restaurants

Guillermo Leon is a man of few words, but they’re backed up by integrity.

The restauranteur has opened a second Mexican-themed eating establishment in Batavia, this time on the west side of town.

“Batavia is growing, and there’s more room for different kinds of restaurants,” Leon said Wednesday at Señor Leon Mexican Restaurant. “People go to Walmart and then can come here to eat. It’s very convenient.”

He owns Rancho Viejo in the city’s downtown, and thought a second restaurant closer to the popular Big Box stores would be a good location. Señor Leon, with an investment of more than $300,000, is tucked into the plaza at 4140 Veterans Memorial Drive.

Double oak and glass doors greet visitors before entering the spacious site. Deep blue, high-backed booths and Mexican decor — gold-trimmed hats, paintings and other themed wall art — plus seating of tables and similarly deep blue, padded seating are ready for a comfortable dining experience.

Leon had the furniture shipped in from Mexico, he said, to provide that authentic touch.

“I wanted to make it look different than other restaurants,” he said.

His place has 10 employees, and he is currently hiring for full- and part-time positions, he said. It may take more than a glance at the menu to place your order, as it is an extensive offering of lunch and dinner options — including assorted burritos, enchiladas, tostadas, tamales, hard or soft tacos and quesadillas.

There are grilled and “authentic Mexicano” dishes, such as Pollo Asado, chicken breast with grilled onions and cheese sauce served with rice, beans and two tortillas; nachos supreme loaded with cheese and toppings; Chicken Popeye, a grilled chicken breast topped with creamy spinach and queso fresco with rice; and Chile Colorado, beef tips cooked with red chile sauce and served with rice, beans and tortillas.

Feeling peckish before dinner? Appetizers include fresh guacamole, chicken wings, fajitas nachos, tortilla soup, and ceviche with shrimp and/or octopus.

A native of Mexico, Leon wanted to expand upon Rancho’s menu with more seafood and “a bunch of different things,” he said. Seafood entrees feature red snapper, prawns, salmon or tilapia, and there’s a seafood soup with shrimp, fish, scallops, calamari, mussels, octopus and a king crab leg. If meat’s not your thing, there are also vegetarian and vegan options.

To top it all off with a little sweetness, there’s the fried cheesecake, churros, Mexican custard (flan), raspberry donut cheesecake, the “ultimate” chocolate cake with layered chocolate mousse and butter cake with buttercream chocolate icing, or a banana chocolate swirl cake and high peanut butter pie to choose from.

If you go soon, you may notice the bar area, which will be open once Leon receives his liquor license, which has been in progress with the state Liquor Authority, and he hopes to have soon.

Asked for his favorite, Leon didn’t name one of the Mexican dishes, and instead admitted “I’m more a steak person.” He added that the steaks are served on a rack and cooked “to taste” for each customer’s preference.

Newly opened, Señor Leon has been drawing customers, he said.

“Everyone who walks in walks out happy,” he said. “I guarantee if you don’t like it, you don’t pay.”

Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, call 585-250-4484.

Top Photo: Staffer Felix Ramirez shows a portion of the large dining space at the Veterans Memorial Drive restaurant; Sergio Suniga is about to serve a plate of Señor Leon house appetizers: fried chicken taquitos, sauced chicken wings and a chicken quesadilla with pico de gallo, sour cream and a special touch of the Mexican flag, above. Photos by Joanne Beck.

When Corey Brown and Dean Brewer started working together in the kitchen at Sport of Kings they immediately struck up a friendship.

They both liked to cook and had aspirations to stretch their culinary skills.

Brown was born in New Orleans, where he came up through the ranks of some top Bourbon Street-area restaurants and Brewer started 25 years ago as a dishwasher at Sportos and kept looking for ways to learn new things and improve his skills.

Brown moved to Genesee County after meeting a girl from the area who convinced him there was a need for real Cajun dishes in Upstate New York.

Recently, they took over management of a restaurant located in Oakfield -- the former Oak Grill and Cafe -- running it for Kim Turner, Brewer's sister, who leased the location with the specific intention of letting Brown and Brewer put their culinary skills to work.

"Before we started, I had to do a lot of cooking in my house so she can taste it and she can say, 'Okay, I'm not gonna put my money behind it," Brown said.

