Not too long ago, the street that leads to the Rochester Public Market was lined with uninviting, hulking warehouses and industrial buildings. Now home to Black Button Distilling, Rohrbach Railroad Street Beer Hall and Boxcar, Railroad Street is continuing its transformation into a vibrant neighborhood with Friday's opening of Bitter Honey, a Mexican restaurant. And more new businesses in the works.

Bitter Honey was conceived four years ago during a trip that co-owner Zack Mikida took to Mexico. He was taken by the friendliness and the hospitality of the Mexican people — down to the frequent times he'd be greeted with a friendly "hola" and "buenos días" as he walked down the street.

The approach of Bitter Honey is not to "feel like a theme park," Mikida said, but to bring a sense of the hospitality he experienced in Mexico.

"If we could even bring a sliver of that back to Rochester, we've succeeded," Mikida said. In addition to Mikida, the restaurant's owners include Joshua Miles, Tyler Wolk, Robert Morgan and John Ramsey.

The restaurant's long journey from idea to reality took several detours as the owners looked at various locations. Bitter Honey was originally slated for the Neighborhood of the Arts, behind the Three Heads Brewery on Atlantic Avenue. It was moved from that location when the owners couldn't come to an agreement with the developer.

The Railroad Street location was attractive to the owners because of the recent renovation at the Rochester Public Market, said Miles, and because Black Button Distilling and Rohrbach had already established a presence there.

The new restaurant will keep the industrial bones of a cavernous warehouse but add contemporary furniture, dramatic lighting, patterned octagonal tile and a hand-painted mural. The bar menu will have a special focus on mezcal, with cocktails that feature the Mexican spirit that is made from agave, as well as mezcal flights.

Executive Chef Bennett Hallenbeck grew up in Texas, and brought with him his own perspectives on Mexican food. The menu will include tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, taquitos and tamales — but no burritos. Its tortillas — corn only — will be handmade with fresh masa. The time intensive process for making the tortillas starts with a process called nixtamalization, in which dried corn is soaked in water treated with pickling lime; the corn is then ground using special volcanic stones. (This approach is rare, but not unheard of, in Rochester; the Heritage Taco trailer takes a similar approach.)

More:Heritage Taco Trailer brings flavor like no other: Cheap Eats

Bitter Honey, 127 Railroad St., will be open from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday.

Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Fridays beginning Sept. 8. Brunch will be served from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturdays beginning Sept. 9.

John Ebel, co-owner of Boxcar, which specializes in doughnuts and fried chicken, is excited to see the Mexican restaurant open under the same roof as his business.

"Now there's another reason to come to this area during the day on non-market days," Ebel said. Within the next few weeks, Boxcar will add a cocktail program specializing in whiskey; Ebel believes the two side-by-side bars will complement each other.

More:Boxcar opens Saturday near Rochester Public Market

The Railroad Street rebirth will continue with the opening of Makers at the Market, an art gallery and events space; Warehouse 127, a home decor retailer; and Elements, a home decor retail addition to John Grieco's working studio.

Makers at the Market

A nondescript black garage with concrete walls sits between Bitter Honey and artist John Grieco's studio at 153 Railroad St. Soon, it will begin to be transformed into Makers at the Market, an art gallery and events space. The building will double in size, with massive windows overlooking Railroad Street.

Makers at the Market will be the second gallery space for owners Alex Gruttadaro and Edward Zachary Graham, who own Makers Gallery and Studio at 34 Elton St. They are teaming up with Agathi Georgiou, who owns Agathi & Co., an events planning company, and The Arbor Loft, an events space. Georgiou's company will plan events at the space.

The principals of the two businesses identified a gap in unique event spaces in Rochester. The art gallery can accommodate up to 60 people, while the Arbor Loft is geared toward groups of 200 and up. Makers at the Market will fall in between the two, suited for groups of 100 to 150.

Makers at the Market will have a private outdoor courtyard, perfect for outdoor wedding ceremonies and an outdoor dance floor.

