Rose O'Keefe
ROSE O’KEEFE is a long-time resident of the South Wedge, author of several local history books, and a board member of BASWA.More by Rose O'Keefe
Tru Yoga Open For All - From her eyes, to her smile and handshake – it’s easy to like Imani Olear at first sight. She is exactly the kind of warm and welcoming person the world needs now. Since the spring of 2019 when Imani and ... read more
Relish - For Stephen Rees, a summer job working at Bristol Harbor Lodge at age 15 led to baking and pastry competitions. After getting hooked on those, he attended the Culinary Institute of America where he received degrees in both looking and ... read more
Ron Maier - A common sight early on a Saturday morning in the Wedge is Ron Maier patiently, tirelessly removing old handbills from light poles, pulling weeds, or picking up trash around Gregory and South Avenue. These acts, small contributions which greatly enhance ... read more
Fountain of Youth - If you are looking for a warm and welcoming place to work out, by all means, visit Fountain of Youth, 390 South Ave., Suite A. When I first spoke to Hassan Robinson at a BASWA monthly meeting in the spring, ... read more
Giving Back - How does someone who has survived extreme hardship celebrate holidays? In Sadiya Omar’s case she teaches her youngest son the same lessons her parents did. “I always remind my children, although we pray in a different way, we are all ... read more
Hippity Hip Community Play Space - If you pay attention to demographics, there’s a large group of 25 to 35-year-olds in and around the Wedge. With the need to play in mind, Jenna Chew has opened Hippity Hip Community Playspace at 131 Gregory St. It’s a ... read more
Boulder Coffee Under New Ownership - Michelle and Kanwal Singh, new owners of Boulder Cafe, at 100 Alexander St., know that Boulder has a loyal following. When Michelle looked at the menu, she aimed to keep most of it the same while sourcing more items locally, ... read more
Pure Sole Nails - When I met Jessica Lynn at Pure Sole Nails, she was in the thick of end-of-the-year holiday appointments, but I would guess Valentine’s Day appointments will keep her busy too. Jessica moved into the space at 684 South Avenue in ... read more
David Halter 1935 - 2018 - By Rose O'Keefe with Lisa HalterAt the service for the celebration of the life of David “Dave” Halter on March 4th at Calvary St. Andrew’s Church, everyone who spoke showed a side of him that others didn’t know. Sandy Brewer, ... read more
Little Shop of Hoarders - Dedicated followers of fashion. Art appreciators. Down to earth. That’s what in “About Us” on the website for Little Shop of Hoarders, a trendy vintage shop and gallery on Gregory Street. Owner Monika Ludwinek welcomes commission vendors to place vintage ... read more
The Old Stone Tavern - Let’s put our hands together for Old Stone Tavern, at 758 South Ave. which had its soft opening in July. After business partners Marc Taranto and Jeff Wilczewski took over the Orbs location, they had to apply for a liquor ... read more
ME Real Estate - It may be hard to tell from the quiet exterior that ME at 644-648 South Ave. is one busy place. As owner Jim Marchegiano says, “Honestly it is a very hectic business. We cover many aspects of the real estate ... read more
Allstate Agency - Who doesn’t agree that it’s a pleasure to see the storefronts on South Avenue fill up? The latest is the Allstate Agency at 661 South Ave, owned by Jon Yaeger, a western New Yorker born and bred. Jon has been ... read more
Glickfit Gym - Try to forget that 6’5” Glickfit Gym co-owner Kyle Glickman happens to model men’s clothing. Try to forget that Ewa (pronounced Eva) Hlebowicz is a full-time firefighter who prefers to be called fireman because she does a “man’s” job. They ... read more
Colin Coffey: Renewing-Massage - It is a pleasure to get better acquainted with Colin Coffey, a licensed massage therapist and owner of Renewing Massage who definitely makes people’s lives better.Q ~ What did your parents do and what lesson did you learn from them? ... read more
Hipocampo Books - Henry Padrón is proud to share that Hipocampo Books at 638 South Ave. (pronounced eepo-campo) is on the national map for Children’s Book Week, April 29 to May 5. The closest bookstore in all of Upstate is in Buffalo and ... read more
Kenron Celebrates 50 Years - If you’ve known Ron Maier for a while you may know him as the businessman who in 1975 moved his Kenron office and shop into the former Fine Arts theatre at 700 South Ave. or that he teamed up with ... read more
Chocolate Lady - Jennifer Posey - When Jennifer Posey was 10 she got a job as scorekeeper for a Little League baseball team. The pay? $5 a game and a hotdog. She loved the hotdogs so much she spent the rest of her pay at the ... read more
Remembering Gina - If you knew Gina Belardino, you most likely knew she loved her tortoises, Norm and Shelly, her latest rescue dog Angel, her cat, Lily and that she worked with her daughter Jennifer for 32 years at the South Wedge Barber ... read more
Remebering RPD Officer Manuel "Manny" Ortiz - Rochester Police Department Officer Manuel “Manny” Ortiz was remembered for his bright smile and exceptional service to the community many times at the Rochester Convention Center November 8. Hundreds of police officers, state troopers, sheriffs and thousands of people filled ... read more
