Issue 2 · Thursday, October 22, 2026
By Scott
Hey there, neighbor. Did you know? Drive Broadway through downtown Depew and the Village of Lancaster, and you're on US Route 20, the longest road in the United States. It stretches more than 3,200 miles, from Boston to the Oregon coast.
In today's Lancaster Lowdown:
A possible new Chipotle on Transit, right in front of Kohl's
Update: the pool hall planned for Transit Road won't open after all
What's going in on that 22-acre clearing on Genesee Street
New e-bike and scooter rules on the Lancaster Town Board's agenda
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Open for Business
OPENINGS, CLOSINGS AND WHAT'S BEING BUILT
A possible new Chipotle on Transit, right in front of Kohl's. The Lancaster Town Board's Oct 19 agenda included a permit for site work (pavement and landscaping) for a new Chipotle at 4839 Transit Rd, next door to Kohl's at 4835 Transit. If it goes ahead, it would be the third Chipotle on Transit Road, joining the ones at 6727 and 8020 Transit. The Town hasn't posted the meeting minutes yet, so we don't know the vote. We'll report it once they're out. See the site on Google Maps →
Source: Lancaster Town Board proposed resolutions (Oct 19).
6199 Transit Rd, where Bison Billiards had approval for a new hall. Photo: Lancaster Lowdown, Oct 2026
Update (Oct 26): Bison Billiards won't open at 6199 Transit Rd. Owner Mike Shriver told the Lancaster Lowdown: "Unfortunately, Bison Billiards will not be building their second location at 6199 Transit Rd, Depew, NY. We were investigating that option, but it fell through."
Originally published Oct 22: Bison Billiards had the go-ahead to open a 15,670-square-foot billiards hall at 6199 Transit Rd, across the street from PJ Cool's and near Zorba's Texas Hots. The Depew Planning Board approved the site plan Aug 3, and the Depew Village Board signed off 5-0 on Sept 28. Bison Billiards already runs a hall in the Eastern Hills Mall, which WKBW reported at 8,300 square feet. See the site on Google Maps →
Sources: Depew Village Board minutes (Sept 28), WKBW.
The cleared land on Genesee Street between Brazen Brewing and the Hull Family Home. Photo: Lancaster Lowdown, Oct 2026
What's going in on that huge clearing on Genesee Street. If you've driven Genesee Street between Brazen Brewing and the Hull Family Home lately, you've seen it: about 10 bulldozers, excavators and other heavy machines, and a field stripped of every tree and blade of grass, down to flat dirt. Wondering what's going in? So was I.
Here's what the Town has approved. Developer Roy Hamilton of RRH Properties has the go-ahead to build 11 "flex" warehouse buildings on about 22 acres at 5956 Genesee St. Flex buildings mix warehouse, workshop and office space under one roof, the kind of place a contractor, small manufacturer or online seller might rent. The plan also includes a one-story self-storage building with 46 units, a separate office building, a stormwater system and 64 parking spaces. Buffalo Business First put the whole project at about 100,000 square feet when it first reported the plans in May 2025.
Where it stands: it's approved. After Lancaster Town Planning Board and environmental reviews, the Lancaster Town Board signed off 5-0 on May 4. Nobody spoke at the public hearing in January. No tenants or completion date have been announced. See the site on Google Maps →
Sources: Buffalo Business First (May 14, 2025), Town Board minutes (Jan 5, Feb 17 and May 4).
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Town Hall
WHAT YOUR TOWN AND VILLAGE BOARDS DECIDED, AND WHAT'S NEXT
DECIDED
Votes from the Lancaster Village Board (Tue, Oct 13).
A Halloween "Boo Bash" at Cayuga Creek Park (Lancaster Village Board, Oct 13, 4-0): Simply Boba Village Bistro got the OK for a Boo Bash at the park on Saturday, Oct 31. The board waived its rule that event applications come in at least 60 days ahead, as long as the insurance paperwork arrives. Last month the same board turned down a Bills watch party on West Main, citing that 60-day rule, the Bills schedule being out since May, and too little time to warn businesses about closing the street. See the site on Google Maps →
The holiday season is set (Lancaster Village Board, Oct 13, 4-0): the Lancaster Lights Up tree lighting on Friday, Nov 27; the 19th Christmasville Fire Truck Parade, run by the Greater Lancaster Museum of Firefighting, on Saturday, Nov 28; and Last Night Lancaster on New Year's Eve. Skylighters will do the fireworks again; where they go off is still being worked out.
