809 Sports Bar and Lounge

809 Sports Bar and Lounge is a Dominican-inspired sports bar and restaurant at 160 Lyell Ave in Rochester, NY. The establishment is part of the 809 brand founded by Dominican entrepreneurs Nidia and Felipe Melo, who began with a food truck before opening brick-and-mortar locations to serve the Rochester community. The name "809" references the Dominican Republic's area code — a common nod among Dominican-owned businesses. The Lyell Avenue location operates as a sports bar and lounge with a focus on Caribbean comfort food, cocktails, and live entertainment, open Thursday through Sunday.

809 Sports Bar and Lounge serves a menu rooted in Dominican cooking with some Latin-American crossover. Standout categories include:

• Carnes (meats): Churrasco prepared several ways (with shrimp, with lobster, pepper steak style), carne frita, chicharrón de cerdo, and chuletas Kan Kan
• Seafood: Pescado frito (fried whole fish), arroz con mariscos, ensalada de pulpo y camarones, and a Mar y Tierra surf-and-turf platter
• Sides and staples: Mofongo, tostones, arroz con gandules, and maduros
• Sandwiches: Tripleta, chimi de pollo and res, jibarito, and a mofongo burger
• Drinks: A full bar with cocktails, including oversized fishbowl-style margaritas

The kitchen also offers empanadas, quesadillas, tacos, and a house sampler platter with fried pork, chicken chunks, mozzarella sticks, and fried green plantains. Takeout is available directly, and delivery runs through DoorDash and Grubhub.

809 Sports Bar and Lounge operates as both a dining destination and an entertainment venue. The bar hosts live music and events — it maintains a presence on Tickeri, a Latin-focused ticketing platform — alongside sports viewing on its screens. The Thursday-through-Sunday schedule (3 PM to 2 AM on Thursdays through Saturdays, 3 PM to 10 PM on Sundays) positions it as a late-night option in the neighborhood. The Dominican-forward menu, particularly the churrasco and mofongo dishes, distinguishes it from typical American sports bars in the area.

809 Sports Bar and Lounge sits on Lyell Avenue in Rochester's Lyell-Otis neighborhood, a corridor historically tied to the city's Italian-American community and now home to a growing mix of Latin American and Caribbean businesses. The avenue runs through a commercial stretch that includes the Lyell Avenue Shopping Plaza and is near the intersection of Lyell and State Street, where a mural on the Flatiron Building marks the Little Italy Historic District. Street parking is available along Lyell Avenue. The bar is a short drive west of downtown Rochester.