Riley Street Station to reopen Oct. 7 under new ownership

Two bars will be open, along with two beer stations and two food stations. Bands will begin playing on the patio starting at 3 p.m. 

Riley Street Station is a historic building and was a staple for so long in East Aurora, Amabile felt it was important to keep the restaurant’s name. “Everyone knows Riley Street Station. It’s filled with great memories with many more to come,” he said. 

Amabile grew up in Elma and comes from a entrepreneurial family – his father, Dr. Anthony Amabile Sr., owned South Buffalo Chiropractic and Mr. A’s Village Corner Pub for more than 20 years – and is excited to follow in his father’s footsteps. Amabile will be graduating in May 2024 with a Doctor of Chiropractic degree and joining his mentor, Dr. Richard Ziarkowski, at Universal Chiropractic while also owning and running Riley Street Station. 

He has big plans for Riley Street Station, which will be a full-service restaurant and bar. Menu items will include a variety appetizers, soups, salads, pizza, wings, burgers and seafood. Lunch and dinner specials will be available daily. The bar will feature happy hours and Buffalo Bills Game Day Specials. 

“We’re bringing back some classic items like Train Wreck Nachos, the Depot Burger, the Twin Peaks Sirloin, and Shrimp Pesto Linguine,” said Amabile, adding they’ll also be adding some new signature dishes such as a Mediterranean Platter, Stuffed Seafood Banana Peppers, an Apple Bacon Bourbon Burger, and a Cioppino. 

And it’s not only the menu that will see some new additions. While Amabile doesn’t have any renovation plans for the building as it was left in “mint condition”, he did install new TVs, a new sound system and two new dart boards. He is also planning on putting in two fire pits and extending the front patio for next summer.

Greater East Aurora Chamber of Commerce to honor outstanding business leaders at

75^th Annual Business Recognition Awards & Hall of Fame Induction

The Greater East Auror Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the return of its Business Recognition Awards & Hall of Fame Induction event!

The Chamber is proud to celebrate the 75^th Anniversary of this event, honoring several outstanding businesses, non-profit organizations, and professional leaders from our Greater East Aurora community!

The dinner will be at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20 at Mister’s Bar & Lanes, 206 Main Street in East Aurora. The public is invited to attend. Cost is $45 per person. Online reservations are required at the Chamber’s website: www.eanycc.com.

Our 2022 Honorees include:

• Showcase Award – CarePatrol of Buffalo, Niagara, Rochester & Syracuse
• Happening Award – East Aurora Farmer’s Market
• Journey Award– Visit Buffalo Niagara
• Excellence in Service– Jeff Leyonmark, broker, Wolf Agency
• Visionary Award– Edwin A. Stenzel Jr., Consultant Teacher/Work-Based Coordinator, Wallace D. Ormsby Educational Center, Erie 2- Chautauqua BOCES
• Civics Award– Frank Cerny, Executive Director, Rural Outreach Center
• Legends Award– Holland Hardware
• Educator of the Year– Allison O’Dell, ELA Teacher, Wallace D. Ormsby Educational Center, Erie 2- Chautauqua BOCES  

Thank you to our sponsors: Platinum Sustaining Sponsor Absolut Care Aurora Park; Presenting Sponsors Benderson Development, The Bonadio Group, Fisher-Price, Great Erie Federal Credit Union, Independent Nursing Care, Modern Disposal Services, New Wave Energy Corporation, and West Herr Buick GMC Cadillac; and Supporting Sponsors Aurora Paint Pot, Bank of Holland, Loptr LLC, Marilla Country Store, and Moog Inc..

It’s an exciting year at the Greater East Aurora Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber has been working hard on a variety of fronts to promote the Greater East Aurora community and its businesses.

As you read through this newsletter you can see the efforts we’re making on your behalf to create opportunities for your business’ growth, but just 3 quick housekeeping items before I continue:

• We are in the process of changing over our accounting program to Quick Books On-Line. As a result, we will be sending out membership invoices by email versus by USPS. Please keep an eye out for your invoice in your inbox as you get closer to your renewal month.
• Please make sure you keep us updated with any changes in your mailing address or email. We want to make sure we can communicate important information to you as the year goes on.
• Our new 2022 membership directory/consumer guide is hot off the presses, and we will be sharing a copy of that publication within the next few weeks. You can also stop by the office and pick up extra copies to make available to your staff as a resource or for your customers and clients.

On the business development front, we continue to address the very important issue of workforce development and career exploration opportunities for our school students.

With the support of our Sustaining Sponsor Absolut Care and Title Sponsor Moog, we’re able to continue the second year of our “Real World Careers – Meet the Professionals”, virtual education program that brings business leaders from various industries into the classroom to discuss a variety of career opportunities with our high school students.

This program has been very well received by students, teachers, counselors and administrators at East Aurora, Iroquois & Holland high schools along with the BOCES programs at the Ormsby Educational Center.

