6 minute read
Ready for Showtime
Concord’s downtown is enjoying a grand rebirth
BY SARAH PEARSON / ILLUSTRATION BY PETER NOONAN / PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALLEGRA BOVERMAN
Franklin Pierce, Daniel Webster, John Stark and the other historical figures stationed on the State House lawn once could have served as an apt metaphor for the downtown they overlook.
Dead.
But since the 1980s, when the capital was nicknamed “the city in a coma,” a cultural shift and significant renovations have awakened the community, where you’ll find several performing and visual arts spaces, boutique shopping and an ever-evolving dining scene.
“We used to joke about Concord’s sidewalks being rolled up at 5 o’ clock at night,” says Tim Sink, president of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce. “Well now, the sidewalks are rolling up around 9 or 10 at night. So, it’s a big improvement.”
As the city approached the turn of the century, city leaders, businesses and nonprofit groups came together with ambitious plans to make downtown a destination for residents and visitors.
In 1995, the Capitol Center for the Arts reopened as a 1,300-seat performing arts venue with thousands of volunteer hours and a multimillion-dollar renovation.
“The rebirth of the Capitol Center for the Arts was an impetus for redevelopment and giving a shot in the arm to Concord’s downtown,” Sink says.
What followed was a community effort to create an indie cinema, which opened as Red River Theatres in 2007. Then, as the Concord City Auditorium passed its 100th birthday, it too underwent renovations. In 2019, the Capitol Center for the Arts opened the Bank of New Hampshire Stage, offering yet another performing arts space downtown.
Those new spaces joined existing entertainment and arts institutions such as the Concord Community Music School, Kimball Jenkins School of Art, Pitchfork Records and Gibson’s Bookstore.
The city’s biggest renovation came in 2015 as it embarked on a two-year project to transform the downtown infrastructure. Working in sections, the city reconfigured four lanes of traffic to two and expanded pedestrian areas. The wider sidewalks included bump-outs that are used by downtown dining establishments or for a rotating display of public art through the Art on Main partnership.
“Just about any night of the week, you can go out and have a choice of different types of entertainment in and around downtown Concord,” Sink says. “It’s become a much better place for nightlife.”
To celebrate the completion of the downtown project, several arts and cultural organizations, including the chamber, Intown Concord, the League of N.H. Craftsmen and others hosted a weekend full of free entertainment. What was planned as a one-off event featured local artisans and nationally touring acts.
“We started brainstorming about making a free cultural and arts fest in downtown Concord, which really brought in some very upscale entertainment but also brought along cultural organizations and arts organizations that could participate in a number of different ways,” Sink notes.
Enjoying the event so much, the League of N.H. Craftsmen picked up the name to plan an annual arts and crafts festival in the fall, mirroring the weeklong fair it had long held in Sunapee, for the next five years.
A reimagined festival is picking up that spirit this year.
On Oct. 18 and 19, multiple organizations within the city will present the Sound and Color Festival highlighting the importance of arts in the community.
Performances will take place from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at five stages, and there will be an arts market and food vendors from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. along Main Street.
Partners include the city and the chamber, the Capitol Center for the Arts, Intown Concord, the Concord Community Music School, the New Hampshire Music Collective and PILLAR Gallery + Projects, along with participation from Queerlective, Concord Arts Market, Outer Space and Feathered Friend Brewing Co.
Some 10,000 visitors are expected to enjoy Concord’s bright arts scene while checking out its boutique shops and dining establishments.
“What has happened since the redevelopment of downtown Concord, there are a number of new restaurants: Street, Vibes, Revelstoke, Revival, Playa Bowls, Concord Craft Brewing, 110 Grill,” Sink says. “When the Capitol Center has a sold-out show, all the restaurants are full prior to the show, and those that stay open after the show get a second shot at those customers.”
In the last decade, more than a dozen new places have joined downtown serving customers for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just a snack.
Newcomers and legacy restaurants both use the widened sidewalks and bump-outs added during the Main Street renovation for outdoor dining, which gained a spotlight during the pandemic when indoor dining was restricted.
On Main Street alone, you can find Buba Kitchen, Street 360, Social Club Creamery, Revelstoke Coffee, Dos Amigos and Vibes.
The Post, which has long had a location on Fisherville Road in Penacook, opened a second location on Main Street.
On Depot Street, Revival offers another option for fine dining with a focus on locally sourced ingredients.
Off Eagle Square, N’awlins Grille serves up cuisine inspired by New Orleans’ French and Garden districts in the space formerly occupied by Chuck’s BARber-shop, which is relocating.
On Pleasant Street, you can find Nonna’s Place, Curry Leaf and Sour Joe’s Pizzeria. Capital Plaza can hook you up with sweet treats at NH Doughnut Co. or Teatotaller.
Smokeshow BBQ, which formerly operated off Fort Eddy Road, relocated to South Main Street in a building it shares with Feathered Friend Brewing Co.
Vinnie’s Pizzeria recently reopened after shuttering during the COVID pandemic.
The owner of Tandy’s Top Shelf bought Vinnie’s and another downtown dining staple, Hermanos, which hosts live music most nights. The Brothers’ Cortado has replaced True Brew in Bicentennial Square. White Mountain Coffee is now the Bean and Bakery.
These newcomers join the ranks of some longtime Concord establishments like Angelina’s, Cheers, The Common Man, Constantly Pizza, The Gaslighter, Penuche’s, O’s Steak and Seafood, The Barley House, Siam Orchid, Margaritas and more.
Even with all the activity that’s joined the downtown hum, there’s still more to come. Plans are in the works to reopen Phenix Hall as a performance venue.
In July, Arts Alley broke ground between the Bank of New Hampshire Stage and Concord Food Co-op on what will become a Friendly Toast; South Main Street Surfer, a bar with outdoor seating; and Duke’s, a Nashville-inspired restaurant and bar with a focus on live music.
Change is even coming for those stoic statues of the State House lawn with the addition of a monument to Christa McAuliffe, Concord’s teacher in space, the first statue of a woman there.
A sleepy city no more, Concord has emerged from its renovations ready to welcome you for dinner and a show.
