Fri, May 7, 2021, 11:25 a.m.
Location to the Speedway gas station
By Michael DePietro
Tribune Editor
Last Thursday, demolition teams began demolishing the vacant building at 7001 Packard Road in Niagara City. The location was most recently the location of Clancy’s Restaurant. However, for many locals, the place will forever be remembered as the home of Page’s Whistle Pig.
The location, which has been vacant since 2019, is to become a Speedway gas station.
Lee Wallace, supervisor for the city of Niagara, said the build was “bittersweet.”
“It was a great place when it was up and running, but unfortunately it’s been a thorn in the side for a few years and we’re glad we can move forward with a new project,” he said. “I think – although some people are not happy with the speedway – I think they will like the sight more than what has been sitting there for several years.”
When the demolition began, many residents used social media to share family photos and memories of the historic site. Even though the shop had been closed for years, the memories apparently were still fresh.
“Gone, but never forgotten,” said one commentator.
“Make whistling pigs for dinner. Almost like a memorial dinner, ”said another.
In a phone call with the Tribune / Sentinel, Clancy’s owner Don “DD” Spacone also shared the nostalgia for the legendary place – not only for the time he spent in the place where he ran his own restaurant, but also as a resident, who enjoyed the Whistle Pig tradition that grows up like so many others.
“I’m sad to see how it’s going. We all went there when we were kids, did the rides and all that. It was really the place we were growing up, ”said Spacone.
After the demolition began, he said he was immediately inundated with calls from friends and neighbors saying they couldn’t believe the site had actually disappeared.
“I’ve made up to 40 calls from people who have called and called and phoned me: ‘They are not going to believe what they are doing (on the Clancy’s / Whistle Pig website). We have to go – do you think it’s okay to go there and get a brick? ‘You know, as a souvenir? I said, ‘Go, go; take a chance; get one. ‘I did! “Spacone laughed.” But I’m serious, I stopped counting on 40 calls. But that was the story of Niagara Falls. You’re talking about the Whistle Pig, man! Whistle Pig and Clancy’s! “
Spacone described the history of the site and explained the remarkable path that led to his own tenure at the site.
Pete Page and his son Bernie first opened Page’s Whistle Pig in 1939. Named after the restaurant’s cheese-coated hot dog, Whistle Pig quickly became known in the area as a prime summer spot for great food and -. through the adjacent pudding stand – ice-cold delicacies. Not long after opening, the pages added several teenage amusement park-style rides, including a carousel, a wet boat ride, and even a helicopter ride that soared through the air.
The company was a popular seasonal mainstay in the region throughout its life until Peter Page, the founder’s grandson, announced in 2003 that the family was selling the restaurant and popular rides. The company stayed in the market for three years until the building and naming rights were sold to Tim Shiah, a resident of Niagara Falls. After extensive repairs and renovations, Shiah reopened Whistle Pig in 2011, where the restaurant had two strong seasons.
Despite the success and Shiah’s plans to buy back the rides, health problems forced him to close the restaurant again. This time it would be permanent. Shiah passed away in 2015.
It was around this time that Spacone happened to try to move on from the Clancy location on 16th Street and Pine Avenue, where it had been since 1985. As Spacone reports, the popular sports bar had its own fascinating history before making its way to the corner of Packard and Military.
Before Clancy’s opened, Spacone ventured into the restaurant business for 10 years as the owner of a restaurant up north, Delmar Grill. He later bought the Hitching Post on Hyde Park Boulevard in 1416 from its founders, the Donato family. The Hitching Post – known for its front door carriage that has been converted into a unique dining room for guests – was a popular home when it opened in the 1940s. Spacone even claims the restaurant was the first to bring beef to the falls.
Despite its popularity, Donato always longed to move operations to Pine Avenue.
“I’m an Italian boy from Niagara Falls. I always wanted to be on Pine Avenue! ” he explained.
He sold the Hitching Post to Joe Anderson in 1985 and founded Clancy’s, a popular sports bar in the area. The Hitching Post changed hands a few times over the years before it eventually evolved into what it is today: Porky’s Hot Dogs – now a summer staple in Hyde Park.
It was in 2011 when Shiah, a longtime friend of Spacone, approached him to see if he wanted to move Clancy’s to the Whistle Pig restaurant area. Spacone agreed and sold the 16th Street location to Buffalo-based real estate company Ellicott Development. Not long after, Ellicott Development also bought the entire property on Packard Road from Shiah.
Spacone signed a lease for the restaurant portion of the property, added a bar, and used the space for the first time year-round rather than seasonal.
He described the six years he spent there as “wonderful”.
A year and a half ago, Ellicott Development announced the sale of the property and bought it out of its lease. Spacone said the buyout was so significant that he could essentially retire.
“It worked well. I mean I was 64 years old. I was ready to retire anyway, ”he said. “I’ve been in the bar and restaurant industry for 43 years.”
While there are certainly things he misses – like the regular trips to the New York Yankees that Clancy organized and sold – the timing of the buyout turned out to be a blessing in other ways.
“I was lucky; I mean, I got off at the right time,” he said. “(The buyout) happened just before the pandemic started. I was blessed.”
Regarding future plans, Spacone said he was not ruling anything out in the future.
“I miss it,” he said of the restaurant business. “I mean, I’m enjoying it (retirement), but I’ve been doing this for 43 years, you know? Maybe after all these pandemics are gone, who knows? I mean, I still own the Clancy’s name. I could use the name Hitching Post. I never sold the name. I even own the Whistle Pig name. I bought this; I was admitted by this name. So I have a lot going on for me. At the same time, I am 65 years old. I can’t say I’d jump into something right now. So I just don’t know …
“But I’m proud of what I had, I was lucky. To come from where I came from. … I’ve been to historical places. I’ve owned attractions in the area. I was lucky. Very happy.”
While the buildings are gone forever, a whole new generation can still experience some of the magic and fun that made Page’s Whistle Pig so special.
When the Page family left the restaurant in 2003, some of the rides were sold to the Herschell Carousel Museum in North Tonawanda. Interestingly, it was the Allan Herschell Company that actually produced the same rides in the 1940s and 50s.
The rides are now part of the museum’s Kiddieland Testing Park Exhibit, where they can be ridden and enjoyed, just as so many generations of western New Yorkers had in the past.
Kiddieland opens on Memorial Weekend, Saturday, May 29, for the 2021 season.
The museum’s website states, “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kiddieland needs reservations to ensure proper cleaning, capacity and compliance with NY state guidelines. Kiddieland costs an additional $ 5 per eligible driver (children 34 to 52 inches tall). Each Kiddieland add-on includes up to two adults (who may fly by helicopter) at no additional cost, lasts 30 minutes, and ensures that each driver can take each trip at least once within their time slot.
“General admission to the museum is required (for non-members). Kiddieland is not an attraction in its own right. “
Kiddieland is open Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. More information is available at www.carrouselmuseum.org.
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