Before she became a fixture on hit sitcoms “Mom” and “Dharma & Greg,” actress Mimi Kennedy got her start on stage with the Rochester Community Players. The group’s former home on South Clinton Avenue (now Swillburger/The Playhouse) remains a landmark. Unsurprisingly, when Kennedy looks back on her hometown, she remembers its architecture: the Art Deco charm of The Little Theatre, of course, but also the Central Library and Eastman Theatre, near where she took ballet classes on Swan Street.
“I think architecture is really important for cities,” Kennedy said. “Europe teaches us that, and I just hope that Rochester preserves some of what it has.”
Rochester’s historic organizations are one way to do so. Another? The sights, emotions and memories that live on in the hearts of other notable folks who’ve left the area geographically but remain rooted here spiritually. CITY asked nine of them about their ideas of “home” and what they’ve taken with them.
JULIA LEAHY, comedian and content creator
I am a pretty obnoxious Bills fan and I still shop at Wegmans! But I’d say Rochester really inspired me in a creative way, too. There’s so much art here. I grew up visiting art fairs, seeing live music, going to festivals. I was a dorky theater kid growing up, too, and Rochester has an amazing theater community where I’ve met some of my best friends to this day. I definitely take that love for the arts with me! Home to me is the place where I feel most like myself, and I’m never more “myself” than when I’m on a boat on Lake Ontario shoving a DiBella’s sub in my face.
PATRICK CAPPIELLO, winemaker/proprietor of Monte Rio Cellars
Schaller’s has always been my first go-to place. As a child, it was my absolute favorite and it held a special place in my heart. My parents would take me and my siblings there as kids a lot. As a teenager, I worked as a busboy at the Crescent Beach Hotel, which made it a very convenient place to go. I also had a friend who lived on Edgemere Drive who had a half-pipe in his backyard. We would spend countless hours there, riding the ramp and skating down the block to get a burger. Some of the most significant moments of my life were spent at Schaller’s. And of course, their burgers are incredible!
CHRIS PERFETTI, actor, “Abbott Elementary”
I don’t think I’m being hyperbolic when I say Rochester gave me everything. Much more than I ever gave it. The great loves of my life; art, nature, and people all took root in the ROC. First stop is always grandma‘s house for pasta. Second stop is a toss-up between Rubino’s, Charlie’s or Wegmans. I come home a couple times a year now and I look forward to getting lost. It’s very hard to get truly lost in Los Angeles or New York City. Rochester is a safe haven for me and a direct plug back into the ground. I spent the first 18 years of my life here and so it’s impossible not to cringe with a sort of wistful gratitude. Go Bills.
RACHEL HILBERT, model
Rochester is such a humble, beautiful, down-to-earth place, and the people are honestly amazing. There’s also a really big art community, which a lot of people don’t realize. I grew up competitively dancing, and that world shaped so much of who I am. I’ve carried both that down-to-earth vibe and my love for movement into my modeling career. After living in New York City for so long, I’ve realized how special Rochester really is. We get every season, and there are these beautiful freshwater lakes where we spend as much time as possible. Every time I fly back, I feel this deep breath of relief, like my whole body just relaxes. It’s that mix of nature, family and nostalgia that really feels like home to me.
JAKE MORRIS, drummer for Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
I brought my wife to Rochester for the first time last year, and we had to go to the House of Guitars and get a garbage plate. The latter didn’t work out so well, but it got us to a Wegmans real fast, so we got to check that off the list, too. Home is where your heart and community are. I’ve been in Portland over 25 years and have found that here for sure. But I learned how to find and build one in Rochester and WNY, that’s for sure!
PAMELA MELROY, former deputy administrator of NASA
Rochester was very much a part of my formative years as an adult — junior high and high school, and of course my parents lived there over 35 years, so it really is home. I often tell people that Rochester is the biggest small town I know — the long-standing relationships and friendships across the city make it feel small, but it has all the attributes of a larger city when it comes to food, the arts and industry capabilities.
JON DRETTO, guitarist and touring musician for Chaka Khan
Rochester gave me a sense of freedom to express myself. There were very, very few times, if any, that I can remember that my creativity would have been stunted here. The first time I was really checked was when I went to L.A. for the first time, and I realized, whoa, okay, this is a different pond I’m swimming in. In Rochester, there was never any of that energy. Everyone was so welcoming and so encouraging. That’s what I took out of this place: the openness and willingness to express yourself and also to lift others up. There is no local music scene if you don’t support each other 100%.
JORDAN TIBERIO, photo-based artist
Rochester gave me my love of photography. Both of my paternal grandparents worked for Kodak, and my childhood was filled with yearly trips to the George Eastman Museum. I went on to major in photography at the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2011, and received my BFA in 2015. I now work as a freelance photographer in New York City, but if not for the rich photographic history of my family and my home city, I’m not sure I would have fallen so in love with the art medium that has become my life. Home is where I began making photographs at the age of 15, right in my parents’ backyard, so coming back is a lovely reminder of the start of my artistic journey and what inspired me to begin creating there almost two decades ago.
VIJAY IYER, musician and composer
My early musical experiences — in Fairport public schools, at Eastman School of Music, in the RPYO, with my early bandmates, and with other local musicians — gave me a strong foundation for a life in music. A lot has happened since then, but I couldn’t have done any of it without those formative experiences. It’s a musical town. The most basic association with “home” for me is family, wherever they might be. Otherwise I travel all the time, so I have learned to keep it simple. The main things I need are daylight, a good piano and a pen and paper. I get a lot from the Buddhist teaching of “coming home to yourself.”
Additional reporting by Hannah Maier
