The popular Mexican restaurant Old Pueblo Grill has finally opened its new location in Baytowne Plaza.
Owner Joe Zolnierowski began work on the location, which previously home to Don Pedro Cantina, and before that, WhichCraft Brews, in 2023. “I saw the potential,” Zolnierowski said. “This is the perfect space for us and our brand. If there’s anyone who can do it, we can.”
Called Old Pueblo Grill Cantina, it is the first location to offer table service and liquor.
The setup is unique in that it has its own food truck, dating back to its days as WhichCraft. Although Old Pueblo Grill has added a prep kitchen to the back of the space, the majority of the menu is cooked on the truck.
The menu is influenced by the Sonoran-style Mexican fare that’s popular in Zolnierowski’s home state of Arizona. The menu includes customer favorite tacos and burritos from the other locations, but adds enchiladas, fajitas, platos and various munchies. Among the additions:
Zolnierowski said the menu is a work in progress and will be adjusted based on feedback and sales.
The full-service bar offers craft cocktails that emphasize agave-based spirits; some popular offerings incorporate prickly pear, which is popular in Sonoran cuisine. Margaritas are made fresh daily and served from a keg. Bar manager Pamela Bloss brags that everything is made from fresh ingredients and there’s no sour mix in house.
Come football season, Old Pueblo Grill will also become a sports bar. The space has two televisions above the bar and a giant projected screen on one wall; the plan is to tint the windows to enhance viewing the projected screen. Zolnierowski plans to offer menu specials on game days.
Zolnierowski opened the first Old Pueblo Grill in 2018 on Russell Street in the Neighborhood of the Arts. He opened the second in the HighPoint development in Victor, Ontario County, in August 2023; Zolnierowski plans to eventually serve beer, wines and margaritas in Victor.
What took the third location so long to open? “Normal restaurant stuff,” Zolnierowski said, rattling off factors like the liquor license, weather, equipment issues and more.
If you go
Old Pueblo Grill Cantina is at 1900 Empire Blvd. in Penfield. (Baytowne is located in Penfield even though it has a Webster mailing address.) It is open 4 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It is closed Sunday (but this will change during football season). Call (585) 446-0212.
Accessibility: It is wheelchair accessible.
Tracy Schuhmacher covers the Rochester area’s food scene. Notice a new restaurant in your neighborhood? Send info to TracyS@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: At long last, popular Mexican restaurant opens in Penfield
Reporting by Tracy Schuhmacher, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
