Village Gate Square is a nice place to escape the heat and to appreciate great art, sculpture, and a chill laid-back vibe. Grab a street hotdog and enjoy the shaded courtyard read more

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This place is a great business center. There are a variety of shops, restaurants, and ample space for various events. I have visited during the Mayday Underground Craft Show. It is a little confusing on how to enter the building, but once in, it is a great space. I love the artwork, and sculptures. This time I went on a Sunday to the craft show and a lot of the businesses were closed, but there were many open as well including a unique shop that sold knickknacks and chalk paint, a cute coffee shop, a mystical shop, and a children's book store. read more

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Interesting vibes, cool ceiling art. Unfortunately there are not many businesses open when we were there! (Thursday 5-7pm). The cupcake shop looked really good, will definitely have to try next time! read more

I came in on my last day in the city after visiting the George Eastman House and really didn't think it was worth the walk through. I think a big draw are the restaurants that are inside, and during the day most are closed. A lot of businesses were closed anyway because it was earlier in the week too, but even so it just didn't speak to me. It's more of a community center, with some vendors that seem interesting but the interior of the space is pretty sterile. All these shops, few selling things you really need, with voyeuristic windows in a concrete box. We did go into the new age shop, they had an incense called Angel Dust which I got a kick out of. read more

Village Gate Square - Ha! - Shopping Centers Near Me - Rochester, New York

I love the idea of this place but the shops always seem closed when I am there. There are two theatre spaces, both good. A children's book store. A witchy smells store (e.g., incense, etc), collectibles, cupcakes. Good luck being there when 3 of those are open at the same time. I love The Gate House, btw. See separate review. read more

If I had written this review a year earlier, I would have rated four stars. Sad, because at times the Village Gate Mall has been a five star location. I've been a patron of Village Gate stores since its inception as Peddler's Village. Peddler's Village was a wild and woolly location for many entrepreneurs hoping to stake out retail turf in the early eighties. I actually worked at Decotech for my friend Mark Theobald during this period. Over time, as most of the retailers began to fall by the wayside, I began to refer to the Village Gate as the place where dreams went to die. You could say that these businesses failed due to a combination of economic forces and poor business planning. Some, however, were forced out to make room for upper class tenants. The recent forced exodus of the Bop Shop & Ricky's Place signaled a new stage in the constantly evolving nature of the Village Gate Mall; their removal from the "Square" will make room for a new restaurant and enhanced digs for an existing one, California Rolling. It remains to be seen what the Village Gate Square will be like as a destination once the restaurant construction has completed. With the Bop Shop gone, the weekly series of concerts and atrium shows will be gone. Sigh... read more

It has one of my fav coffee spot, The Dark Horse, Lento and a few other spots. It 's mostly an empty shell. Since I'm not from Rochester I don;t know how it was before, but if all those retail spaces were filled then I think it could have been a nice place I hope it goes back to its former glory. January 2014 read more

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This is a hard review for me, as I remember when this place was really on top of its game. The Village Gate used to be a crazy indoor mall in an old industrial building, with awesome murals, a recreated city street, and eclectic shops. Today, only a handful of the best shops and restaurants remain, the upper levels are desolate and lifeless. The portion that looked like an old city street was converted into offices, the gay pride mural is gone, Ricky's moved downstairs, Antiques and Old Lace moved to University... The Village Gate is merely a ghostly shell of what it used to be. Sure, Ricky is still there, California Rollin' still does all you can eat, the Bop Shop is jammin' and you can get a unique piercing over at Primitive Impressions, but it just isn't the same. Yeah, I still shop here, because I want to support the businesses I have shopped at for years, but I can't deny that the mall feels stale. My friends and I refer to it as the mall of broken dreams. One day, when I win the Mega Millions Jackpot, I am going to buy the Village Gate from Stern and restore it to its former glory. read more

Village Gate Square - Shopping Centers Near Me - Rochester, New York

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Following an appointment in Rochester my wife and I found ourselves looking for lunch. Not being familiar with the area a quick search told us we were minutes from a nice looking Mexican restaurant. Upon arriving there we quickly realized that the restaurant was located in the Village Gate Square. This is a former industrial/warehouse area that has been revitalized and now contains trendy shops, bars and restaurants. It appears that a lot of care and planning went into creating what it has become. We were very impressed by the art on and around the buildings. Not much appeared to be going on while we were there but Salena's, the restaurant we had eaten at, was drawing a crowd. As per my review of Salena's I could see why. This restaurant was awesome. The food and the staff really made for an exceptional lunch experience. I can only imagine that pre Covid the area was probably quite vibrant. There was plenty of parking. This area could be an example for redevelopment in other cities with similar unused industrial areas. If in the Rochester area I recommend checking the area out for one of the restaurants and shops. read more

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Really cool court yard it has a lot of pretty plants. A nice waterfall and sculpture. It has really good restaurants. And neat shops to go to, even have a massage school you can go to read more

Village Gate Square - Patio area - Shopping Centers Near Me - Rochester, New York

