When Joe Frocchi and Eric Aubriot set out to open their new restaurant, The Vesper (1 Capron Street), they wanted to find a way to create elevated food, but still keep it fun. Aubriot, a James Beard Rising Star Award nominee, moved to Rochester after running his own restaurant, also named Aubriot, in Chicago. Frocchi […]
Restaurant News
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Plum House Café continues the build-your-own trend
Mark Teng’s Rochester empire continues to expand with the opening of Plum House Café (274 North Goodman Street) in Village Gate. Teng already owns the original Plum House on Monroe Avenue, plus Furoshiki on Park Avenue, Plum House Express in Eastview Mall, and Revolution Karaoke on Jefferson Road. The new café is Teng’s take on […]
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Gluten Free Chef’s Calvin Eaton takes on Main Street mission
A bubble of activity surrounds Calvin Eaton, and pearls of sweat circle his face during a sultry summer afternoon. Inside 540WMain, a community center in Rochester’s Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood, Eaton is helping facilitate the work of three artists and two teenage interns. 540WMain is a Swiss Army knife of a community center. Inside, there […]
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Mad Hatter moves to new location and expands bakery
Mad Hatter Restaurant and Bakery, formerly known as Mad Hatter Tea Room and Café, has moved from its Webster location to the former French Quarter Café space at 176 South Goodman Street. The name and location are just a few of the changes that owner Kristina Dinino-Jeffords has made. The new location has enabled an […]
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Thai Mii Up may have just been fate
Linda Seng believes in fate. A week after her beloved grandfather passed away, he came to her in a dream and gave her some numbers. In Seng’s culture, numbers are important, and her family was shocked that she did not immediately go out and play those numbers in the lottery. Lo and behold, her father […]
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Stoneyard’s new location finds a good fit in Webster
By all accounts, the property at 1517 Empire Boulevard seemed to be prime real estate. Located at the top of the hill on Empire Boulevard and tucked between highly trafficked areas like Baytowne Plaza and the restaurants Bazil and MacGregor’s, it would seem an ideal location to open a restaurant. Over the years, however, at […]
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Nosh puts its emphasis on having the right team
When we walk away from a restaurant experience, more often than not, it’s what we didn’t like that is more memorable than what we did. John Nacca and Pete Lezeska are friends and business partners who found themselves having a meal together and discussing what they didn’t like about recent restaurant experiences — everything from […]
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Three Heads puts down roots in Neighborhood of the Arts
Three Heads Brewing was born out of a love of good people and good beer. Six years later, Three Heads opened its new brewery and tasting room in the Neighborhood of the Arts (186 Atlantic Avenue) based on that same philosophy. The “Grand Opening Weekend Spectacular” in June surpassed the expectations of everyone. “It was […]
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Swiftwater is serving more than standard brewery fare
Rochester’s craft brewing scene has been expanding rapidly over the last few years, especially after the New York State Farm Brewing Bill passed. Through this law, New York has spurred development of new breweries in our area, and now you can find one a short drive away from just about wherever you live in Monroe […]
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Bay Vista Taqueria goes for fast, fresh tacos
Dave Jackson comes in to Bay Vista Taqueria (1205 Bay Road) at 7 a.m. each day to start prepping. The ins and outs of running a kitchen are considerably different than what Jackson had been doing for the past 12 years: operating his own web development business — although Jackson worked in the restaurant industry […]
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Young NYWCC executive chef drives locally focused program
A modest crowd has gathered under the open-air tent in the garden behind the New York Wine and Culinary Center on a balmy Friday evening in early June. Servers in starched uniforms offer cucumber cups from blackened slate slabs and pour glasses of chilled white wine for guests in linen dresses and pressed collared shirts. […]
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Stout continues the neighborhood bar tradition
The neighborhood watering hole has been immortalized in books, television, and film over and over again, from “Cheers” to “Trees Lounge.” The pub serves as a sort of community center: a place for neighbors to meet and talk about everything from local politics to how Aunt Helen got through her bypass surgery. The building at […]
