/niagara-county/lewiston/zoning-faceoff-in-lewiston-resident-says-shes-helping-the-town-officials-say-its-breaking-the-rules/
