Mercury Coffee Co.

Mercury Coffee Co. is a family-owned coffee shop at 681 South Avenue in Rochester's South Wedge neighborhood. Husband-and-wife team Kyle and Isabelle O'Gara launched the business as a mobile espresso cart before opening their brick-and-mortar location in June 2025. The shop occupies the former Coffee Connections space near the corner of Gregory Street and South Avenue. Its name and logo pay tribute to the 21-foot Mercury statue atop the Aqueduct Building on Broad Street downtown — a landmark sculpted by J. Guernsey Mitchell in 1881.

Mercury Coffee Co. serves espresso drinks, drip coffee, and French press options using Intelligentsia Coffee out of Chicago as their house roast. The drink menu includes lattes, cappuccinos, flat whites, and rotating specialty beverages built around house-made syrups — among them a Biscoff Cookie Butter latte, a salted maple latte topped with cinnamon, and a peach-cardamom creation. Chai is also available. On the food side, the shop carries pastries sourced from local women-owned businesses in the Rochester area.

Beyond the café, the O'Garas still operate their mobile espresso bar, which is available for weddings, corporate events, private parties, and festivals across Rochester and the surrounding region.

Mercury Coffee Co. grew out of Kyle O'Gara's habit of pulling craft lattes for family and friends after the couple's son was born in 2023. That home practice became a pop-up cart, and the cart became a permanent shop — a progression that kept the business rooted in neighborhood relationships. The interior stands out for its mossy green color palette, and the café's identity leans into its connection to Rochester history through the Mercury statue reference. The combination of a curated specialty drink menu, locally sourced baked goods, and event catering gives the shop a presence both inside and outside the South Wedge.

The shop sits on South Avenue just off Gregory Street, in the heart of the South Wedge — a walkable stretch of independent businesses, restaurants, and shops south of downtown Rochester, NY. The South Wedge is one of Rochester's more active neighborhood commercial corridors, anchored by South Avenue itself. Mercury Coffee Co. is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Street parking is available along South Avenue.