We continue to work to try and fill the employment pipeline with great students to meet the job needs of our employers.

To see more about our “Real Worlds Career” program you can go to our website at www.eanycc.com

Lastly, we continue to partner with Tim Clark, Commissioner of the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission, to involve the Greater East Aurora community in upcoming film features.

As a result, another made for TV holiday film will be filmed this Saturday, February 19^th along Main St. between Olean and Elm.

Tim has given us a heads up that other, more higher profile films are on the way!

Thanks everyone for your support and please read on for additional important information!

– Gary Grote, Executive Director

Daire Kwarta, RN, WCC, has been promoted to the role of director of nursing and is responsible for the oversight and operation of the day-to-day functions of the nursing department as well as ensuring compliance with all facility, local, state and federal regulations.    

Kwarta has worked for Absolut Care since 2011 and has held roles as the assistant director of nursing, rehab manager and nursing supervisor. She has also worked on the specialized memory care and subacute rehab units. She received a RN degree from Erie Community College and wound care certification from the Wound Care Institute. 

She resides in Eden with her husband Marc and has three children: Noah, Mason and Aidan.

Jennifer Kennedy, RN, has been promoted to the role of assistant director of nursing. In this capacity, she assists the director of nursing in planning, organizing, developing and directing the functions of the nursing department in accordance with current facility, local, state and federal regulations.  

Prior to her appointment, Kennedy served as the subacute manager, long-term unit coordinator, subacute unit coordinator and associate director of education. She has also held roles at Absolut Care’s sister portfolio, the McGuire Group, where she began her career as a certified nursing assistant in 1995. She is a graduate of Trocaire College and Erie 2 BOCES. 

She resides in North Tonawanda with her husband Nathaniel and children: Nathaniel, Elliott and Benjamin. 

“We believe in cultivating and promoting dedicated individuals from within,” stated Administrator Stacy Bastian, RN, BSN, LNHA. “All three of these nurses have ‘grown up’ within our health care system and are shining examples of what you can achieve through discipline and the desire to be an outstanding caregiver.” 

Absolut Care of Aurora Park, the Chamber’s Sustaining Platinum Sponsor, provides quality long-term care, subacute rehabilitation, memory care, hospice care, in-house dialysis services and respite care for short-term stays. For more information, visit www.absolutcare.com.  

Chamber hosts first annual WinterFest Mini Restaurant Week Feb. 18 to Feb. 20

Seventeen local restaurants to participate

Seventeen (17) local restaurants will be participating in the Greater East Aurora Chamber of Commerce’s first annual WinterFest Mini Restaurant Week, Thursday, Feb. 18 through Saturday, Feb. 20.

The Chamber partnered with the Town of Aurora this year to help create some fun new events for WinterFest 2021. “We wanted to get our local businesses involved and encourage people to come out to the greater East Aurora region during WinterFest,” explained Victoria Sturman, Associate Director of the Greater East Aurora Chamber of Commerce.

“The last restaurant week we did in September was very successful but was only open to Chamber members. Knowing how difficult the past year has been for all of our restaurants, we decided to open up this event to non-members as well. Our goal is to help our entire business community during this pandemic, not just our members.”

Participating restaurants include*:

• Byrncliff Golf Resort & Banquets
• Charlie’s Diner
• East Aurora Cooperative Market
• Fat Bob’s Smokehouse @ 42 North Brewing
• Holland Hotel
• Homegrown Kitchen
• Kone King East
• Mr. Pot Pie
• Mister’s Bistro
• Old Orchard Inn
• Pasquale’s Italian Restaurant
• Pizza Del Aureo’s
• Taste Bistro & Coffee Bar
• The Deli
• The Globe
• The Irishman Pub
• The Roycroft Inn

*Please note, these links are to the restaurants’ websites, and may not display the special WinterFest Mini Restaurant Week menus. Please visit here to view the special menus.

More information on the restaurants and their special WinterFest Restaurant Week menus will be posted on the Chamber’s website – www.eanycc.com. Each menu includes meals at one (or more) of the following price points: $10, $20, or $30.

This event is sponsored by The Bonadio Group, a top 50 CPA firm that delivers a full spectrum of services to help clients overcome their financial and business challenges.

Two Chamber Members Featured in Newest Edition of Buffalo Magazine

Two members of the Greater East Aurora Chamber of Commerce are featured in the newest edition of Buffalo Magazine. The Deli and Kickstand Culture are both featured in the article titled: “Hospitality meets creativity on Main Street, East Aurora.”

The article is part of a shop local series created to help keep WNY’s economy “bright and vital.”

The Deli participated in this year’s Taste of East Aurora Restaurant Week in September, which is hosted by the Chamber.

Kickstand Culture was one of the vendors at the Chamber’s annual Street Festival & Sidewalk Sale this year, which was hosted online via the Chamber’s Facebook page.

Please take a moment to read the article and share it with your family friends.

We are East Aurora Proud!

Photo credit: Buffalo Magazine