Splash pad contract ready to sign (Lancaster Village Board, Oct 13, 4-0): the Mayor can sign the Erie County grant contract for a splash pad and playground upgrade at the North End Fire Hall playground on West Drullard Avenue once the county approves the project. The village is asking the county for $150,000 toward the roughly $201,000 project. See the site on Google Maps →
IN THE WORKS
On the Lancaster Town Board's agenda for Mon, Oct 19. Results run here once the official minutes are posted.
Riding an e-bike or electric scooter? New Town rules may be coming. A proposed law would apply in the Town of Lancaster only. It would not apply inside the Village of Lancaster or the Village of Depew, including the part of Depew that sits in the town. For e-bikes, electric scooters and other motorized scooters and devices, riders would have to be 16 or older on public land and stay off public sidewalks and out of parking lots, unless a shopping center allows its customers to ride there. These devices would be prohibited from exceeding 20 mph on public property. Electric scooters, motorized devices and Class 2 and 3 e-bikes would be banned from the Heritage Trail; pedal-assist (Class 1) e-bikes would not be. Not sure which class you ride? Under the law, a Class 1 helps only while you pedal and stops helping at 20 mph, a Class 2 has a throttle and tops out at 20, and a Class 3 can run on the motor alone up to 28 mph. The proposed law also says no one over age 12 could ride a regular bicycle on the sidewalk. Everyone on a bike, e-bike or electric scooter, passengers included, would have to wear a helmet. Breaking any of these rules would mean a $50 fine for a first offense, up to $100 for a second and up to $250 after that. For riders under 18, the ticket goes to a parent. Police could seize a bike, e-bike or scooter used to break the rules, and could take an e-bike or scooter on the spot from a rider under 16. The public hearing was Sept 21.
New lights for the Opera House, and a do-over on sound: the board was set to hire Foxwire of Grand Island for the Opera House's new lighting system, for up to about $324,000. Foxwire was the lowest of three bidders, and the state's NY Forward grant would pay for it. The board was also set to throw out every bid for the Opera House's new sound and projection systems, saying that project needs "a substantial change" in what it covers, and to take new bids until Nov 9. The agenda doesn't say what's changing.
Cemetery waterline, phase 1: the board was set to hire DJM Contracting of Eden, the lowest of five bidders, for up to $942,975, paid from an existing Town capital project. The agenda doesn't say which streets the new water line serves.
Sources: Village Board minutes (Oct 13), Town Board agenda and proposed resolutions (Oct 19).
COMING UP
Fri, Oct 23 · Want a seat on a Lancaster village board?
The Village of Lancaster is taking applications for alternate members of its Planning Commission and Zoning Board. Applications are due Friday, Oct 23. Call Village Hall at (716) 683-2105.
Sat, Oct 24 to Sun, Nov 1 · Early voting
Lancaster's assigned early voting site is the Depew Municipal Building, 85 Manitou St, Depew, but you can vote at any Erie County early voting site. Hours: Oct 24 and 25, 9 AM to 5 PM; Oct 26 to 30, noon to 9 PM; Oct 31 and Nov 1, 9 AM to 5 PM. Election Day is Tue, Nov 3, polls open 6 AM to 9 PM.
All early voting sites →
Mon, Oct 26, 7 pm · Lancaster Village Board
Lancaster Municipal Building, 5423 Broadway. Regular meeting.
Mon, Oct 26, 7 pm · Depew Village Board
Council Chambers, Depew Village Hall, 85 Manitou St. Regular meeting.
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The Report
FROM THE VILLAGE
CONDITIONS
🌅 SUNRISE 7:37 AM · 🌇 SUNSET 6:21 PM
☀️ DAYLIGHT 10 HRS 44 MIN
🌙 MOONRISE 4:33 PM · MOONSET 3:30 AM
🌔 MOON Waxing Gibbous 86%
🍃 AIR QUALITY Good, 33 AQI
FORECAST
🌤️ Thu: Mostly sunny, high 62, low 37
☀️ Fri: Sunny, high 57, frosty low 32
☀️ Sat: Sunny, high 62, low 37
SKY: The full Hunter's Moon arrives at 12:11 AM Monday, so Sunday night is the night to look. Then on Tuesday evening, Oct 27, the Moon passes in front of the Pleiades, the little star cluster also called the Seven Sisters. Look low in the east-northeast around 8 to 9 PM, and grab binoculars, since the bright Moon washes out the fainter stars. The cluster sits roughly 445 light-years away, and Galileo was the first person to see it through a telescope.
PETS LOOKING FOR A HOME: Ginger, a calm, well-mannered girl from a Lancaster rescue who is all about treats, Spooky the black cat at the Ten Lives Club, right on time for Halloween, and Reznor, a chatty, affectionate pot-bellied pig who loves snack time and a dip in his kiddie pool.
