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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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Cheshire Speed Limits Reduced, Code of Conduct Mulled

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

CHESHIRE, Mass. — Some streets will soon be slower for cars with the Department of Public Works replacing the speed limit signs in response to community concerns.

The town adopted Chapter 90, Section 17C to reduce some local road speed limits to 25 mph. Twenty-three streets are approved by the state; signs are ordered from the state Department of Transportation and should arrive within a couple weeks.

DPW Director Corey McGrath told the Selectmen at last Tuesday's meeting that the department had received concerns from residents wanting people to be slower on the following streets:

  • Church Street 
  • East Main Street 
  • portions of Wells Road 
  • Main Street 
  • Furnace Hill Road
  • Flaherty Road
  • Pit Road
  • Prospect Street 
  • Dean Street 
  • Richmond Street 
  • School Street 
  • Railroad Street 
  • Depot Street 
  • Richardson Street 
  • 5th Avenue
  • Meadowview Drive 
  • Wood Lane
  • Dean Street Extension 
  • portions of Ingalls Road 
  • Devonshire Drive 
  • Yorkshire Drive
  • Berkshire Drive 
  • Wilshire Drive 

Chair Michelle Francesconi asked McGrath to look into the signs solar-powered "slow down" signs. She also spoke about increasing problems with electric bicycles and similar devices.

Young people are going 30 to 40 mph, often on sidewalks, weaving between cars, cutting through private property and town property and riding in the road, she said, and brought up how other towns are creating bylaws to address these problems. Francesconi thought the board should look into it as well as a matter of public safety.

The state is currently revising related laws, so the board will see what the Legislature passes and then model bylaws on other communities.

Francesconi also said that since there is limited police coverage at night during most of the behavior, she suggested shifting some patrol hours to evenings to address youth riding behavior.

Later in the meeting, Francesconi also brought up code of conduct for town employees as she has been receiving numerous reports regarding professionalism, boundaries, confidentiality, and internal relationships and communication among town hall staff, department heads, and with the public.

She said town counsel has recommended adopting a code of conduct as well as providing training. After some discussion, the board decided to get a catalog of training options and identify mandatory and optional trainings. Members are also thinking of doing them in-person.

In other news, the Fire Department's rescue boat missing from the water because motor is broken and is in the process of being replaced.

There are two applicants in the running for the police chief position who will be doing the assessment center on Aug. 17. The Selectmen will get their resumes afterward and decide on interviews.

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