14-16 West Main Street

NOW & THEN: 14–16 WEST MAIN STREET, WEBSTER, NY

Now — A familiar storefront at 14–16 West Main

The businesses have changed, but the storefront remains recognizable. Look at the broad display windows on either side of the recessed doorways, then look up at the three second-story windows. Across the supplied photographs, this basic arrangement continues to identify the building even as siding, trim, signs, and the roofline above the façade change.

Nut & Bolt Tattoo appears in the August 2024 exterior view, and the Webster Village Business Improvement District currently lists the studio at 14 West Main Street. The awning in the photograph identifies the building as “14–16 West Main.” Its display windows now advertise tattoo artistry where earlier merchants offered goods and services for village households.

14–16 West Main Street in August 2024, as dated in the supplied Google Street View screenshot. Nut & Bolt Tattoo occupies the frontage. Notice the recessed doorways, paired display-window areas, and three upper windows.

An angled view supplied with a 2024 filename, showing the tattoo studio, awning, and building’s relationship to its neighbors. Google Street View screenshot.

2008 and a later view supplied as 2011 — The same pattern

The May 2008 photograph shows light-green siding, dark shutters, pale pink storefront trim, and a broad blank sign band. The recessed entrances and display windows are clearly visible beneath the three upper windows. A rental sign appears in one display window.

Another street view, supplied with a 2011 filename, shows exposed wood on the upper front and shop-window displays below. These views offer useful comparisons with the later tattoo-studio exterior: the finishes change while the arrangement of openings remains broadly familiar.

Exterior identified by the supplied filename as May 12, 2008. The photograph clearly records the recessed doors, display windows, and three upper windows. Date based on filename.

Street view supplied with a 2011 filename. Exposed wood is visible on the upper front. The screenshot also carries a 2019 Google copyright label; the actual image-capture date is not established here.

Cookie & Company

A March 18, 1987 Webster Herald feature introduced Cookie & Company as a recently opened restaurant at 14 West Main Street. James and Linda Marble owned and operated it, emphasizing homemade food and good service.

The menu included oatmeal, malted Belgian waffles, homemade soups, gravy, and hot sauce. Thursday specialties included spaghetti, lasagna, and manicotti. Like the diner before it, the restaurant made this small storefront a place for meals as well as conversation.

1984 — Another chapter for Tom’s Diner

In May 1984, the Webster Herald profiled Tom’s Diner under owner Oscar Herrera. The article reported a February 20, 1984 opening and described breakfasts, lunches, home-style cooking, and personal attention to customers. Herrera spoke appreciatively of the welcome he had received from the Webster community.

That opening date marks the chapter described in the 1984 article. Earlier advertisements show that the Tom’s Diner name was already associated with 14 West Main Street in the 1960s and 1970s.

1978, 1972, and 1967 — Breakfast and lunch at Tom’s

The newspaper advertisements place Tom’s Diner at 14 West Main Street across several decades. An October 4, 1967 help-wanted notice sought a dishwasher for a five-day week, with daytime hours of 8 to 4.

A December 1972 holiday advertisement announced new management: proprietor Joe Fustanio and master chef Tom Johnston. Its early opening hours began at 4:30 a.m., serving customers long before much of the village was awake. In December 1978, a greeting from “Joe, Inez & Family” promoted daily breakfast and lunch specials. These small notices preserve the personal, everyday character of a village diner.

1954 — Webster Toy & Sport Center

A January 14, 1954 advertisement identifies Webster Toy & Sport Center at 14 West Main Street. The notice offered new and used guns bought, sold, and traded, along with ammunition. It documents another kind of village retailing here between the appliance-store and diner chapters.

1947–1950 — Huehn’s Appliances and household needs

By January 23, 1947, Huehn’s Appliances was advertising at 14 West Main Street. Its services included repairs to household appliances, home and automobile radios, and vacuum cleaners. Later that year, the store promoted table, floor, and combination radios, along with electric roasters for Thanksgiving meals.

The range of goods extended beyond appliances. An April 1949 advertisement offered wall paint; a December promotion featured irons, bathroom scales, toasters, electric corn poppers, razors, and mixers. Huehn’s was helping households furnish, maintain, and modernize their homes.

A December 14, 1950 final-clearance advertisement announced that the doors would close Saturday night. It listed televisions, washers, vacuum cleaners, household gifts, lawn mowers, and paint supplies. The ad records the advertised end of this retail chapter without establishing what business immediately followed it.

1947 and a later recollection — Insurance and Ben Franklin

Other notices show the variety of businesses associated with this building’s addresses. On January 9, 1947, Ovid G. Fry advertised general insurance at 14 West Main Street, identifying himself as successor to A. L. Goodell.

A December 4, 1947 Ben Franklin Store advertisement also gave 14 West Main Street as its address. Its holiday offerings included dolls, sleds, toy vehicles, clothing, household accessories, and tree decorations. A later historical listing, published in the Webster Herald on June 5, 2002, places Ben Franklin at 16 West Main Street. Together, these sources connect the store with the 14–16 frontage, although they do not establish when or why its advertised number differed.

An earlier streetscape — Before the modern signs

The oldest-looking photograph in the supplied collection shows the building with horizontal wood siding, three tall upper windows, and large ground-floor display areas. A horse-drawn wagon stands in the street, and a man waits beside the storefront. Trees and overhead wires complete the scene.

Compare the door and window pattern with the later exterior views. It is the clearest thread connecting the building’s many commercial lives. The photograph’s date and the building’s construction year remain unconfirmed; its value is in the details it preserves of a familiar Main Street frontage.

Undated early exterior photograph: a horse-drawn wagon stands outside the wood-sided building. Compare the upper windows and ground-floor openings with later views. Photographer and date not supplied.

Sources

Supplied Webster Herald clippings: January 9 and 23, November 20, and December 4, 1947; April 21 and December 15, 1949; December 14, 1950; January 14, 1954; October 4, 1967; December 20, 1972; December 20, 1978; May 16, 1984; March 18, 1987; and June 5, 2002. Exterior photographs and Google Street View screenshots supplied by the tour editor. Current business listing: Webster Village Business Improvement District, https://websterbid.com/business-listing/other (checked October 14, 2026).