Wilmorite brings seven new businesses to Pittsford Plaza

Pittsford Plaza’s owner, Wilmorite, has signed agreements for seven new tenants, including Under Armour, a new Mexican restaurant, and a swimming school for tots.

Goldfish Swim School is already under construction, and the business hopes to open in May. A swimming pool is being installed in space formerly occupied by a ski shop.

The former Applebee’s restaurant, which has been vacant for some time, will be transformed into Adelita’s Mexican Cocina & Tequila, an upscale Mexican restaurant operated by Caesar Moreno, a 20-year veteran of the restaurant business, who owns several eateries in New England.

The timeline for the new businesses – excepting the swim school – hasn’t been determined because some of the agreements were just signed in the last few days, said Janice Sherman, marketing director for  Wilmorite. Sherman said she expects openings dates will be targeted once construction begins.

Five of the seven businesses will be the first in the Rochester area, including a retail shop for the popular athletic wear brand Under Armour. That store will fill the space occupied for many years by the Red Barn, which closed in December.

Wilmorite officials said Under Armour, based in Baltimore, had been sought for some time, as customer requests had placed it at the top of their must-get list.

With the closing of Eastern Mountain Sports at the eastern end of the plaza some months ago, Wilmorite had a larger space to be reconfigured for new tenants. The plaza management company is dividing the former EMS space and some additional attached storage space into three stores for Spenga, Body Fuel and Five Below, Sherman said.

The name Spenga is an amalgam of the words spin, strength and yoga, according to the Illinois-based company. It is a fitness studio where workouts include elements of all three of those key concepts.

Complementing the fitness studio will be Body Fuel, supplier of pre- and post workout drinks and other good-for-you foods such as Acai bowls.  Body Fuel has another local store in Penfield on Empire Boulevard.

The third store going into the EMS space is well-known to kids shopping with their allowance, as the national chain Five Below offers a range of products all costing $5 or less. Five Below has more than 900 stores in the United States with several already located in the Rochester area.

The final new tenant will take the space of the former ice cream store close to the movie theater near the center the plaza. Deka Lash will offer eyelash extensions and eyelash care products.

Even with all the turnover Pittsford Plaza has only one vacant spot remaining. Catherine’s women’s clothing store recently closed, Sherman said, related to bankruptcy proceedings of its parent company.

Wilmorite Vice President of Leasing Jonathan Dower, said, “Wilmorite anticipated these vacancies and was able to fill the spaces quickly with tenants that were a better fit for the plaza.”

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