Category: PostNews

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Italian food is once again being cooked up in DiTondo’s storied Seneca Street kitchen. But as the restaurant reopens after a three-year hiatus, it has a new name, new owners and a new vision.

Rita DiTondo, a great-granddaughter of original owner Sebastiano DiTondo, and her father, John, bought the restaurant from John’s cousins in 2019. She and her husband Fabio Consonni, an Italian-born chef, reopened in a renovated building Wednesday as “DiTondo,” without the S.

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The restaurant is currently open for lunch Monday through Friday, noon to 2:30 p.m., and features 60 seats indoors plus 30 more outside on a covered patio. But gone are staples like spaghetti parm, meatballs and Italian sausage. The new menu, which will rotate on a seasonal basis, is currently limited to a handful main dishes, two sides and dessert.

“The restaurant’s new lunch menu evokes feelings of comfort, family and nostalgia, sentiments that have been associated with DiTondo for decades,” the restaurant said in a press release. “The menu focuses on regional Italian cuisine, pulling inspiration from Italy’s 20 diverse regions and Fabio’s experiences working in kitchens in both Europe and the United States. The wine list has been curated by Rita (a trained sommelier) and will highlight Italian wines from small family-run wineries, with a focus on sustainability.”

Jay’s Artisan Pizza, owned by 23-year-old, recognized as one of the 50 Best Pizzerias in the U.S.

Main dishes include:

Lasagne: Lasagna with bolognese meat ragu ($16)Crespelle: Crepes with mushrooms and fontina cheese ($14)Trofie: Trofie pasta, pesto, potatoes and green beans ($14)Parmigiana: Eggplant parm ($12)Involtini di vitello: Stuffed veal rolls, olives and tomato sauce ($16)Zuppa: Fall soup: Beans, squash, kale and pecorino ($12)

Sides are focaccia pugliese (flatbread with cherry tomatoes and olives, $8) and insalata (seasonal salad greens with nutritional yeast, $6). For dessert, panna cotta and honey ($7) and tiramisu ($7).

The restaurant’s original facade was recreated during renovations and dropped ceilings were removed, allowing for sunlight. The original bar is still intact near the entrance. Parking is available in the restaurant’s usual corner lot. (Restaurant at 370 Seneca St., lot at Seneca and Cedar.)

DiTondo is planning to add dinner hours in the coming months.

“We are honored to carry on the legacy of the DiTondo family and reintroduce this beloved Buffalo restaurant, which has been a treasured and familiar place for family, friends and colleagues for more than one hundred years” said co-founder Rita DiTondo. “We are embracing the old and the new, and decades of DiTondo tradition are guiding this next chapter for the restaurant. We welcome back the people who have dined and made memories here for generations and we invite anyone who would like to experience all that is happening in downtown Buffalo, in the Larkin District and in between — along Seneca Street.”

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LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WIVB) — Every 10 years, the legislative district map in Niagara County gets redrawn.

Based on 2020 census data, the county has released its proposal for changes to the legislative districts. There are 15 districts in Niagara County.

“The five members of the commission reviewed the initial census data and unanimously decided that, given the relative stability in population across the county and the fact the current legislative map was unanimously adopted by the Legislature 10 years ago, our focus would be to bring districts into compliance with a minimal amount of disruption to the current district map,” Steve Brady, chairman of the Redistricting Commission, said. “The map we are proposing would make no changes to 10 of the districts and only slight population adjustments to the other five.”

MORE | See the new plan here.

Comparing the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Niagara County’s population of 212,666 is a drop of more than 3,800 people.

The county says that the “ideal” legislative district is 14,178 people based on 15 districts.

Niagara County says two public hearings on the proposal will take place next week:

Tuesday, October 12 at 6 p.m. in the Niagara Falls City Hall Council Chambers — 745 Main St., Niagara FallsWednesday, October 13 at 6 p.m. in the Legislative Chambers, Niagara County Courthouse — 175 Hawley St., Lockport

SALAMANCA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Salamanca City Central School District Superintendent Robert Breidenstein will retire at the end of the school year.

The school district announced his resignation on Wednesday morning. It will take effect on June 30.

Breidenstein’s career in education began in 1990, when he served as a mental health counselor, and then a school counselor, in Genesee County.

He went on to serve as an administrator in a number of school districts, including Orchard Park, West Seneca and Tonawanda.

In 2011, he became Superintendent in the Salamanca school district. During this time, he helped secure more than $125 million in financial aid for six Indegenous Land districts in western New York.

GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. (WIVB) — The southbound side of the South Grand Island Bridge will be closed on Wednesday night so that a crew can perform pavement repair work at the south end approach.

The closure will go from Wednesday night at 8 p.m. until Thursday at 5 a.m.

During this time, all traffic will be diverted to the northbound side of the bridge.

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Niagara Falls cardboard manufacturing facility has been fined $375,000 and ordered to make changes after violating air and water quality laws.