"The wedding scene is going to be huge," Georgiou said. She expects to work with small group of preferred caterers nearby.

Bad news for fans of Graham's creative homemade doughnuts: His reign as the Donut King of Rochester may coming to an end as he focuses on the two galleries. In the past year, the doughnut market has become increasingly crowded, he noted, including Boxcar next door on Railroad Street. Instead, Makers at the Market will likely be open on days that the Public Market is open, for coffee and perhaps pop-up food service from Georgiou's preferred caterers.

The gallery will have a modern feel with industrial elements, Graham said. Whereas Makers Gallery focuses on local artists, Makers at the Market will draw from a wider area for artwork.

John Grieco owns the building that will house Makers at the Market; his working studio for making rustic metal furniture, signs and lighting is next door. He and his wife, Laurie, have been approached by several people about opening a bar there, but they did not think it would be the right fit for the neighborhood.

Through a chance meeting at Hart's Local Grocers, they met Georgiou, who shared their vision for what the building could be. Although she toyed with the idea of opening a second event space, she instead brought in the gallery owners to move the concept forward. The plan is to break ground on the project within the next two weeks; the owners are "very optimistic" that they will be open by next summer.

In the meantime, Laurie Grieco is adding on a home decor retail shop called Elements to the studio at 153 Railroad St. It will offer a combination of new pieces, found items and some of John Grieco's creations. Whereas John Grieco tends toward a "rough and raw" style, the retail shop will bring in some softness, said Laurie Grieco.

The couple has been happy with the increased foot traffic they have seen since they purchased the building 15 years ago; they are especially encouraged to see a new generation heading to the market.

"It's such a cool street," said Laurie Grieco. "Once this street gets going, it's going to be great."

Warehouse 127

Kelli Berg's growth from event planner to retail store owner came about organically as her business evolved.

The owner of Simply Beautiful Events for the past 17 years, Berg maintained a warehouse of lounge furniture and unique pieces that she used at the events she coordinated for clients. After a while, she made the pieces available for rental to people who were not using her services. When she started getting requests for purchasing the items, the idea for a retail store was born.

The original warehouse that stored those items was at 127 Railroad St., now home to Bitter Honey and Boxcar, which is where the business got its name.

Berg tested the retail concept by holding a pop-up event in the building that will become Makers at the Market. Held during the holiday season of 2016, her pop-ups coincided with the Holidays at the Market weekends at the Rochester Public Market. She was encouraged by the response.

"It was beyond phenomenal," she said.

After many years of looking for a permanent home for her business, she found the perfect spot at 120 Railroad St., right across the street from the warehouse.

"We loved this space," she said. "We loved this area."

The building is currently a cavernous empty shell, but its potential is obvious. Rustic brick is exposed on some of the walls, and rustic wooden rafters offer eye-catching evidence of the building's provenance as a farm co-op. Berg plans to preserve the building's character; planned renovations include exposing and replacing the building's narrow windows, lined up along the high roof. The front of the building will be retail space, while the back, which has a loading dock, will be the warehouse. The business's offices will also be housed in the building.

The store will reflect Berg's style, which she describes as "easygoing Cali to city chic Soho." It will offer "organic, luxe, unique" furnishings as well as home decor accents like candles and seasonal decorations.

Berg plans to move into the warehouse space by the end of October. She plans to repeat her pop-up shop during the holiday season, this time in her space at 120 Railroad St.

Berg is hoping to secure a commercial facade grant through the city of Rochester to assist her with some of the renovations. Railroad Street is part of the Marketview Heights neighborhood, which has been a target of the city’s Focused Investment Strategy for several years.

"Last month, the city of Rochester completed an $8.5 million renovation project at the Public Market," city spokeswoman Jessica Alaimo said. "This helped the market attract even more visitors, which in turn benefits neighboring businesses, including those on Railroad Street.

"The Rochester Public Market is a gem in our community, and it is our goal to continue to build off this success by making further investments in surrounding neighborhoods, thus creating more jobs and better educational opportunities."

TRACYS@Gannett.com