Life + Culture

More Than a Holiday Food Drive

How a Modest Goal to Feed 10 Families Grew Into a Nonprofit Organization Providing Steady Support for Rochester’s Food Pantries Article by Sarah Keeler | Photography by Submitted In 2019, Dana and Brian Mayeu, working through The Mayeu Financial Group in Fairport, gave themselves a modest task: provide Thanksgiving meals for local families. The couple launched a food drive that exceeded its goal, providing holiday meals for 15 families at risk of food insecurity. The next year, it was 30. This...

Food + Beverage

Hospitality Starts Here

At Carmella's Wine Bar, owner Joseph Lapi Says the Warmth Guests Feel Starts With How His Team Treats Each Other Article by Staff | Photography by Submitted For Joseph Lapi, owner of Carmella's Wine Bar at Schoen Place in Pittsford, hospitality means more than making customers feel welcome, and it begins with his team. That sentiment shows up in the culture he has built and in how the team looks out for one another, resulting in a genuinely supportive environment. We spoke with Lapi about the...

Arts + Culture

The Healing Canvas

Artist Michelle Roberts on How Painting Helped her Rebuild, and Why Every Piece She Sells Has a Story Article by Katrina M. Randall | Photography by Submitted Michelle Roberts has been creative for as long as she can remember, whether it was drawing, building, or even serving as an interior designer for her Barbie dolls. She took one oil painting class in college, but it would be years before painting became more than a hobby. Around the time the pandemic hit, Roberts was working as a...

Food + Beverage

Rochester's Roadside Legends

Hand-Pressed, Hand-Sliced, Hand-Me-Down: The Recipes Rochester Never Let Go Of Article by Katrina M. Randall | Photography by Jonathan Keyes Every regional food comes with an origin story that no one quite remembers—until you go looking. A sauce that can’t be beat. A burger named after its creator until Hollywood came calling to borrow it. A dish with so many copycats there’s too many to count. Onion rings hand-sliced and battered fresh daily, next to burgers still hand-pressed in a Pyrex pie...