Valvo’s in Silver Creek closed in 2022.
Overall, it was a depressing year on the local business scene.
Victories, such as the opening of the Americold cold storage facility in the town of Dunkirk, were overshadowed by setbacks. Most notably, major layoffs at the nearby Wells ice cream and big changes at Athenex’s buildout hurt workers in the north county.
Among smaller businesses, a longtime Silver Creek institution closed — but a shuttered Fredonia icon is getting revived.
WELLS SCALES BACK
The company announced July 21 that it would “scale back operations … in 2023 to five production lines” at its Dunkirk plant.
The Wells ice cream plant in Dunkirk announced layoffs of hundreds of workers.
Wells was acquired in early December by the Ferrero Group. Dunkirk Mayor Wilfred Rosas said he had “received assurances there will not be further reductions.”
However, those reductions were devastating. In September, through the…
