Boosting business: Congressman Nick Langworthy visits small shops in city

Photos courtesy of the office of Congressman Nick Langworthy
U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy, center, is pictured with Dan Heitzenrater, President and CEO of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, right, on Thursday with staff at Add Lumber True Value lumberyard and hardware store. There, they spoke at length about the state of small businesses with Louise Lanski of Add Lumber True Value, second from left.

Just days before National Small Business Week, Congressman Nick Langworthy took advantage of a trip to Dunkirk to visit with a pair of local businesses that are thriving despite being dealt a tough hand.

Langworthy visited Thursday morning with Louise Lanski of Add Lumber True Value in Dunkirk, then took a short trip a few blocks down to the Central Station restaurant in Dunkirk.

“We wanted to take some time to visit with a couple fixtures here in the community. There is no better way to get a feel for what’s going on in the economy than to talk to someone that’s got so much skin in the game as a small business owner,” Langworthy said.

Langworthy was joined by Dan Heitzenrater, President and CEO of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, as they together met with two of Dunkirk’s thriving small businesses.

Langworthy later stated regarding Heitzenrater’s efforts for the community, “I don’t think there is a Chamber of Commerce that does a better job supporting small business.”

Recalling his first job washing glasses behind a bar, Langworthy values small businesses in the community, especially family run businesses like his father’s Bullfrog Hotel and Bar in Jamestown. Add Lumber certainly fits the description, as well.

Lanski owns and operates Add Lumber on Willow Road in Dunkirk. As a family run business for generations, started by her father, Lanski employs several members of the family to operate the business day-to-day.

“The third generation is coming up through. They are a very proud family business, and that’s what this country is built on,” Langworthy said.

Despite a dramatic rise in the cost of materials through inflation and a lack of available contractors amplified by the pandemic, Add Lumber has been able to remain on track with not only its Dunkirk location, but its two other locations as well, in Westfield and Irving.

Specific to the restaurant industry, many issues have mounted in recent years more than ever. Among one of the issues Central Station has is the struggle to find and maintain qualified employees with experience in the kitchen, where consistency is paramount. In the front of the operation, however, Central Station thrives as a traditional small town diner with a prime location in the city.

“Think about how many people come into this restaurant and they share their two cents,” Langworthy said of Central Station.

Even when the pandemic and its ensuing restrictions on dining made it impossible for members of the community to sit down and have a meal in the restaurant, Central Station still remained up and running. A shift to prioritize quality and production of takeout meals helped not only keep the business afloat, but rather it completely took off with dramatic increases in profits.

Langworthy said of Central Station’s shift to focusing on takeout orders during the pandemic, “Central Station) pivoted and did it right. Some restaurants, that was the end of them. Some restaurants, it was just the beginning. I’m really thrilled to hear they have been so successful here at Central Station.”

Langworthy referred to both businesses as “great barometers of the community.” He was happy to have squeezed in a visit before his latest trip back to Washington.

“The American dream is alive and well in these two businesses. I’m proud to talk to these people,” Langworthy said.