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) says Cascades Containerboard Packaging committed the following violations:

emitting noxious odors to the surrounding neighborhoodfailing to properly operate and maintain the anaerobic digester and two activated sludge reactorsoperating unpermitted air pollution emissions sources within the facility’s wastewater treatment plant and sludge processing and handling systemsfailing to report equipment malfunctionsreleasing hydrogen sulfide (H2S) emissions that exceeded the allowable ambient H2S concentrations off-site

As part of a consent order, Cascades must monitor their emissions and conduct comprehensive air sampling. Additionally, improvements such as replacing temporary covers on sludge reactors with permanent ones must take place.

Another part of the consent order requires that they maintain a 24-hour odor complaint hotline (1-833-461-8898) and email for public use (niagara@cascades.com).

If Cascades doesn’t comply with this order, they could face additional penalties.

AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — If you’ve seen a giant boot on wheels driving around Western New York, your eyes are not deceiving you. L.L. Bean’s “Bootmobile” is in town and is hard to miss on the University at Buffalo north campus.

A four-person team representing the Freeport, Maine-based company is traveling around the Northeast and visiting college campuses. The Bootmobile brought a pop-up “Adventure Together” shop in tow featuring outerwear and the “Bean Boots” that started it all.

Molly Swindall drives the fourteen-foot tall fiberglass duck boot and is no stranger to getting behind the wheel of odd vehicles. She used to drive the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

“We’ve been driving around all over the Northeast and we’ve already started to see the leaves change and it’s been absolutely ‘bootiful’ so we want to make sure people are equipped with the things they need to see those bootiful trees in a couple weeks as well,” Swindall said.

L.L. Bean store coming to Boulevard Consumer Square shopping center

If you want to check out the size 708 boot and pop-up shop, Wednesday is your last chance. The L.L. Bean team will be outside the UB North Campus Student Union from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more details, click here.

Those who check out the Bootmobile have the chance to win an L.L. Bean $300 gift card and receive a boot keychain.

Bootmobile team: Molly Swindall, Tucker Van Dusen, Wilson Cramp, Bob York and Janis Shane

Bootmobile exterior

Bootmobile interior

Bootmobile exterior

Bootmobile front end

Bootmobile back end

Adventure Together pop-up shop

Adventure Together pop-up shop

L.L. Bean product box truck

Here are some Bootmobile fast facts:

The vehicle is a converted Chevy Silverado 3500. Its eyelets are made of upside-down bundt cake pans. The shoelaces are mooring ropes. There are a total of three Bootmobiles in L.L. Bean’s fleet.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – A Buffalo Police officer is claiming his prolific presence on social media is keeping him from receiving promotions in the department.

Officer Richard Hy operates the “Angry Cops” pages on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.

They have millions of followers and likes.

Hy talks about his life in law enforcement and the military on these pages.

His attorney says these popular account are holding Hy back from rising through the ranks.

“He has applied from numerous promotions over the years. But every time it appears that buffalo pd is going out of there way to overlook him and the lowest common denominator is his social media activity,” said Hy’s attorney, Adam Grogan.

According to a Buffalo Police spokesperson, the City does not comment on pending litigation.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — When it comes to eateries and restaurants, Western New York is full of locally-owned gems hidden in plain sight. One of which has been shining brightly on the corner of Genesee Street since the ’90s. It’s called Ike and BG’s Restaurant, named after Isaac and Betty Gray. It has since been acquired by their godson Steven Butler, who, having worked here since the age of 14 years old, is now hoping to put a new spin on things.

Just in time for any Bills tailgate, if you’re into soul food and barbecue, Ike & BG’s menu has it all. From delicious ribs, savory chicken, and fish, to baked mac and cheese, candied yams, and more, butler plans to carry the extensive menu with him when he opens a second location in Downtown Buffalo later this month

To learn more about Ike & BG’s restaurant, click here.

(WIVB) – A donation by a Tim Hortons in Orleans County pays tribute to a young woman killed at a Halloween party in Lockport last year.

Cheyenne Farewell gave her time to a group, called “Just Tell One.”

The Tim Hortons in her hometown of Medina presented a check for “Just Tell One” in Cheyenne’s honor on Tuesday.

“Cheyenne was an early spokesperson for the Just Tell One campaign, and its cause was important to her,” a press release about the event said.

“She really cared about how people felt about themselves, and it was very important for her that people found at least one thing to concentrate on, about themselves, that made them feel good,” Cheyenne’s father, Jeff Farewell, said.

“She lent her story and her experience to video messages that are part of the campaign to speak to other young people, to let them know that they’re not alone, that they may be experiencing the same thing she did,” said Carol Doggett, senior director of marketing and communications outreach for Mental Health Advocates of WNY said.

For more information about “Just Tell One”, click here.

Three people have been sentenced in the Oct. 2020 shooting that killed Cheyenne and injured five other people.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Crews worked to put out a fire on Buffalo’s West Side Tuesday night.

The fire broke out on Hunt Avenue near Tonawanda Street.

Buffalo Fire officials at the scene say no one was hurt.

We’ll have more information as it becomes available.