Muddy Waters Coffee House

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See Gone, But Not Forgotten

Muddy Waters Coffee House was a coffeehouse in Geneseo named after Muddy Waters, the famous blues star. It offers a place to gather and an acoustical environment for Open Mic nights. They serve organic and fair trade coffees from around the globe, from the Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters, ensuring that the communities the beans come from benefit from your purchase.

There is also a Muddy Waters Coffee Club card. Get it punched 10 times and you get a free drink of your choice from the menu or one pastry item.

History

Owner Jacob Kane opened the Geneseo location at the urging of SUNY Geneseo communication professor Mary Mohan. Kane worked with Mohan and students to develop the marketing and public relations campaign. ¹

Rochester Location - Defunct

On July 29, 2011, Muddy Waters opened a new location behind The Cinema in the Highland Park Neighborhood of Rochester. They later moved to a small space directly attached to The Cinema. They sold pastries made locally by Scarpulla's and Georgie's Bakery.

This location was closed in November 2012 and replaced with Lettuce B. Frank.

As of 2015, the Geneseo location is also closed.

Original location behind The Cinema.

Original location.

Second Rochester location - attached to Cinema.

Comments:

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2008-02-15 13:45:14   This place hasn't officially opened yet. They will have a grand opening soon. I highly recommend checking this place out! The ambiance is amazing, and the coffee is good too! —Roc4Life

2008-02-20 10:28:30   They opened on February 1st! A grand opening will follow, but the coffee is a-pourin'! —GeorgeKastrinos

2008-02-20 10:49:57   Went on Sunday. Coffee was great and the guy serving was very friendly and a great ambassador for the place. They did a nice job renovating, it's very warm and open. We even ran into an old friend. Good luck with the place. —BigPun

2008-02-21 11:24:32   We went here last weekend to check it out, and although it is smaller inside than it appears to be outside, it was very clean and cozy, with a few nooks to sit in. The guy behind the counter was really friendly, and we enjoyed our drinks & a snack while reading the papers they had set out for customers. —SaraChristine

2008-02-21 17:59:58   I have been in to Muddy Waters 4 times now, in an effort to support local new businesses. I really loved the cozy interior and general design of the place. The owner was very kind and knows his coffee. One major complaint was that they still do not have the ability to accept credit cards, although the owner was kind enough to use the old-fashioned credit card slider for me, when he was not there, I was forced to go across the street in the bitter cold to Wilson Farms to use their ATM, and pay $3.50 in fees to get cash to get coffee. I am sorry to say, I won't be doing that again. I hope they accept plastic soon...it's shocking that they opened without this capability. —AlexCerone

2008-02-28 15:18:25   Muddy Waters now accepts credit cards! —GeorgeKastrinos

2008-03-09 12:25:25   I live right down the street from Muddy Waters. I was excited to try out this coffee shop and sample thier organic, free trade and local faire. Although it was an inconvienience that they didn't accept credit cards, it wasn't that much of a deterrent. The coffee was smooth and clean tasting, a signature of organic blends, and the atmosphere was cozy and hip. I didn't have enough cash on hand to get a pastry, but I wished I had more than a $5 note on me as I gazed into the pastry case. I hope that this cafe remains a fixture in the South Wedge. —CatMagro

2008-03-11 06:11:35   I also live down the street from this place and checked it out yesterday. Great owner, nice space, good coffee. I can definitely see myself getting some work done here, hanging out with friends, or grabbing a cup on a Sunday afternoon. We've needed this for a long time in our little corner of Rochester, and I couldn't have asked for a nicer place to fit the bill. I wish them the best of luck. —RochesterGuy

2008-04-20 16:41:16   Excellent coffee and cookies. Very good service and the place is attractively designed. (nice color choices) Its VERY small and a bit claustrophobic unless you sit in the front. I hope they do well and expand into the building next door. Good luck! —JamesPatrick

2008-05-06 10:20:32   GO NOW! Living in San Francisco, I worked in Oakland and drank coffee at a place called Temescal Coffee House. It was hard to comtemplate how coffee could taste that unbelievable. Thought I would never find that quality again. Fast forward 5 years and now I have Muddy Waters. Organic coffee that tastes so fresh and delicious it defies all expectations. Support this small local coffee house. I mean seriously, where were you thinking about going for your Java today. Starbucks!? —McCarthyTents

2008-07-02 15:01:53   I've been here twice now and hope to squeeze in a couple more visits before I move away from the area. The frozen coffees are delicious. Rather than claustrophobic, I find the space cozy and inviting. What a great addition to the South Wedge! —ChelseaAllinger

