AN OLD carriage house tucked away off South Main Street in Concord is set to bring a Nashville feel to the Granite State.
Developer Steve Duprey plans to restore the building and open a restaurant and event space to be called Duke’s — complete with a cowboy in the logo. Early plans for the inside show whiskey barrel tables and acoustic guitars as part of the decor.
The restaurant will offer a simple menu, events and live music.
This is part of Duprey’s long-awaited Arts Alley project next to the Bank of New Hampshire Stage, which also includes plans for a new two-story building on the main drag and a restored diner. Plans show a colorful walkway leading to the courtyard with the entrance to Duke’s just beyond it.
Duke’s is the restaurant concept planned for the old Norris carriage house on South Main Street in Concord.
Procon
“We think of it as a statewide venue space where you can have different functions going on at the same time,” Duprey said.
Plans for the new building went from five stories to four stories to two stories with a rooftop deck. Changes to the building still need final design approvals.
Duprey worked with Procon, a design-build firm in Hooksett, to revise the plans. A huge hurdle has been skyrocketing costs the past few years, including higher interest rates, he said.
The bottom floor will be a Friendly Toast restaurant — a “brunch & bar” chain with locations in Bedford and Portsmouth and around New England. The second floor will be an upscale function space called “The Venue” managed by Duprey’s Grappone Conference Center.
“We have a commitment and contractual agreement with the Friendly Toast,” Duprey. “They are excited, we are excited.”
The 1854 Norris House on the property likely will be demolished after exhausting options to move it.
The courtyard will include a 1940s diner once owned by Michael Dingman, a former New Hampshire businessman and onetime Ford Motor Co. director, which will be used for events and pop-up restaurants.
Arts Alley will create a courtyard where people can gather in downtown Concord.
Procon
If that’s not cool enough, a restored Airstream trailer will be used as a bar on the rooftop, which will also include a bocce court.
The construction is expected to start on March 21 and be completed on an expedited schedule in six months.
Cafe growth
Two businesses with spots in downtown Concord are expanding with new New Hampshire locations.
The Works Cafe opened its 11th cafe in Hanover last week.
The cafe featuring New York-style bagels is located at 25 S. Main St., next to the Dartmouth Co-op. The hours are set for 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“Cheers to new beginnings and countless moments of joy at The Works Cafe!” the restaurant wrote on Facebook. “We can’t wait to serve you!”
Teatotaller, which ownership describes as a “queer, hipster oasis of tea, coffee, and pastry goodness,” returned to the Seacoast with its opening at 3 Hale St. in Dover. The shop replaces Caffe Kilim which closed in September.
This is a Seacoast homecoming for Teatotaller, which previously had a spot in nearby Somersworth. The first spot opened on Main Street in 2011 before moving to High Street across from City Hall. That space closed in January after being sold to SOS Recovery Community Organization.
Castle eats
Tara House Grill opened at the end of 2023 in the space that formerly housed the Shade Bar and Grill at the castle-like Sheraton hotel off the F.E. Everett Turnpike in Nashua.
The new restaurant features a modern aesthetic and menu items with New England favorites and upscale bar fare, according to a news release. The hotel is owned by Delaware North, the global hospitality and entertainment company, which also owns the nearby Gate City Casino and TD Garden in Boston.
Some menu items include a triple-decker Reuben sandwich, honey sriracha fried chicken, house-made gnocchi, Tara House meatballs and a Hampton Beach double burger.
“We wanted the menu to reflect food that is synonymous with New England such as fried clams, a Seacoast Cobb salad and baked Atlanta cod, while also mixing in several specialty dishes such as our award-winning jumbo Caribbean chicken tenders,” Sheraton Nashua Executive Chef Sean Lee said in a statement.
Benson’s lumber growing
In Derry, Benson Lumber & Hardware will expand with a new 11,600-square-foot building to be for storage and indoor vehicle parking, according to the town’s economic development office.
“The buildings are planned to be similar in style to their yellow-sided buildings across Rollins Street, fitting in nicely with the neighborhood,” the office wrote on Facebook. “The company has been a Derry institution for more than 100 years.”
If you have an interesting business or commercial real estate story idea email reporter Jonathan Phelps at jphelps@unionleader.com.
