Fiddlehead Coffee finds a spot in downtown Rochester

Fiddlehead Coffee Company, which now has one location inside Forager Brewery, announced Friday its plans to open a second café — this one in downtown Rochester.

The new shop will be located at the corner of Fourth Street and Third Avenue Southeast in the new Flats on 4th apartment building (kitty-corner to the government center). Plans are to have the location open by late summer.

"Fiddlehead will be a substantial community asset — as a meeting place, as a respite, as a place for art and culture," co-owner Sarah Phelan told us this morning. "We want to be the heart and soul of downtown and the Slatterly neighborhood. We also want to take a stand for local small business and make Rochester a unique soulful and culturally rich place to live."

In addition to speciality coffee and tea drinks, Fiddlehead will offer a selection of house made pastries, grab ‘n go lunch items, and evening small plates paired with a curated list of wines and tap beers. 

Phelan said their commitment to working with local farmers and artisans will be strengthened given the new location's proximity to the Rochester Downtown Farmers Market, as well as the art and civic centers. As contributor Micalyn Maier previously reported, Fiddlehead is committed to a 100 percent compostable, organic and fair trade business. 

As part of the expansion, Fiddlehead also plans to start its own state-of-the-art coffee roastery and canning facility. Doing so will allow the business to begin selling their products wholesale and through "delivered-to-your-door whole bean coffee subscriptions." 

Fiddlehead's new location will put it within a couple blocks of another independent coffee shop, Café Steam. The owners of Steam announced this week they will also be taking on a second shop above the DoubleTree Hotel in the downtown skyway system. The location is now a Starbucks.

Updated 3/26 at 9:56 a.m.

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Cover photo by Shawn Fagan