Cricket’s set to move to Center St., merge with bar and theater
Cricket's New Storefront via Photo Editor Mollie Wadhams
Cricket’s Coffee Company, a staple of Geneseo’s Main St., is moving locations to Center St. between the Riviera Theater and Intermissions Bar. The coffee shop, theater, and bar are set to enter a partnership and merge the spaces on Center St., having a coffee shop, full bar, and theater in one building.
Cricket’s owner Renee Livingston said that the three businesses will be accessible from one building, and that the events held at the three businesses will be very closely tied.
Livingston said, “It’ll be a full bar, and we’re going to be open and have food at night. When there’s music and all of that, you’ll be able to go from the Riviera into Cricket’s and Intermissions and get drinks and food.”
Livingston said that it made sense for her to move into the space between Intermissions and the Riviera—Cricket’s current location costs high monthly rent and requires some costly improvements, while the Center St. location and the prospect of partnering with other businesses would allow her to save on overhead costs.
“One owner of [the Center St. location] is my cousin, and the other one I’ve known for a long time. We had talked in the past about what they wanted to do with that space because they wanted to tie it into the Riviera. So, I had some ideas, they had some ideas, and we sat down and came up with a plan to move me in there. I’m going into a partnership with them where I’m going to be running it and they will be handling all the overhead. They’re going to need to cover their mortgage and that type of thing but that is all going to be part of the earnings of the business in general rather than me paying out a specific rent like I am now,” she said. “The current space just isn’t ideal for what I’m doing. Rent’s high, and it needs some major upgrades with the heating and cooling which was costly in the first place,” she said.
According to Livingston, she hopes that the new location will be open in Nov., with the current location remaining open through Oct. The new location is going to require extensive remodeling, so the Nov. opening date is only tentative, but Livingston is hopeful that they can get the coffee shop running as soon as possible.
She said, “[There is] a lot is up in the air when it comes to that. I have confirmed [the current lease] through October. Ideally, I would like to get [into the new location] in November and not be here for another month after that. We are putting a lot of work into the new building because it’s not just the space next to Riviera—it’s also Intermissions that needs work to accommodate the new additions. We’re cutting through brick walls, and we’re putting all new floors and ceilings and electric and all of that in there. They’ve made a lot of progress already.”
Livingston confirmed that the coffee shop will keep the name Cricket’s, as it holds sentimental value from both the years spent on Main St. and the nickname given to her by her father.
“My dad had been sick and when he passed away, I went back to my old office job. I just realized that I was unhappy, and it wasn’t something I wanted to continue to do. So, his passing was kind of a push towards something that would be better for me. And that's what my dad called me when I was a little girl: Cricket,” said Livingston. “It’s been fun for me like keeping reminders of him… The best part for me is that he was the only one that ever called me Cricket.”
Livingston said, “Cricket’s is what it is because of our regulars. I always keep track of our regulars and students that came here, as well as our local customers who come in every morning or every afternoon. We’re here because of all of them. We’re just going to be better and hopefully give people a reason to visit us at various times of the day, and maybe make some of the changes that over the years people have asked of us that we’ve never been able to do. We are excited to grow but we want to grow with all the people that have supported us over the years.”