Much of the menu of the old Oak Grill remains in place while Brown and Brewer introduce Cajun specialties, but some of the items diners might experience at the new Straight Out The Boot include jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, boudin balls, dirty rice, fried chicken, blackened catfish topped with crab meat,  and trinity and crawfish.

"Like I say, what we got now, a majority of the stuff still will be on there," Brown said. "But a couple of the things we'll be taking off and we'll be doing more Louisiana-style cooking."

Staying are hamburgers, which Brown said Brewer can grill better than anybody else he knows.  

"Dean does his burgers like, man, he makes some mean burger," Brown said. "I don't know. I'll put a burger on the grill they may not come out as juicy and tender as the way he does it."

Cooking came naturally to Brewer, he said.  It was the way he was raised.

"I'm a hillbilly from New York," Brewer said. "I was raised on the Southern Tier and the entire family can cook. They just can. I was always in the kitchen. It was just a natural thing. My grandfather told me once, 'The key is to be in the kitchen because that's where the coffee is and where the women usually work.'" 

Brown didn't set out to become a cook but once he started working in restaurants and seeing how the people who made the food got the praise for making customers happy, that appealed to him.

His biggest information came from a chef named Greg Craig.

"What he was doing was making big portions like he was a production cook," Brown said. "He did 50 gallons of gumbo, 50 gallons of crawfish one burst. I hear people talk about how good it is, even the workers, the other chefs, the owners, and I'm like, you know, I like that, you know, I like to hear the compliments. So I went over to him one day, I'm like, 'Man, I want to help out, you know, I want to cook  like you.' He said he needed an extra chef. 'I need the help.'"

Brown went on to work at Arnauds, off of Bourbon Street, and another restaurant on Bourbon Street and other restaurants, picking up tricks of the trade all along the way, including learning to cook Italian, and learning Greek cuisine when he moved to Batavia.

The name of the restaurant -- Straight Out the Boot -- is a play on the way Louisiana looks on a map.  The state is shaped like a boot, and Brown and Brewer want the restaurant to become known for providing really good Louisiana-style meals.

"Straight up, the boot is slang for everything we cooking," Brown said.

So far, Brown said, the Louisiana fare is going over well with diners.

"We've been getting a lot of good feedback off the jambalaya," Brown said. "We get a lot of feedback off the crawfish etouffee. Dean came out with a spicy chicken sandwich with the boom sauce, which is chicken topped with his creative barbecue spices, barbecue sauce. We've been getting good feedback from people."

Straight Out The Boot is located at 7062 Lewiston Road, Oakfield. Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. This weekend during Labor Daze, the restaurant is featuring fried chicken.

Photo by Howard Owens. Corey Brown, left, and Dean Brewer

As if jumping the hurdles of finding the right space, obtaining permits and making desired renovations wasn’t enough for Judy Hysek’s restaurant move, there has been the added stress of illness, little things going wrong and nailing down final details that pushed back her opening date, she says.

“Renovation was a huge part of it. We had to do a lot of electrical work, we got COVID in the middle of it. So that held us back,” Hysek said during an interview with The Batavian Tuesday. “It’s just a comfortable space that's a little bit different than anything else in Batavia. You know, I had a Pinterest vision in mind, and I didn't want to copy it exactly. But we got the vibe down that I wanted. I'm really happy with the way things have turned out.”

Her place, Eden Cafe & Bakeshop, has been settling into its new home at 242 Ellicott St., Batavia for about a month now since moving out of Eli Fish Brewery on Main Street. Her vision unfolded in colors of cream and rosy melon, light olive green and two shocks of cobalt blue from the wall artwork made of recycled plastic Domino sugar bags.

A possibly stereotypical description, perhaps, for a plant-based eating spot, but there is a light and airy feel upon entering. The light cream and melon furniture features a row of booth seating along the wall, with light oak-colored chairs on the opposite side. Flat tan baskets with bold black designs hang on the walls behind while similarly hued light covers — featuring what seem to be leaves that form a circular fixture — hang overhead.

Was her theme tropical? Apparently not, she said, though it emanates a slow-down vacation-type vibe, especially with the cluster of green plants and boutiquey seating in front of two large windows in front.

“It's not really what I was going for. I was just thinking like, boho chic,” she said. “Something not terribly trendy.”