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Happenings
WORTH LEAVING THE HOUSE FOR
★ this week's favorite · 🎈 family-friendly · FREE no cost to go
THIS WEEK · THU OCT 22 TO WED OCT 28
FRI, OCT 23 | Halloween Party & Market FREE
The Rooted Cup, 20 W Main St, 5 to 8PM
Local vendors, a Halloween menu, music and a photo spot. Heads up: the horror decor isn't meant for kids.
free to get in
FRI, OCT 23 | Lancaster Legends Football at Depew Wildcats
Away game at 7:30PM
Kickoff is 7:30, not the 7PM we listed last week.
road trip to Depew
★ SAT, OCT 24 | Community Scanning Day
Lancaster Public Library, 5466 Broadway, 11AM to 3PM
Bring up to 15 old photos, letters or documents. Library staff scan them, and you go home with a thumb drive.
no registration needed
SAT, OCT 24 | Traditional Papercutting: Scherenschnitte
Hull Family Home & Farmstead, 5976 Genesee St, noon to 2:30PM
A beginner class in the traditional art of decorative paper cutting. Supplies and a tour of the farmstead included.
$40, ages 14 and up
SAT, OCT 24 | 1901 Buffalo: Birthplace of a New Presidency
Lancaster Public Library, 5466 Broadway at 1PM
The education director at the TR Inaugural Site on how Theodore Roosevelt came to be sworn in as president in Buffalo.
register first
SAT, OCT 24 | Outlaw State of Mind: Chris Stapleton Tribute
Lancaster Opera House, 21 Central Ave at 7:30PM
tickets $35
SAT, OCT 24 | Aquino Family Foundation Music Fest
St. Mary's High School, 142 Laverack Ave, 7:30 to 11:30PM
A benefit night with Flashback and XOXO, food, drinks and basket auctions.
$10, 21 and over
🎈 MON, OCT 26 | Kidding Around Yoga
Lancaster Public Library, 5466 Broadway at 11:30AM
Yoga, music and stories for ages 3 to 6. A grown-up stays; bring a mat or towel.
register first
TUE, OCT 27 | Investigating the Paranormal
Lancaster Public Library, 5466 Broadway at 6PM
A paranormal investigator walks through how ghost hunting works, from low-tech to gadgets.
register first
WED, OCT 28 | Mixed Media & Collage FREE
Lancaster Public Library, 5466 Broadway at 6PM
A hands-on art class for adults: paper, paint and found materials.
register at 716-683-1120
🎈 WED, OCT 28 | Trunk or Treat
Potters House, 5477 Broadway at 6PM
Trunk-or-treating, games, candy, cider and donuts, hosted by Lancaster Presbyterian Church.
bring a bag
PLAN AHEAD
THU - SAT, OCT 29 - 31 | Beautification Planting & Spruce Up FREE
Central Business District, Thu 5 to 7PM, Fri & Sat 10AM to 2PM
bring your gloves
🎈 FRI, OCT 30 | Halloween at the Lancaster Fire Hall
Lancaster Fire Hall, 5423 Broadway at 6:30PM
Donuts, cider, candy and a costume contest with prizes, hosted by the Lancaster Ladies Auxiliary.
costumes on
🎈 SAT, OCT 31 | Trick or Treat in the Village FREE
Village merchants, noon to 2PM
Face painting at Papi Grande's, a Touch-a-Truck, a craft table at Roams and family activities at Simply Boba.
one long candy run
🎈 SAT, OCT 31 | Trick-or-Treat Hours FREE
6 to 8:30PM, set by the Lancaster Town Board, with the Lancaster and Depew mayors on board
porch lights on
SAT, NOV 7 | Meat Raffle for the Boys & Girls Club
Our Lady of Pompeii, 129 Laverack Ave, doors 6PM, first spin 7PM
Benefits the Boys & Girls Club. $100 for a table of 8 or $15 a seat; reserve at 716-683-6755.
event details
SAT, NOV 7 | The BroFish: Hootie & Darius Rucker Tribute
Lancaster Opera House, 21 Central Ave at 7:30PM · Tickets $35
only wanna be with you
Event details come from each event's own page. Times and prices can change, so check the link before you go. Know of something we missed? Send it to [email protected].
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Thanks for reading! Let's chat again next Thursday.
Scott
Lancaster Lowdown
Every Thursday you get a free edition of Lancaster Lowdown. It's put together by Scott, a Lancaster neighbor who does the moon math, reports on meetings, and tracks down the best things to do so you don't have to. Free, every week.
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