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Bass Water Grill is changing hands this week. The restaurant's been in business for 15 years.

New Owner of Bass Water Grill to Move Realty Company to Cheshire

By Brian RhodesiBerkshires Staff
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CHESHIRE, Mass. — Lakeside restaurant Bass Water Grill will close its doors on Saturday after 15 years in business. 

The restaurant at 287 South State Road started operation in 2007, replacing the building's former restaurant, the Lakeside. Craig Kahn, owner of All Seasons Realty Group in Pittsfield, is buying the property and plans to move the group's office there and potentially open a cafe.

"I think there's a lot of cool things that we could do with it, too, that will be great for the community," he said this week. "It will be good all around. I think it'll be a really, really nice situation."

Restaurant owner Edward Bassi posted about the change in hands on the restaurant's Facebook last week. 

"After being a part of the welcoming community for the last fifteen years, the one thing we will miss most is our family," the post read. "We thank our staff and community for standing beside us for this crazy ride."

While he said plans are not final, Kahn intends to utilize the kitchen space and wants to make sure he does it right.

"I would like to have some sort of cafe in the front, possibly utilize the back part of the bigger kitchen for some catering or events or things of that nature," he said. "I don't have anything 100 percent set in stone or concrete. Right now, I'm really focused on just getting the office up and running and going."

Kahn said he and his firm have known that the building was for sale for several years. He highlighted the location and the floorplan as significant reasons for the purchase.



"We started thinking about it, and seeing the growth potential, having an open concept office and then working with the town trying to do a cafe possibly in there," he said. "And working with the lake and the trail, it just seemed like an overall good scenario," he said.

iBerkshires unsuccessfully reached out to Bassi several times for comment.

There's been a restaurant at the location for years. Jason Boucher had operated the Lakeside Restaurant for about decade before it changed hands and had overseen a renovation of the kitchen after a fire and added the reception hall in 2002. Bass Water is the last operating sit-down restaurant in Cheshire — Bea's Daily Buzzz closed in 2005, Christina's in 2007, and the Country Charm had closed its doors in 2004 after 33 years.

Tags: business closing,   restaurants,   

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Hoosac Valley Cuts Staffing, Taps Reserves for $24M Budget

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Hoosac Valley Regional School Committee on Monday approved a level-service budget for fiscal 2027 of $23,990,355 that includes staffing cuts and use of reserve funds.
 
Adams will see its total assessment rise by $193,745, or just under 3 percent, to $6,814,144; Cheshire's assessment is up about the same, at $196,900, or about 6 percent, to $3,402,982. 
 
Overall, the budget is up 3.22 percent over this year, an increase of $853,719. That's about half what had been proposed in February. 
 
To get there, the district is reducing staff by $362,000, and shifting another $514,000 in staff costs to rural aid and school choice funds. 
 
"Any time you're talking about productions, it's a tough conversation. There are no easy decisions to make," Superintendent Aaron Dean told the School Committee. "We've really looked at how we can utilize staff we have for student support in both the middle school and high school, and kind of reallocate some of the duties similarly."
 
Cuts include not replacing a retiring full-time school adjustment counselor, which is opposed by the Special Education Parent Advisory Council.
 
"Many families have spoken up that their students feel comfortable attending school because of the support of the SAC and by spreading the remaining portion to fit, we perceive students losing their confidence to attend school, feeling that they wouldn't have the support that they need in place," a member of SEPAC read in open forum. "SEPAC respectfully urges the School Committee to carefully consider the impact that any proposed reductions they have on the district's ability to meet its legal obligations."
 
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