For those who aren’t familiar with Eden Cafe, it offers a plant-based menu with a twist on some old tried-and-true dishes. There are cauliflower wings, breaded, baked to order and served with mild to hot wing sauce or a house-made sweet maple mustard or Cattleman’s Gold. Cauliflower is the new darling of the food industry, and cauli wings, as they’re called, offer a meaty-like bite with seasonings and a sauce.

There’s a selection of burgers — made with a Beyond Meat brand patty that Hysek said comes “really, really close” to the real thing — served with grilled pineapple, homemade pickled onions, teriyaki and mayo, or with a more traditional lettuce, tomato and French’s fried onions. There are also house-made chipotle black bean and chickpea patties, crunchwraps, salads, bowls and Eden’s popular carrot dogs.

Hysek’s original idea was to go more upscale with her new location, but customers threatened a boycott. They demanded her crunchwraps — the Southwest includes a black bean patty, seasoned rice, lettuce, tomato, onion and chipotle ranch — and carrot dogs.

Served in the size of a typical hotdog and marinated in a combo of liquid smoke and aminos with a piquant sauce flavor, grilled and served on a bun (homemade and perfected by Hysek’s father), it does replicate a chewy, smoky grilled hotdog. Want something adventurous? Try the Picnic, topped with a mix of house-made mac salad and crunchy potato chips, or the Sassy featuring homemade sweet maple mustard, pickled jalapeños and fried onions. People love the mac salad, she said.

Hysek hasn’t always been a vegan. It wasn’t until 2015 that she made the gradual transition after realizing that animals are animals, no matter whether a chicken or pig or her pet dog, she said. She had gotten some chickens in order to have fresh eggs, and the Batavia resident fed them every day. She started to make an association with them as living creatures, and how their body parts were something she had been eating.

"I was feeling them on my hands. I would feel them growing and I felt like, I finally made the connection and admitted, ‘Oh, that's a breast right there. Yeah, the drumstick that I like eating. And then I looked at my Chihuahua … so I stopped eating chicken. And then I stopped eating pork and beef and fish, and eventually just kind of went right into veganism.”

There will be no pressure to follow suit at Eden, but she does feel that most anyone can find something enjoyable to eat there.

“I think people would be surprised at what a good meal they could get, and please their palate even if they're not vegan or vegetarian,” she said. “I think if you have an open mind that you should find something that you really enjoy.”

She has a loyal following, and many of those customers will bring newcomers to try out the meals. Others will come to check out the plant-based options for lunch, dinner and/or dessert, she said.

“There was definitely a need for something like this in Batavia. I think there is a community for people who want to eat healthier or more plant-based foods,” she said. “And then I think there's definitely a crowd that's coming in and actually willing to give it a try.”

Business has been good so far, and Eden also does catering for up to 200 people off-site and up to 25 inside the cafe. Although the food is typically healthy, that doesn’t mean it’s boring or plain. Pies and cakes are regularly baked on-site and served by the piece, including the lemon meringue. A soft, fluffy meringue is piped onto a bed of sweet-tart lemon curd and tucked into a golden brown, homemade crust. None of it is made with animal products, she said.

Nicole DellaPenna is the head chef and manager, and there are prep and line cooks, plus a baker, to take care of demand, Hysek said. With an entrepreneurial spirit ever since she was in elementary school, Hysek started out collecting and then selling pencils and paper to her siblings. She has grown up to operate her first brick-and-mortar establishment, she said.

“Our volume has definitely increased since we left (Main Street); it's fantastic,” she said. “I was kind of, it's going to go either way, we have no idea how it's going to work out, and we're really happy with the (outcome).”

Eden Cafe & Bakeshop is at 242 Ellicott St., Batavia. Hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday for dining in or take-out. For more information, call (585) 815-4487.

Top photo: Judy Hysek, owner of Eden Cafe & Bakeshop, at her new location at 242 Ellicott St., Batavia. Cauli wings, carrot dogs, lemon meringue pie and strawberry salad are just some of the many plant-based dishes awaiting hungry diners.

Photos by Howard Owens.​

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Sweet Betty’s grand opening was a long time in coming.

In fact, about 14 months long. Blame it on Covid-19, that insidious virus that closed a few businesses and left others short-staffed due to employee scarcity. 

“We opened Aug. 3, 2020,” co-owner Gabby Keister said Wednesday at her Le Roy restaurant. “Because of Covid, we didn’t want to promote a crowd. We kept saying we’ll do it ‘next month,’ and we never did. We want people to know we’re open.”