2008-10-07 14:15:01   ive been to muddy waters a couple of times now, and every single time i am so pleased with how good the coffee/espresso is. Lately ive been dissapointed with the bigger cafes, so its really nice to find a quiet little coffee spot right in the neighborhood. i really hope you guys are successful. —catherineWomack

2009-04-15 23:02:57   very cool place. I was at the city location today, which was very neat, but a little cramped. The Geneseo location is bliss. It's big, comfortable, chill, and has lots of very cool artwork that the city location is missing. Very good (if expensive) coffee and excellent baked goods. —mooster42000

2010-01-10 14:46:51   Greetings from a Muddy Waters Regular:

There is something about the coziness and friendliness of this place that inspires me. I am normally here 2-3 times a week working on some type of school work. This is the place where I get my work done because of the positive atmosphere. I have always had great customer service to the extent of the staff knowing my order as soon as I walk through the door. This is truly a Rochester treasure. —Tammyfyles

2010-01-10 15:15:29   Muddy regular #!: I frequent Muddy Waters 6 days out of every 7 for several hours at a time, at various times throughout the day. Therefore I feel fully qualified to comment on the mien and demeanor of the MW staff. I have always been greeted warmly and attended to with great courtesy. While I have, on occasion, had and heard conversations pertaining as to how to improve business and continue to improve customer satisfaction, I never hear the baristas comment on the customers in any way other than a positive manner. My friends refer to MW as my "Office"; I wrote my MFA thesis there, and go there regularly because I love the staff, the atmosphere, the tea, and have had great conversations with other customers. So there! - Kris

i've been a muddy waters regular since august (to the point that i feel like i'm cheating on them if i get coffee elsewhere), and my time here has been spent ranging from doing work to reading to chatting with staff and other customers. i've always felt that the environment was conducive to my coffeeshop needs, more active and interesting than places like starry nights and spin but quieter and calmer than boulder or java's. everyone can have an off day, and chelsea unfortunately seems to have caught a barista on one of his or hers, but i hope that that singular experience doesn't deter future customers from enjoying this south wedge gem. - masha —muddyregulars Admin note: this refers to a comment that was removed by the author.

2010-01-14 13:10:50   I discovered this place shortly before Christmas, and I love it. Like Kris, I call it my "office," and it's usually a great place to do work. It's usually quiet (it's a coffee house, not a library, so I can't have everything... people come here to chat sometimes!) and it's got a cozy atmosphere. The coffee is excellent, and the staff is personable and friendly. I routinely come here to do work for my classes. I love it here! —RyanGriffith

"2011-01-04 14:00:00"   Nice place, friendly staff. Cheap refills on coffee. Actually has a business-class internet connection for the wifi. But they have a $40 netgear router, so YMMV on the wifi, especially when you're one of 10 people using it. —StevenLSmith

2011-05-21 15:30:17   Great coffee great atmosphere. Now that spin is closed its my new go to place for coffee! —jayslice

2011-07-05 19:30:00   Walked by today to see that all signage has been removed and "Cross Roads Cafe" will be "Opening Soon." That and a sign on the marquee of The Cinema make me think it is gone from this location... Hmmm... That is too bad. —CallidKeefe-Perry

2011-07-11 17:49:39   Fear not, Muddy Waters is merely moving into better digs right around the corner. It will be opening in the cinema theatre soon! I've seen the new location and it's going to be much better, with expanded menus including panini's and more (altho maybe not right at re-opening). —RyanD

2011-07-31 16:49:22   They soft-launched in the new location next to the Cinema on Friday. Good space, and very nice to see this storefront occupied! —Users/RyanTucker

2011-08-03 08:37:52   As of yesterday (August 2nd), they do not have wi-fi in the new location. —Fabi2079

2011-09-26 20:11:46   New location in nice! I have been a Muddy Waters customer for about two years now and it's nice to see them in a slightly more well traveled area (hopefully it brings them increased business). Their coffee is awesome and they have great customer service. I would recommend their coffee to anyone!! —Andrew88

2011-11-02 19:55:08   Muddy Waters is rolling out paninis,salads and breakfast sandwiches, I've been fortunate enough to be in the shop during training, so I've had the privlidge of sampling many of the new food items and they are really darn good.

Everything is made from scratch, including the dressings. The menu is pretty varied, with a handful of different delicious options, including several for vegetarians and a few that are even vegan-friendly. I recommend the salami or the caprese.

Also of note: Muddy Waters is featuring some new baked goods, which are also pretty darn tasty. The coffee is as good as it's ever been, and the new location is much nicer than the old location.

Also, the Wifi is fully operational, for those in doubt. I've been a Muddy Waters customer for years, and it keeps getting better! —RyanD

2013-01-30 00:32:29   Muddy Water's (Rochester location) is closed as of November 2012. Lettuce B. Frank will be taking over the space, opening mid February 2013. —Davepotwin