Check Out These Awesome Places to Shop in Rochester!
Rochester, New York has many unique streets, plazas, and shopping complexes housing luxury shops, small businesses selling handcrafted items, and popular stores. If you’re visiting Rochester and want to do some shopping, here’s a list of the best places to shop in the city!
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park ave
Park Ave is a street at the heart of Rochester, with various shops, historic buildings, and great places to eat. Notable shops include Parkleigh, Figgy Studio & Shop, Statement Boutique, Salty Boutique, and Deborah Jean & Co.
Parkleigh is a gift store that used to be a pharmacy back in 1960. The shop sells clothing, jewelry, chocolate, candy, coffee, body care products, bags, greeting cards, and more. It was voted Rochester’s best gift store by two local papers—The Democrat & Chronicle and The City Paper. The store has a mix of affordable and high-end items. It’s the perfect place to go shopping for birthday and holiday gifts!
Figgy Studio & Shop is a small business owned by Eleanor Rothfuss and Crystal Stanley. The business began when the two women started making jewelry at home. They found that they had a passion for working with clay, gemstones, and metals. The shop sells jewelry and custom jewelry, clothing, accessories, home decor, and more.
Statement Boutique is a woman-owned lifestyle boutique that sells women’s and unisex clothing, accessories, jewelry, and houseware items. The clothing at Statement Boutique is colorful and fun, often featuring bright colors and patterns. Salty Boutique is a fashion and home boutique that features pieces from local and global creators, as well as independent designers. The boutique sells clothing, accessories, home decor, jewelry, and some books.
Deborah Jean & Co. is an affordable women’s fashion shop. In addition to fashion, the store sells items such as slippers, mugs, hot cocoa, gloves, and socks. It’s a cozy shop that sells a little bit of everything!
Source: Wikimedia Commons, Photo by Matthew D. Wilson/ CC BY 2.5
eastview mall
Eastview Mall is a shopping complex that houses various stores selling pop culture merchandise, clothing, snacks, upscale brands, and more. Some shops include Francesca’s and Free People—two shops selling rustic and Bohemian-inspired women’s clothing—Forever 21—a store selling trendy women and men’s fashion, shoes, and accessories—FYE—a pop culture store that has anime merchandise, K-Pop albums, vinyl records, and Japanese snacks—and Von Maur, which sells luxury fashion brands.
Recently, the complex added two new shops: a Barnes & Noble and a Miniso. Barnes & Noble sells books, magazines, stationery, gift-wrapping items, K-Pop albums, and vinyl records. Miniso is a Chinese shop selling low-cost lifestyle items, keychains, plushies, blind boxes, and more. The shop sells merchandise printed with the Sanrio, Peanuts, Care Bear, and We Bare Bears characters.
Other notable shops include the cosmetic store Sephora, Anthropologie—a unique, upscale women’s clothing store—Box Lunch—which sells anime, Disney, and other pop culture merchandise—and Dry Goods—a store that sells trendy, Western-inspired clothing for women. No matter what you’re looking to buy, Eastview Mall is bound to have it!
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The shops on west ridge
The Shops on West Ridge is a two-story building housing many vendors selling handcrafted, vintage, and one-of-a-kind pieces. Many of the vendors are local to Rochester. There’s also a café with baked goods, coffee, and more.
The two floors cover about 60,000 square feet worth of vendors. Selections change daily, and the building houses over 200,000 items. The vendors sell various items, such as furniture, kitchenware, candles, clothing, toys, and vintage designer items. The shops have many fun events to earn discounts, such as hunting for items throughout the store to win a chance to spin the discount wheel. For instance, every first Saturday of the month, there’s a treasure hunt. If customers find hidden tokens scattered across the vendors, they win a chance at a 5%-100% off discount. Two of the hidden tokens have a 100% off discount, which means free merchandise for two lucky treasure hunters!
On Thursdays, it’s “Fresh Week, Fresh Pieces,” where the vendors bring in new merchandise. And on Fridays, senior citizens get a 10% discount. Other events include author meet and greets, sales across all vendors, and March Madness, which gives visitors a 20% off discount on March 23rd. This shopping center allows you to find unique items with affordable prices, while also supporting small and local businesses!
Source: Wikimedia Commons, Photo by Matthew D. Wilson/ CC BY 2.5
pittsford plaza
Pittsford Plaza is a plaza that has shops, restaurants, a grocery store, and more. One of the features of this plaza is the massive, two-story Barnes & Noble—the biggest one in Rochester. In addition to books, the store sells toys, games, collectibles, and music. On the first floor, there’s a café serving Starbucks coffee, snacks, baked goods, and more. The second floor is where vinyl records, K-pop albums, and anime merchandise can be found.
Other popular places in the plaza are the Bath & Body Works—which sells body care with unique scents—TJ Maxx—which is a discounted clothing, shoe, accessory, and kitchenware store—and Trader Joe’s, which is a grocery store selling fresh produce, baked goods, and specialty foods.
Unique stores in the plaza are One World Goods and The Paper Store. One World Goods sells items from artisans around the world, with the goal of raising awareness about inequality and poverty. Items sold include keychains, scarves, ornaments, and more. The Paper Store sells fashion, jewelry, toys, and home decor. It’s the perfect place to go to if you’re shopping for gifts!
Pittsford Plaza is also a great place to spend the day, since there are plenty of restaurants nearby, such as Chipotle, Plum Garden Japanese Restaurant, and Rosie Nepalese & Indian Cuisine.
conclusion
Rochester has so many unique places to shop where you can find items you can’t find anywhere else. And it’s very convenient to find streets, plazas, and complexes that have multiple shops to explore. If you’re visiting Rochester, you’ll definitely want to check out one of these places to do some shopping!