That long-awaited grand opening finally happened today. The establishment actually was to open even earlier. Keister, whose nickname is Betty, and her husband Scott, bought the site at 15 Main St. in February 2020 and strategized a spring opening. It would be a sweets-themed shop of ice cream and candy. They were in the thick of Covid-19 at that point, so the couple kept working on the interior renovations while cleaning out most everything from the former diner. 

Not exactly strangers to the restaurant field, the Keisters owned and operated Le Roy Country Club for three and a half years about 25 years ago. Children and the demands of raising a family prompted them to close, she said. Now that the kids are older, the couple decided to give it another try.

Bright yellow walls and a black-and-white checkered floor provide a welcoming, cozy greeting. There is seating for 75 diners, and take-out and delivery are also available. The menu morphed into lunch, dinner, and desserts.

“We kept getting bigger and better ideas … and it just flourished,” she said. “Our objective is to have something for everyone.” 

For local patrons, it was apparently worth the wait. Regulars line up for burgers, pizza, chicken tenders, specialty desserts, and the Flying Betty sandwich, Keister said. The burgers are a trio blend of three different cuts of meat, which has made them a hit amongst customers, Mr. Keister said. He deals with a vendor that exclusively provides the meat combo to Sweet Betty’s in the Le Roy area.

Most of the meals are handmade from scratch, such as tenders of breaded chicken breast, a gooey salted caramel cheesecake individually sized, and seasonal desserts and cookies. The pumpkin flavor is the star of the show right now. 

One of the most popular dishes is the Flying Betty, a fried chicken breast topped with homemade coleslaw and pickles. That “came from a mistake,” Mrs. Keister said. Staff sampled it and thought it was good enough to put on the menu.

Wraps, fruit and vegetable salads, brownies, and 27 flavors of Perry’s ice cream round out the menu, plus the homemade chocolate and vanilla waffle cones. And several varieties of draft and canned beer, red and white wine, frozen wine slushies, and — especially cool with the teenagers — bubble tea. Just as it sounds, a bubble is placed in the bottom of a glass, tea is added, and the bubble travels up the straw and pops. 

Mrs. Keister feels good to know that parents are comfortable enough to drop off their kids for a burger at the place, she said. That’s an indication of what she wanted it to be: a “clean, safe, friendly atmosphere,” she said. 

“In that respect, we’ve been very successful; we get a lot of compliments,” she said.

In its short existence thus far, Sweet Betty's has already become a gathering place for the Le Roy community, said Steven Falitico, membership development director of Genesee County Chamber of Commerce.

Falitico sees the restaurant as a great addition to Main Street, Le Roy.

“Small town charm is strong in Genesee County, and it's our local businesses, like Sweet Betty's, that make our communities more enjoyable places to live,” he said. “A special thank you from The Chamber goes out to Gabby Keister, the owner of the establishment. She was born and raised in Le Roy and wanted to make an impact on her hometown. Her entrepreneurial spirit and drive are what made this restaurant possible.”

Hours are 11:30 a.m to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. For more information, call 585-502-6084.

Photos by Howard Owens.

Top photo: Today's ribbon cutting.

Gabby Keister, her husband Scott Keister, and their son Scott (on left).

Alabama Hotel, 1353 Lewiston Road, Basom. Menu. Wednesday 4 to 10 p.m. for bar food and pizza dine-in, and takeout. Thursday thru Saturday 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m. for full menu dine-in and take out. (585) 948-9994

Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road, Batavia. Indoor dining and take out. Tuesday & Thursday 11a.m. to 8 p.m. / Friday & Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. / Sunday 12 to 8 p.m. Menu. Now accepting reservations for parties of 5 to 10 people. Also, call-ahead seating for parties of up to 4 people within an hour of arrival. (585) 344-2999

Angry Charlie's Smokehouse & BBQ, 341 Ellicott St., Batavia. Authentic Eastern North Carolina BBQ. Eat in / Take out / Curbside pick up / Delivery. Open Tuesday thru Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (585) 322-5260

Batavia's Original, 500 E. Main St., Batavia. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. / Sunday 12 to 8 p.m. Heated patio. Daily specials. Online ordering, curbside pick up, dine in. No-contact delivery upon request. Menu. (585) 343-3303

Batavia Restaurant Supply Inc., 301 W. Main St., Batavia. All kinds of food, paper products, cleaning supplies sold, in addition to latex & mylar balloons, holiday & party supplies, restaurant equipment & supplies, and food-service smallwares. Hours are Monday thru Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closed Sundays. Website. (585) 343-2139

Blondies Sip-n-Dip, 670 E. Main Street Road, Batavia. Serving Hershey's hard ice cream with a large selection of delicious flavors and toppings, decorated waffle cones, specialty sundaes, milkshakes and more! Different soft-serve flavors weekly -- including dairy free! Currently open daily from 1 to 9 p.m. Take a walk on the Ellicott Trail and stop in for a treat afterward. Visit us on Facebook or Instagram.

