Towpath Grille

Towpath Grille (earlier Towpath Cafe: Coffee and Wine) was a restaurant located in the Box Factory Building along the Erie Canal in Fairport. The name was changed in the spring of 2017 following some remodeling and the sale of the original cafe (which became the FairPour Cafe). Closed around the beginning of March 2018.

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2010-05-18 00:09:43   We paid a quick visit to Fairport to see the Erie Canal area and to find a place to eat. The Towpath Cafe looked very inviting and in a great spot along the canal path. Inside, it's bright, with tables and chairs, and a number of couches. The menu was just right. Food was excellent - very fresh and tasty. My chicken wrap was juicy and very tasty. The other member of my family raved about their selections as well. We will definitely return to this cafe when we return to Fairport. Owner is very friendly and anxious to please! —BobAbrams

2010-07-10 21:51:34   Towpath’s main strength is its physical ambience – situated along the Erie Canal it is a great place to relax and very serene in the winter. The live bands are also a treat. There are some negatives, however. The coffee is average (many drinks taste artificially flavored) and seating can be quite limited. On a Friday or Saturday night, you can be sure that the owner is counting how much money you spend. So make sure your purchased food/drinks are clearly visible or the owner may not-so-politely ask you to leave to make room for his “paying” customers. After asking us to leave, he saw that we did purchase a loaf of baked goods (oops!), and he was still unapologetic. We were uncomfortable and immediately left. We talked with him on our way out, and he displayed no remorse over his mistake – he seemed happy to have an available table! This is NOT a welcoming place to study during peak times. Although we like to support small businesses, and the location is spectacular, we will not come back until there is new ownership. —acs02001

2010-08-27 12:56:33   The people that work there are very nice but not true for the owner. He expects the musicians to bring in all the business for him while he does very little to promote his business. Great location but I agree with a previous writer - the owner is not very welcoming. —kensnyder

2011-06-03 14:23:14   I have given Towpath plenty of chances, but time after time they are pretty disappointing. Once I ordered iced tea to go. About 5 minutes later (and far away) I took a sip and discovered that it was iced coffee. Another time my Caesar salad came with Italian dressing. My coffee had floating scraps of unknown stuff in it at one point. I ended up dumping it out and buying coffee from somewhere else. Twice I have come in and one of the girls working was in tears— it seemed like the owner was giving her a hard time. I've also witnessed the owner go ballistic when a woman tried to pay for her coffee with a $20 dollar bill. He yelled "YOU HAVE TO WARN ME IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO THIS!" The only reason I go to Towpath is because the lunch selection in Fairport is pretty limited. Oh, and they just raised all of their prices as of June 2011. I wish it went out of business. Someone else could do a better job with the space. The owner is real mean. I've also seen pretty high turn-over with the people working there. Doesn't seem like anyone wants to work for him for very long. —JonM

2012-04-19 19:01:55   Food is good but be prepared for glacial service. I like the owner and hope he can pull this together. —wdrazek

2012-07-17 21:29:04   My friends and I spent about a hundred dollars in the cafe one night and when some of them went to get ice cream as it was ninety friggin degrees, the owner yelled at ALL of us (even the ones without ice cream) and threw my friends out. The owner apparently doesn't understand what it means to be a small business owner. He obviously isn't interested in keeping repeat customers and would rather gouge his customers with sub standard food just because he has a great location. Location may be important but it isn't EVERYTHING!! I'm done with with this place and I would be remiss to not warn others and I would advise people to read the other comments because I've also witnessed much of this other activity too

—ChrisMartin

2013-07-28 00:10:54   Guess I was remiss in not reading the reviews on here before I attempted to visit for dinner tonight. As of the time of this writing, the stated hours on Towpath’s website for the Bistro on Saturdays are 8am – 11pm (with a late-night menu from 10pm – 11pm). My spouse and I arrived at 9:07pm and were turned away at the hostess stand, told that they were closing. I mentioned that the hours on their website stated that they were open til 11pm, and the employee (owner?) replied that no, they are actually only open until 10pm. I said something along the lines of “well, regardless whether you’re open til 10 vs 11, it is only just after 9 right now”—and he simply repeated that they were closed. I would also like to add that we had just driven a half-hour solely to try Towpath (based on a good review from a friend) and had called around 8 to ask how long their wait was (they’d said they had none at that time, but mentioned nothing about their intention to close nearly 2 hours early). Will never bother trying again; any business that lies about their hours and turns customers away well before their stated closing time doesn’t deserve our dollars. —ajh

2017-05-31 12:09:09   Recently renovated and renamed to "Towpath Grille." —markjackson

2018-03-28 19:19:55   Appears (website, facebook) to have closed around March 6. New restaurant "Lulu" opened in this space last week, according to online D&C. —markjackson