Our House Art Gallery - It is fitting in honor of Veterans Day in November to shine a spotlight on local vets. If you’re new to the area you might not know that the Veterans Outreach Center at 447 South Avenue bought the Richards ... read more
Little Button - Button Craft & Print is getting fuller by the week and that’s part of Shelby Przbylek’s plan to make it a success – not just for herself, but also for the 70 craft vendors who make shopping and learning there ... read more
Highland Market - Damianos “Danny” Stefanou is no stranger to complicated projects. He bought a property at 555 E. Ridge Road in Irondequoit in 2000, tore it down and built a new 38,000 sq. ft. family restaurant, “Uncle Danny’s that has 12 employees. ... read more
Abundance Coop - About five years ago, members of Abundance Food Co-op on Marshall Street began the search for a larger and more accessible space where they could improve their offerings as a grocery store and cooperative. After a long, hard search they ... read more
Practicing What They Preach - If you’ve noticed the storefront for North Wedge Market at 46 Mt. Hope Ave. and wondered what’s happening there, the short answer is, a lot. Rochester Pillar Church or The Pillar, ... read more
Spencer Koehl - One day when South Wedge resident Spencer Koehl was sitting in Mike Bauman’s chair at the barber shop, Spencer told Mike about needing an idea for a business. Spencer had ... read more
Thank Heaven for the Friends of Mt. Hope - The South Wedge has astounding, amazing world-class natural and historic resources right in our back yard. If you have never taken a walk in Mount Hope Cemetery, consider it. is city-owned facility is a working cemetery as well as a ... read more
Highland Park's Children's Pavilion - Not everyone who visits Rochester during the Lilac Festival may be aware that Highland Park has a world-class arboretum designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The broad south-facing slope from the heights to Highland Avenue, east of South Avenue, west of ... read more
A walk in the park with Larry Staub - What does a good day at work look like for the County Parks Director who oversees 21 parks covering 12,000 acres, with 100 employees and double that in warm weather? In late June, Lawrence “Larry” Staub II was the first ... read more
Clean Local - You could blame my husband. He read Karen Kingston’s 1997 book “Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui” and liked it so much that we both got into reading “Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui” (1999). But my neat streak started ... read more
Dave McBride - A typical day for Dave McBride starts at 7:30 AM, a half hour before the Stanley Steemer office on South Avenue opens; and the work day ends when they’re done. He said that since the franchise territory stretches from Lake ... read more
Ron & Don Silvernail - Tucked in at the end of a parking lot on Sanford Street is a two-story building that has a sturdy metal balcony railing on the second floor. In warmer weather, if you happen to walk by at the right time, ... read more
Tour The Odd Fellows Lodge - If you were ever told to ‘be nice’ to so-and-so, then the idea behind the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is not hard to grasp. Their motto to “visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and ... read more
The South Wedge Barber Shop - Even though the 30th anniversary of Gina Bellardino’s barber shop lands on April 1, Gina is no fool. My connection to her is from meeting her up at Durand Eastman beach. She’s been cleaning the beach for decades while ... read more
The Maier Family - Ron Maier has had his shoulder to the wheel in the South Wedge longer than most people I know and his wife, Norma, has been by his side all along. In 1969 when this neighbor- hood was blighted with 120 ... read more
Jared Valentine - Three years ago, a snowy scene of Open Face’s front door graced the first issue of the South Wedge Quarterly. Owner Jared Valentine, who has kept cooking since that gentle ... read more
q&a with fashion fitted - SWQ – Who got the idea for the upscale apparel? My business partner Robert Miller and I founded FashionFitted®. The initial product was the FeatherFitted®, a custom-made fitted hat with ... read more
Music to their Ears - Like many neighbors in the South Wedge, violist Mona Seghatoleslami, travelled a long and winding road to get here. Mona moved to Rochester to join the staff at WXXI Classical 91.5 as afternoon host three years ago.“In addition to announcing, ... read more
Tonja Mcnair - For those in the know, there’s a hat for every occasion and Tonja McNair, owner and manager of Headz Up Hats, is very much in the know. The Kentucky Derby, Mother’s Day, Easter and Father’s Day are all big shopping ... read more
The Reverend Judy Lee Hay - Always Open What do you do with a neighborhood abandoned and isolated, its future in doubt? That was the question facing Rev. Judy Lee Hay 40 years ago when she began her ministry in the South Wedge. Her contributions to ... read more