Bourbon & Burger Co., 9 Jackson St., Batavia. Dine in or take out: Monday - Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. / Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Closed Sundays. Menu. (585) 219-4242

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia. Open Friday and Saturday nights only, 4 to 9 p.m. Call for reservations. Menu. (585) 343-7470

Chap's Elba Diner, 5 S. Main St., Elba. Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Menu. (585) 757-5001 or (585) 797-7505

Cinquino's Pizza, 314 Ellicott St., Batavia. Dine in, take out, curbside pick up. Delivery within Batavia city limits. Menu. Monday thru Thursday 11a.m. to 9 p.m. / Friday & Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. / Sunday 12 to 8 p.m. Order deadline is noon Friday for pick up Sunday or Monday. (585) 343-2447

Commit to Well, 301 North St., Batavia (YWCA side entry near driveway). Healthy meal prep service. Choose meals online -- orders are due by noon on Friday for pick up: Sundays 10 to 11 a.m. only / Mondays 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., or 4 to 6 p.m. / or pick up at Public Coffee Hub on Harvester Avenue M-F 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. ENJOY! Meals are $8 each, plus tax. New menu weekly. Email: committowellbatavia@gmail.com. (585) 409-5740

Dave's Ice Cream, 3872 W. Main Street Road, Batavia. Only locally purchased products, including Perry's hard ice cream in a wide variety of yummy flavors and toppings, plus homemade waffle cones. Different soft-serve flavors weekly; also sugar free! Open from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily. Visit online.

D & R Depot Restaurant, 63 Lake St., Le Roy. Dine in, curbside pick up, free delivery in Le Roy, $1/mile elsewhere (no minimum). Full menu! Open 7 days a week 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (585) 768-6270. Order online, or call (585) 768-6270.

Eden Vegan Cafe & Bakeshop, 109 Main St. (inside Eli Fish), Batavia. Takeout only. Pre-order via the website for pick up. Menu temporarily reduced. Hours Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday & Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 4 to 8 p.m. (585) 815-4487

Eli Fish Brewing Co., 109 Main St., Batavia. Dine-in, take out, and DoorDash delivery. Monday thru Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. / Friday & Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. / Closed Sunday. Menu. (585) 343-0008

Fishtales Hideaway, 107 Evans St., Batavia. Dine in and take out available. Open Monday through Thursday 1 to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 1 to 9 p.m. Full bar. Here's our website and menu. (585) 219-4736

Islands Hawaiian Grill, 60 Main St., Batavia. Delivery, curbside, pick up, dine in. Tuesday thru Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. / Friday & Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. / Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Menu. (585) 483-3113

Mama Chavez's Taqueria, 7 Mill St., Le Roy. Takeout only. Tues - Fri. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. / Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. / Closed Sunday & Monday. Daily specials. Call in your order for pick up (585) 502-5093.

Northside Deli, 162 Bank St., Batavia. Open 7 days a week. Monday thru Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. / Sundays 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Full menu available to take out. Order ahead of time for fast service. Website. (585) 323-2888

O'Lacy's Irish Pub, 5 School St., Batavia. "Old-fashioned Comfort Food." Facebook page. (585) 343-3270

Oliver's Candies, 211 W. Main St., Batavia. Open 7 days a week, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Inside store shopping, curbside pick up. Ice cream parlor open. (585) 343-5888

Plaza Spirits, 563 E. Main St., Batavia (in Eastown Plaza). Open 7 days a week -- even Sunday! Come in and see us: Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. / Friday & Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. / and Sundays noon to 4 p.m. Or give us a call! (585) 343-4938

Pok-A-Dot, 229 Ellicott St., Batavia. Open 7 days a week, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dine in, take out, order by phone, or order online for pick up at "The Dot." (585) 343-6775

Public Coffee Hub, 56 Harvester Ave., Batavia. Full-service cafe -- dine in or carry out. Also food truck drive-thru at 355 W. Main St., Batavia. Free WiFi at cafe & TapGlo ping-pong available to buy. Locally roasted beans, fresh baked goods, Montreal bagels, chai lattes, hot cocoa, and more. Monday thru Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cafe (716) 392-2561. Food truck (323) 484-3482. Can text to order, too.

