Pal Joey's Restaurant moving back to downtown Batavia

Pal Joey's Restaurant is moving from its current location off Randall Road back to its original building in downtown Batavia later this month.

Owner John Hamel confirmed the move in a text message Thursday but did not elaborate on why the restaurant is returning to the space at 31 N. River Street.

The last day at the Randall Road and Main Street location will be May 19. The restaurant is expected to reopen in downtown Batavia the week of May 23, according to a post on Pal Joey's Facebook page.

Pal Joey's moved from the River Street location in the spring of 2018 into a former Golden Corral restaurant, citing an increase in rent in the downtown Batavia location.

The downtown space has remained vacant, Batavia Chamber of Commerce spokesperson Shirley Mott said.

"Nothing has been there since he left. We are happy to see that it will be used as a restaurant space again," she stated in an email. "It's such a prime location for summer dining."