Mary Chao: College Town nears completion

Drive along Mt. Hope Avenue near the University of Rochester and you'll notice a village has sprung up in the urban landscape.

Indeed, College Town is near completion. In the past few months, several retailers have moved into the mixed-use facility designed to provide the University of Rochester, its medical center and the community a central place to dine and shop.

Now open at College Town are Barnes & Noble, Insomnia Cookies, Bean Cruises and Travel, The Creator's Hands, Breathe Yoga, Corner Bakery, GNC and Moe's Southwest Grill. Coming later this spring will be Hilton Garden Inn, said Matt McCarthy, senior economic development specialist for the city of Rochester.

College Town is one of the biggest retail projects in the city, McCarthy said, noting that it is on land owned by the University of Rochester and not a city-sponsored project.

In addition to retail, the urban village will lease office space and apartment units with the project being developed by Rhode Island's Gilbane Development Co.

College Town is intended to be a destination site for the entire region, McCarthy said. The city conducted extensive traffic studies and planned for sufficient parking for the shopping village, including a parking garage, he added.

With the retail across the street, the intersection of Mt. Hope and Elmwood avenues is quite a hot spot. Adjacent to College Town, you'll find Starbucks, Chipotle, Bunga Burger Bar as well as the Soup Spoon. Both sides of Mt. Hope Avenue have sidewalks to make it easy for pedestrians to spend some time strolling.

Retail development near universities is a national trend, with the shopping centers designed to make life easier for students to get what they need or want.

Friendly's, other family restaurants close

Poof. In a week's time, all of my daughter's favorite local dining options have vanished: Friendly's, Flower City Grill and La-Tea-Da.

Two more area Friendly's restaurants have closed at The Marketplace mall and the Mall at Greece Ridge as Friendly's consolidates its operations.

Both the closure at Greece Ridge and Marketplace were a casualty of Friendly's ongoing disposition of restaurants across the country, including several in the Rochester area, said Michael Wilmot, general manager at Marketplace.

"In anticipation of this news, we have several prospective tenants interested in the space and hope to make an announcement in the coming months," Wilmot said.

Friendly's local franchisee Kessler Family LLC sold the business back to corporate in July 2013 and several closings of Friendly's restaurants followed, including one in Webster and two in Brighton.

The Massachusetts-based Friendly's Ice Cream LLC has had financial difficulties in recent years. The company was purchased in 2007 by the private equity group, Sun Capital Partners Inc., which sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Thanks to Brighton blogger Ruth Thaler-Carter, I learned that Flower City Grill at the Renaissance Apartment Building at 2500 East Ave. closed on New Year's Eve. We have been dining at Flower City since previous owner Jerry Manley opened it downtown on Chestnut Street in a spot where the sun doesn't shine and followed him through two more moves. A favorite for my daughter was the Mickey Mouse pancake.

Then there was the New Year's Day fire at La-Tea-Da at 258 Alexander St. We were among Maureen Becker's first customers when she opened nine years ago. It's a great place for mom and daughter tea outings.

Being Brighton residents, La-Tea-Da was just minutes away when we wanted scones or afternoon tea. But Red Bird Tea Shoppe in Brockport also offers full afternoon tea service that comes with plates filled with finger sandwiches, desserts and scones as well as a drink of your choice for $25 per person.

Red Bird owner Jo Matela was sad to hear about La-Tea-Da's fire.

"She did a great job with bringing the tea experience to so many people," Matela said. "It is always a blow to see a small business suffer anytime for whatever reason."

Dunkin' Donuts celebration

The newest Dunkin' Donuts in Rochester has opened at 111 East Ave., near Eastman School of Music and the store will be hosting a grand opening celebration Monday with a special appearance by Foreigner's Lou Gramm.

The celebration will take place from noon to 2 p.m. and will include tastings, raffles, live performance by a jazz trio and an appearance by Brother Wease from Radio 95.1.

This Dunkin' Donuts store is operated by area franchise operator Sam Belhseine. The new restaurant, now open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, employs approximately 17 staffers.

Do you know about a local business that's coming or going? E-mail Mary Chao @ MCHAO@DemocratandChronicle.com.