Leah Stacy is an associate producer of the Rochester Cocktail Revival, and is also active on social media talking about the local food scene. She’s thrilled about the news that WXXI ‘s Evan Dawson first reported last weekend,that Michelin-star chef Richard Reddington will be opening a restaurant in Rochester at the former 2 Vine spot on Winthrop Street in the East End.
“He obviously is a name that a lot of, especially younger chefs, look to when they’re building their careers, and for him to say, ‘Rochester and the Finger Lakes is worth it,’ that’s going to cause some people to stop and take a look at what’s going on here, and that’s exactly why I’m excited about this.”
Stacy also says that, “a lot of my friends are in their early 30s right now and a lot of people moved away after college and they went to bigger cities, for 5 or 10 years and now they’re looking to come back here, buy houses, settle down, have families and they want to put their roots down somewhere that still reminds them of that big city life if they want it."
Both Stacy and another local food blogger, Chris Clemens, are hopeful that having someone of Reddington’s stature will provide another point of interest for young people who either had moved away from the area, and are considering come back here, or who just want to stay here.
“I totally think over the next handful of years that we’re going to see more and more people recognizing Rochester for all the things that we already love about it, and if they’re not going to move here, at the very least, I think it’s going to start bringing in visitors,” Clemens said.
Reddington now runs a restaurant in California’s Napa Valley. When his new Rochester restaurant opens next year, he will split his time between this area and California. Reddington's partner in the Rochester venture is a well-known local developer, longtime Wilmorite executive Dennis Wilmot.
Reddington has local ties; he graduated from Pittsford Sutherland High School.