Roman's, 59 Main St., Batavia. Patio and indoor dining. Open Tuesday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Last reservation and pick up time is 8:45 / Closed Sunday & Monday. Menu. (585) 345-6788

Settler's Restaurant, 353 W. Main St., Batavia. Dine in. Pick up. Online ordering. DoorDash. Open Monday thru Saturday 6 a.m. - 8 p.m. / Sunday 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Menu. (585) 343-7443

Southside Deli, 300 Ellicott St. (corner of Liberty Street), Batavia. Take out only. Open 7 days a week: Sunday 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday thru Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. All deli and store items are available. Menu. Call ahead for quicker service. (585) 344-2220

Subway -- two franchises: the one inside Batavia Walmart, the other one at 8394 Alleghany Road, Pembroke, operated by Oakfield resident Doug Hendershott Jr. Open 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eat in or take out. Order in person, online, or by phone. Walmart Subway phone is (585) 343-3023. Pembroke phone is (585) 591-1549.

Sweet Betty's, 15 Main St., Le Roy. Menu includes Perry's hard ice cream, soft serve, floats, etc., plus burgers, sandwiches, old-time candy, adult beverages. Fish fry on Wednesdays. Closed Tuesdays. Wednesday thru Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. / Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. (585) 502-6084

T.F. Brown's, 214 E. Main St., Batavia. Delivery, curbside pick up, dine in. Monday thru Sunday from 12 to 10 p.m. Order online or phone (585) 343-1547.

The Coffee Press, 13 Jackson St., Batavia. Dine in or take out. Monday-Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed Sunday. Menu. (585) 483-3096

The Original Red Osier Landmark Restaurant, 6492 E. Main St., Stafford. Open for in-house dine-in service Tuesday through Sunday 4 to 8 p.m. Curbside service available those days, too. Ordering starts at 1 p.m., pick up starts at 4:15. Specials can be viewed at red@redosier.com or on our Facebook page.

The Yngodess Shop, 73 Main St., Batavia. Curbside pick up, and free delivery with a $20 minimum (1 - 6 p.m.), call for more details. Sunday 12 - 6 p.m., Monday & Tuesday 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Wednesday thru Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Visit online. Call in your order. (585) 343-3170

West Main Wine & Spirits, 341 W. Main St., Batavia. Buy in-store or offering curbside pick up. Monday thru Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. / Sunday 12 to 6 p.m. (585) 344-2717

Willow Bend Inn, 3489 W. Main Street Road, Batavia. Bar is open Tuesday thru Friday. Dine in or take out in restaurant from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Check our Facebook page for different specials & menu every Friday.

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If you send us updated information about your establishment, we will add it to this list. There is no charge.

To be added, email details, including location, hours, a link for menu, and delivery/pick up/dine-in options to:   billie@thebatavian.com

Press release from the New York Restaurant Association:

“Based on the current metrics and projections, Governor Cuomo has given New Yorkers a one-week warning that indoor dining will likely be shut down, regardless of the number of positive cases that are specifically tied back to restaurants.

"The confusing, patchwork system of micro-clusters, regional restrictions and blanket statewide rollbacks has made it virtually impossible for restaurants to continue indoor dining.

"Whether it is positivity rate or hospitalization rate, all of these factors are outside of restaurants’ control. With the looming limits on indoor dining and outdoor dining no longer practical, many of our members will be forced to shut their doors, and for some it may be their final service.

"Based on today’s news, many restaurants will have no other choice, and hundreds of thousands of restaurant employees will be laid off during the holidays. As we just heard Governor Cuomo and Dr. Anthony Fauci say today, the restaurant industry is on life support and will die without financial assistance from the federal government.

"We need our elected officials, including Governor Cuomo, to be our biggest advocates.”

With winter on the horizon, Chuck Martin has found a location for indoor dining in Batavia for his BBQ stand, Angry Charlie's.