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If you manage to find their website, successfully navigate it, and then find the correct number, then heads up: you'll be working with Kathy Capierseho, and that's too bad for you :( Kathy has a lot of responsibilities, and in some respects I feel like she MUST be intelligent, but God, just talk to her. "2 hours of open bar is more than plenty" (for a wedding reception), "you can't get any cheaper than $100 per person" (for a plate of food). We were actually going to book our reception here, but her underhanded power grab pushed us away. She claims that she verbally explained that we were not allowed to provide our own alcohol when the ver batum was that our caterer needs to be licensed and insured, no direct "no" was given. This was confirmed in the contract Kathy sent us which made NO mention of alcohol procurement restrictions (which was scrutinized by legal council). We found a caterer who allows us to purchase our own alcohol who was licensed and insured, so we figured we were clear to proceed. The caterer contacted Kathy about alcohol, and Kathy's response to us was implied that we were trying to be shady, she thought she "explained herself in our meeting". Kathy, the only reason it came up was because we asked, otherwise it wouldn't even had been mentioned. I had no intention of jeopardizing your business, but you know what makes things perfectly clear? A contract. Learn how to write one properly instead of acting accusatory. Oh yeah, under no circumstance will your reception be private. It will be open to the public. So it has me wondering why I'm paying for a reservation if people are allowed to wander into my reserved section. Seriously, go there and see how many people are wandering around there on a Saturday afternoon. (However if you had the sensibility to make events private, perhaps liquor laws would apply differently) Thank you Kathy for being peculiar in person, slow to response, and exceptionally vocal of what people should do for weddings, now I have the pleasure of avoiding you. read more

I have been coming to Village gate since I was in middle school. We won't go into how long ago that was, but long enough to see this place thrive & dive a few times. It's unfortunate how some long time tenants have been replaced by restaurants, and office space on the second floor. I do miss the old village gate, but some of the old stores are there, and the new ones that have come in are great as well. It's starting make a major come back. One of my most favorite things that they now do is having local artists in once a month. I have gone a few times and found some very unique things. Village gate never gets old! read more

I have always been a fan of this place - often take people there to just check it out. I agree with many of the other reviews that it has undergone a major makeover in the last few years - but I also think it is one that had to be expected. With the very expensive loft apartments in this area, the little niche shops that were located in there did not fit well with that type of a location. I think the first changes were putting in more dining options so tenants of those apartments had more options of places to eat without having to leave the complex. Some of the shops have changed into more upscale type places - again I think to cater to the type of tenants that they have in this location. I loved the old shops, but the new places are nice as well. The architecture of the old building is still great. Its changed - but not all for the bad like many others have posted. read more

Like other reviewers, I have to start by saying that the Village Gate used to be totally different, and much more unique. Here are some thoughts... The good: old staples like Lento and the Gate House are still there and there is space for new businesses like the Rochester Brainery. It's also a great space for big parties and events. The bad: California Rollin (somehow voted Rochester's best sushi, but definitely the worst) is still there, no more vintage shops or outdoor concerts. Not sure: Espada (I've heard it's good, but super expensive), Village Idiots comedy improv (don't know much about it), Get Caked (cupcake shop that I never see anybody in). I'll keep going for the good, avoid the bad, and peer into all of the other places. read more

The Village Gate is a shell of what it used to be. All the old shops are gone and only fee stores are still around, many of these by appointment only. I used to really enjoy going here about 15 years ago when it was filled with unique shops, but that is all gone now. Very sad. read more

An interesting mix of industrial-style office, retail, and restaurant space. For those with offices upstairs, the ability to be steps away from some great coffee at The Dark Horse or a beer with a fantastic burger at The Gate House make this incredibly convenient. What is not convenient, particularly given the dearth of mass transit, are the parking options. They're few, often full, and most galling of all I noticed that of the two handicapped spots behind Salena's, one was taken up full-time by a dumpster. On the upside, it seems nobody enforces the 30-minute rule in the spots outside The Gate House, so if you can get one, enjoy. The desolation of the shops on the ground floor though make it seem like this space has so much more potential. The reviews hint at greater former glory, and I'd like to see this complex have a little more life in it. As it is, if you're there after 11PM, it feels like you're in this industrial Gotham with Batman lurking in the shadows. read more

Love village gate! Come here weekly to work and support local business and the neighborhood of the arts. Of course parking can be a best at peak hours but other than that I am happy about the expansion and all the amazing businesses located inside. read more

Live it.. lived and worked there. I am an artist, miss it greatly. Go there shop as much local as possible ..

This venue has been host of many things since I was a wee Greece girl trekking to the big city for fun. On my most recent trip back I notice that many of the places I remember are still around (love that!) and a few new places have been added to the mix. Come here regardless of our residency status! There are antique shops, several yummy places to eat (sushi, mexican, american... ) a comic book shop and much much more. This place is easy to make a few hours out of and has a great courtyard to enjoy the weather as well. It is also a great example that Houston can learn from, instead of knocking down all of our old buildings, some of our city planners need to come take a look at Village Gate! read more

The shops in the Village Gate are great - I found a perfect Christmas gift for my boss very quickly, I just wish there were more shops! Seems like this place has great potential! read more

This has been one of my favorite places to go in Rochester since I was a teenager. I love the atmosphere, it's definitely unique to Rochester. Something I appreciate about Rochester is things like this place, where they would rather restore an historic or old building and reuse it for something else, instead of tearing everything down and creating anew which is what Sarah P. mentioned.... and I strongly agree! It has a lot of great shops and I have a lot of great teenage memories here! Every time I return to Rochester, I take some time to visit and see what's new. read more

What a gem in the city! Free parking and the businesses that are located there are unique. The management does a great job with clearing out the snow and the place is very clean. The complex is mixed use, so you will find specialty shops, restaurants, businesses and apartments in the same space. A great vision Gary Stern had years ago! read more

I love this place. Great service and best brick oven pizza. My favorite is the Liberty pole pizza. They have great burgers and salads too. Go check them out. Since I started going there, this has now become a weekly spot for me. Take a friend and enjoy ! M. Thompson read more