Rochester restaurant and bar scene for this winter: What's new and changing
It has been a busy time in Rochester's restaurants dining and food scene, with many openings, changes and other news. To help keep you up to date, we will continue to add to this winter dining guide up all the way up to the new year.
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Rochester-area holiday dining, events and info
Winter wonderland downtown: The wildly popular Roc Holiday Village, which transforms Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park in downtown Rochester transformed into a wintry wonderland, is up and running. Admission is free to the family-friendly event, which will run through Dec. 23. Here are details.
Rohrbach Brewing Co. has partnered with Roc Holiday Village to debut a new beer, the Village Lager, during the festival. The beer is a crisp, classic German lager and will be served for the duration of the festival in The Community Foundation and Triple-O Lodge.
Where to take holiday visitors: Want to take your holiday guests somewhere new and exciting? Here are 14 places that opened this year.
Breakfasts with Santa (or the Grinch): Breakfast with Santa is a holiday tradition for many Rochester-area families. Here's a rundown of dates and times.
Holiday markets: The Rochester area has a full calendar of festive holiday markets, which usually highlight local businesses and artisans. Here's a rundown.
Gingerbread boat: The executive baker at the Lake House on Canandaigua has unveiled its 4-foot high, 4-foot-by-8-foot gingerbread boat, which will be displayed in its lobby throughout the month and into January.
New look for beloved candy store: Stever’s Candies, a favorite destination for holiday goodies, has new owners, but much of its most of the core team remains on staff. All of the confections continue to be handcrafted on-site from recipes originated by Doug Stever, who opened the shop in 1946. The exterior of the 1911 Tudor-style building looks the same, but the inside has been transformed.
New gluten-free cookbook: Just in time for holiday baking and gift giving, a Rochester entrepreneur and chef has published a cookbook of gluten-free dessert recipes. Calvin Eaton, a teacher, content creator and entrepreneur who founded the nonprofit education platform 540WMain, has published "Just Desserts: 40 Step-by-Step Gluten-Free Dessert Recipes."
Rochester restaurant news
After having been absent from the Rochester area for nearly five years, Papa John’s has gotten the go-ahead from the town of Brighton to open a store at 2852 West Henrietta Road. Offering takeout and delivery only, the shop will operate out of a 1,300-square-foot space formerly occupied by Cricket Wireless. It is expected to be up and running by early spring.
New owner for popular restaurant: Nosh, which has been a popular destination for food and cocktails since it opened in 2016, has a new owner. Vicky Chanthavisinh-Carey, 38, has purchased Nosh at 47 Russell St. in the Neighborhood of the Arts. Not much will change, but eventually expect to see more dishes that reflect Chanthavisinh-Carey's Thai-Lao heritage.
Dice Versa, a board game lounge, has opened in the former Original Grain on the ground floor of Tower 280 at 280 E. Broad St. It offers beer, wine, cocktails, soft drinks, appetizers and small and shareable plates. The stars of the show are hundreds of board games.
New Fairport brewery: Preservation Beer Company opened at 75 N. Main St. in Fairport. It is on the south side of the Cannery complex, which in recent years has been transformed into office and retail space including such popular destinations such as Faircraft Brauhaus, Compane Trattoria and Iron Smoke Distillery.
New Puerto Rican restaurant: Lisa Malavez will open Que Chevere ― slang in Spanish for something is cool, interesting or enjoyable — in the former home to Sticky Lips Pit BBQ at 625 Culver Road. Thee Puerto Rican restaurant will have a takeout counter downstairs and a casual restaurant upstairs.
New Penfield eatery: The Busy Bean Café plans to open a second location in the Wegmans Plaza at 2157 Penfield Road in Penfield. The spot will be the cafe's first restaurant in Monroe County.
New restaurant in former bank? Gallina Development Corp. owns the former Security Trust office building at One East Avenue, which is currently home to The Penthouse, an event space on its 11th floor that offers sweeping views of Rochester. Now Gallina’s hope is to bring a restaurant and bar the building's two-story-high brick-and-glass street level extension that in late 2019 was vacated by Bank of America. It has a striking mid-century modern style.
Italian restaurant gets new owners, surprising new dishes: Cerame’s Italian Villa, a go-to spot in Brighton since 1970, has new owners. May Dougan and her sister Pornthip Birkensees, natives of Thailand, will continue serving the recipes passed down from the Cerame family, as well as Thai food.
Reopened after fire: Veneto Wood Fired Pizza & Pasta has reopened at 318 East Ave, after a fire forced a temporary closure. The East End dining destination since 2001 has an entirely new look.
New place for kocktails: Chuck Cerankosky has opened Martine Kocktails at 647 South Ave., where Solera Wine Bar & Lounge and speakeasy-style upstairs cocktail bar Cheshire operated for many years. The “K” in Kocktails refers to “kegs” because Martine offers a menu of cocktails on tap.
All-day brunch: The Silo Brunch Bar has opened at 300 Paddy Creek Circle, off West Ridge Road near the Route 390 interchange. It sets itself by serving brunch every day. The menu runs the gamut of breakfast to lunch fare, with many creative twists.
Mexican restaurant coming to Penfield: The popular Mexican restaurant Old Pueblo Grill will open a new location in Penfield. Called Old Pueblo Grill Cantina, it will be located in Baytowne Plaza in the space that was previously home to Don Pedro Cantina, and before that, WhichCraft Brews.
Tracy Schuhmacher covers food and drink. Spot a new restaurant in your neighborhood? Email her at tracys@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Restaurants in Rochester NY area: Places to eat, bars for winter 2023
