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Noah Kahan Celebrates His Favorite Upper Valley Restaurant
Vermont singer-songwriter puts Gusanoz Mexican Restaurant in the spotlight
BY CASEY McDERMOTT
Earlier this summer, singer-songwriter Noah Kahan posted a TikTok of himself dancing backstage at a major music festival to a performance by Chappell Roan, another breakout pop sensation. Naturally, people in the comments were eager to take note of his dance moves and his appreciation for a fellow budding superstar.
But a few eagle-eyed viewers also took notice of the logo on his tie-dye T-shirt, which belonged to Gusanoz Mexican Restaurant — another Upper Valley institution, with spots in Lebanon and Enfield. As the title and many of the tracks on Kahan’s breakout record “Stick Season” suggests, he hails from Vermont and New Hampshire — and his lyrics reflect a deep affection, if at times complicated, for the region’s idiosyncrasies.
Nick Yager, who opened Gusanoz with his wife, Maria Limon, in 2005, couldn’t believe it when he saw another photo on social media from that same festival of Kahan, still wearing their restaurant’s T-shirt.
“To see him and Chappell Roan together, and he’s wearing a Gusanoz shirt, and then Rolling Stone posted it on their Instagram,” Yager said, “it’s surreal.”
The culinary cameo wasn’t out of nowhere. Kahan’s made no secret of his love for Gusanoz, telling the New York Times last year that it’s his “favorite restaurant in the area” and plugging it on a collaboration with Apple Maps titled “Noah Kahan’s New England Spots.”
Yager said Kahan has indeed been a loyal customer. Staff watched his steady rise from a local kid hustling at local mic nights to a musician selling out arenas worldwide. When he got his first record deal, Yager said he grabbed food from Gusanoz and left a $100 tip. Kahan’s invited Yager and others from the restaurant to tag along backstage at various concerts, and in a few cases Gusanoz has catered for Kahan’s crew. When Kahan’s back at home, Yager said he still stops back in for food. (His go-to order is usually chicken quesadillas and a side of habanero.)
Occasionally, Gusanoz staff will hear from customers who say they’re stopping in because they heard Kahan was a fan.
“One person actually sent one of our bartenders with a little letter to (Kahan), written on a Gusanoz napkin,” Yager said. “And the bartender actually was able to give him the napkin.”
But there was something else special about the T-shirt Kahan’s been sporting during his summer concert circuit. It’s part of a collaboration between Gusanoz and the Busyhead Project, a nonprofit Kahan founded to promote mental health access and awareness. Yager said they pitched the idea to Kahan this Cinco de Mayo, and “he was all about it.”
And as Kahan’s star continues to rise, Yager said he’ll always have a home at Gusanoz.
“Over the years, as Noah has become more and more well known, it’s just been really nice to be able to give him a place where he can go and just be himself,” Yager said.
