Village Gate Square

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

My most recent visit was last Saturday for the Mayday Craft Fair. Why is it that place with trendy restaurants, art studios, and lofts offers no WiFi reception, particularly when that building provides massive interference with mobile phone service. You can’t get Unilocal in more than half of the building!
Not being a native Rochesterian, I am emotionally unattached to this place and what it may once have been. In the ten to a dozen times I have been here (mostly for dining) I find the the structure dated (reminiscent of 1977) and the flow between shops and floors to be disjunctive. Plus the seemingly constant change of business tenants and the slap a poster on the wall for signage scheme frequently makes the place seem managed as if it were some low-​rent facility (which I don’t think it is).
IMO the parking is less than it should be: too few spaces spread out on two sides and an alleyway, and many on the Northeast side are too far from a covered entrance in bad weather. (It feels very far on a freezing rainy night in winter).

I’m really sad to see the changes happening here recently. The Bop Shop is gone, so is Ricky’s Place, as are a bunch of other small shops I’ve always loved. I’m surprised the comic shop hasn’t been pushed out too. The restaurant selection is nice, but I’m hoping they don’t turn it into a restaurant-​only space. I loved the mix of different types of stores — they just needed more of them to really make it a destination. Hopefully the new changes (all the renovations) will turn out okay, but right now it’s looking like a hot (ghost) mess.

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…

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.

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.

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!