In June, Martin and partner Ken Prufrock opened Angry Charlie's at a location on West Main Street. By a week from Tuesday, they hope to be ready to open at 341 Ellicott St., Batavia, at the corner of Ellicott and Swan, the former location of Pasquale's Italian Eatery.

The restaurant will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

There will be indoor dining for about 25 people and as long as the weather holds, a couple of picnic tables outside.

The change will also allow Angry Charlie's to free up its food trailer for catering and events.

There will also be a couple of menu changes: brisket every day, smoked haddock on Fridays, and (whether permitting) BBQ chicken on Saturdays. There will also be a children's menu.

Previously:

The middle of an economic lockdown may not seem like the ideal time to open a new restaurant but when it's something you were planning and dreaming about before a global pandemic was announced, that's what you do as soon as you can.

Gilliana's Diner, on Jackson Street, in the former location of Sylvania's, opened yesterday.

"We're super excited," said Jill Antinore, who owns the new eatery with her husband Mark.

Jill said they purchased the restaurant Feb. 1 then the global health emergency hit and the County Health Department wasn't issuing health permits. They had to wait until the Health Department was able to give them the OK to open.

Opened for breakfast and lunch -- except on Friday when they offer a dinner menu -- Jill described the diner as "a breakfast place with Italian specialties."

Available for takeout now are typical breakfast items, such as bacon and eggs, and items such as "The Godfather," which is egg, provolone, Italian sausage, sweet or hot peppers; and "Italian eggs in Purgatory," which is two eggs poached in homemade tomato sauce, with cannellini beans, peppers and onions.

The lunch menu includes tripe, homemade meatballs, agrodolce, and parmesan chicken wings.

Hours are Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Friday 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. The diner is closed on Wednesdays.

The phone number is (585) 201-7772.

As the weather warms, several local restaurant owners, who have been operating under coronavirus lockdown conditions for two months, are looking to outdoor -- al fresco -- dining as a way to attract more customers while maintaining social distancing.

City Manager Martin Moore said he's interested in exploring the idea further. Currently, restaurants won't be able to reopen under the governor's plan for the post-lockdown economy until Phase Three. Moore said he would like to explore giving restaurants a way to serve more diners, besides curbside and delivery.

Several restaurants in Batavia -- Roman's, T.F. Brown's, Islands Hawaiian Grill, O'Lacy's Irish Pub, Center Street Smoke House, for example -- have patios. Settler's has a patio-like space in front of the restaurant and owner John Spyropoulous would like to put it to use. Main St. Pizza Co. has in the past offered seats and tables on the sidewalk and that might be an option for other locations, but with social distancing requirements, restaurants might be looking for more space.

That could mean adjoining or nearby city-owned parking lots or Jackson Square.

Moore said he would have to check with code enforcement about using city property for restaurant use.

Derek Geib, owner of Roman's, Bourbon and Burger Co., and The Coffee Press, is eager to offer outdoor dining. Roman's has an open patio and a patio with retractable windows. While Bourbon and Burger and The Coffee Press don't have patios -- though they can offer sidewalk dining -- both have easy access to Jackson Square. So do Eli Fish, Center Street and the newly opened Gilliana's, but Geib thinks all restaurants that want to participate should have access to diners in Jackson Square.

Matt Gray, the owner of Eli Fish, is also eager to see Jackson Square opened up to diners, with tables spaced at least six feet apart, of course. Gray also owns Alex's Place and he said if there was customer interest, he would explore creating a dining area in the restaurant's parking lot.

The rub for most restaurant owners, however, is the ability to serve alcohol, especially on city property. The would require both the state and the city to make allowances for alcohol service but the state did recognize the importance of alcohol sales to restaurants at the start of the lockdown. Restaurants are allowed to sell alcohol during the lockdown during curbside pickup and delivery.

Moore said if the state would allow it and there is no local law that prohibits it, he is open alcohol sales in Jackson Square or in a designated space in a city-owned parking lot.

“If they give us some kind of ability for our restaurants to have more customers, we’re definitely going to explore every angle to try and make that reality," Moore said.

On a statewide basis, the New York Restaurant Association is supporting outdoor dining and today issued this statement:

“As parts of the state have begun the reopening process and other regions are progressing towards that goal, the New York State Restaurant Association is urging the state to allow restaurants to reopen for outdoor dining during phase two. Just this week, outdoor dining was included in phase one in Connecticut’s reopening.

