Rochester’s newest business is Mi Camino Real in the old Alejandra’s Restaurant at 2077 Main St.
Its opening marks a spat of restaurant changes.
This is the third location for the family-owned restaurant; the other two are in Plymouth and Logansport. Rene Lopez said his family started the Plymouth restaurant 10 years ago and the Logansport location six years ago. They bought the building in Rochester – first Margaritas then Alejandra’s – in March and opened for business Sept. 11.
Lopez said the restaurant needed a total remodel inside, from cleaning to new carpet to bringing in 45 tables and sets of chairs, all handcarved and shipped here from Mexico.
The restaurant is open 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Lopez said they are still using the former owner’s liquor license, so the bar seating won’t be open yet, but alcohol is still available for table service. A staff of about 15 will cook and serve the food, he said.
A grand opening is planned for a future date, Lopez said.
These businesses also opened their doors recently:
Countryside Grill
The old Mama’s Pizza at 811 E. Ninth St. is now Countryside Grill. Karrie Andrews and Keith Nickels started serving up “American food with a southern flare” July 1.
Nickels moved to Rochester from east Tennessee and found there weren’t a lot of jobs available, he said. The restaurant employs 13 people and “about my whole staff didn’t have a job so that’s one of the blessings is to help the people of Rochester,” he said.
Countryside Grill is open 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday-Tuesday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, and 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
Nickels said he can do catering and they deliver. “We’ll bring a ribeye right to your house.”
La Bamba
Moonlight Wine and Dine is out and La Bamba Mexican restaurant has taken its place at 835 N. Indiana 25.
Sebastian Villasenor, who also owns Sunnyside Up Cafe, bought the building about a month ago, he said.
“This town needs a restaurant with good food, good prices and good people,” Villasenor said. “And that’s La Bamba.”
The restaurant serves Mexican food, American food, Italian cuisine and pizza, Villasenor said, along with a full bar with “a great selection on tequila.”
Three cooks and four waitresses staff the restaurant from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-slow of business on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Bagel shop
The Rochester Bagel and Deli Co. reopened July 21 at 231 E. Ninth St.
Owned by Salvador Sanchez, former owner of Alejandra’s Restaurant, the bagel shop is open 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday and 6 a.m.-noon on Saturday.
Schnabeltier
Drive west past the Winning Edge and you’ll find the new wine and cheese business Schnabeltier at 491 Apache Drive.
Glenn Goss, The Cheese Wiz, makes the cheese and let the public sample his first batch of gouda Aug. 8.
It’s owned by Rex and Kris Robison. Matt Sutton co-owns and manages the business. They recently got a permit to make wine, Goss said.
The Peace Tree Village location will be a retail store for their in-house made cheeses and wines, Goss said. He worked at Dean’s Foods for 29 years and left when Rex proposed this new business venture.
“I’ve been in the milk processing business for a while,” Goss said. He’s also been attending classes at Purdue University to learn winemaking.
Right now, he has 3,500 pounds of cheese stored at 55 degrees at 85 percent humidity.
A grand opening is planned for Oct. 1.
Soria’s
Those who need to work off the restaurant fare, wine and cheese they ate at the other new busineses can join a new gym, Soria’s Strength-n-Fitness Training.
Plymouth resident Josh Soria bought the newlyrenovated building at 432 N. Main St. and has been pushing weight there since Aug. 9.
Soria, 34, said he owned a gym in Plymouth but closed it 2008. He’s been offering his personal training skills for the past 12 years, he said.
Soria’s Strength-n-Fitness Training offers memberships and personal training, strength training, athletic training, and weight management and muscle building classes.
Open 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.7 p.m. Friday, 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m.7 p.m. Sunday, memberships can be paid monthly or yearly. Students can get a discounted rate, he said, and he’s trying to come up with a deal for teachers.
“Rochester needed one,” he said of the gym. “We’re here for people who want to work out. I’m trying to target everybody.”
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