Additionally, we are formally asking for expanded outdoor dining capabilities, an emphasis on social distancing requirements over capacity limits, and allowing continued sales of alcohol to-go. Just about every restaurant in the state is teetering on the edge of financial hardship, and we need to do everything possible to keep them afloat.

“To do our part, NYSRA, our members, and all restaurants in the state will continue to follow stringent sanitation practices to ensure the safety of our patrons and staff. That’s the promise that we’re making to our guests, who we can’t wait to serve again.”

Click here to view our menu.

Press release:

The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center is encouraging area residents to take the night off from cooking on Tuesday, March 24th and order takeout!

A national coalition of restaurants has organized “The Great American Takeout” on Tuesday, March 24, asking Americans to order at least one delivery or pickup meal on Tuesday to show support for the restaurant industry.

Many of our favorite restaurants are still working hard to keep us fed and the only way to support these struggling businesses is to order takeout or delivery.  

Staying home doesn't mean you have to miss out on "Taco Tuesday" or your favorite weekly specials; order takeout, delivery or curbside pickup and be part of something bigger: #TheGreatAmericanTakeout

There are great breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert options on this list, so be sure to show your support all day!

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Editor's Note: Click here for The Batavian's list of local restaurants that offer takeout and/or delivery.

Statement from Melissa Fleischut, president and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association:

“We are happy to announce that all New York small businesses, including restaurants, are now eligible for low-interest loans through the federal Small Business Administration.

"Up until (now), New York businesses were unable to apply for these much needed loans due to communities not being listed as 'disaster areas.' Through continued conversations with Empire State Development and representatives from the federal SBA program, we’ve conveyed how serious the situation is for New York restaurants.

"Many have already shut their doors and will not be able to reopen. While this is a great first step, we need to find additional ways to save the restaurant industry. When this pandemic is over, going out for a nice meal will help us all feel normal again. But some restaurants simply won’t make it.”

UPDATE 1:48 p.m.: “We can’t thank Governor Cuomo and state officials enough for forgiving interest and penalties on late sales tax payments," Fleishut said. "For some restaurants, this little bit of breathing room could mean the difference between paying employees and shutting their doors forever. That being said, this relief is temporary, and we’ll continue to advocate for additional ways to help restaurants survive during this crisis.”

It was a very different atmosphere in O'Lacy's Irish Pub in Batavia tonight -- St. Patrick's Day, an evening when O'Lacy's should be brimming with life and overflowing with Guinness.

Instead, it was quiet, perhaps even a bit melancholy, as the community adjusts to social distancing in the era of coronavirus.  

The good news is, O'Lacy's sold out of corned beef and cabbage dinners.

It was also a good night for take-out at Eli Fish (including take-out brews --  yes, local bars and restaurants can serve you take-out alcohol during the present executive directive). Other restaurant owners we spoke with said they are cautiously optimistic about how things will work out now that there is a temporary prohibition about on-site dining and drinking in bars and restaurants.

Click here for a list of local establishments offering delivery and pickup.

"Onward"

Kourtney and Cait Kunichika have opened Islands Hawaiian Grill on Main Street in Batavia (former location of Larry's Steakhouse).

Kourtney, from California, moved to Western New York to play hockey at RIT and eventually became a professional hockey player in Buffalo.

While living in Batavia, she started working at local restaurants and found she really loved food and hospitality, so the restaurant is inspired by both her passion for her Hawaiian culture -- especially since there are no Hawaiian restaurants in Western New York -- and her passion for the restaurant business.

Mama Chavez Taqueria opens today in Le Roy. Owner Maria Chavez and her sons held a ribbon-cutting and an open house for invited guests yesterday. This is an authentic -- very authentic -- Mexican restaurant.  

Chavez has been cooking Mexican food, using recipes handed down through her family, for her children and family friends for 30 years. It's always been her dream to open a restaurant.  

The restaurant is located at 7 Mill St. and is open Tuesday through Saturday.

Press release from the GC Health Department:

The Genesee County Health Department has recently been awarded a grant to provide the hepatitis A vaccine to food-service workers at NO COST to them or the employer.

 

 

Batavia has a new Mexican food truck, Over the Border, from the Bender family -- Todd, Evan, and Ryan.

Evan said he hopes this is one of many different food trucks they plan to operate out of Batavia.