News/Business
Agreement near on Woodstock farm-to-table restaurant as town weighs rules to allow more
By JOHN LIPPMAN
WOODSTOCK — The town one day might see fit to change its name to Foodstock.The farm-to-fork food movement that is a growing attraction in Vermont’s travel economy is poised to get a boost in Woodstock, with an agreement reportedly in place to allow a...
Fairlee native returns to open a burger joint in his hometown
By ERIC SUTPHIN
It’s a simple formula for a restaurant: Offer a limited menu that consists of a few, well-crafted and expertly executed choices. Matt Walker, owner of Broken Hearts Burger in Fairlee, has made this ethos the cornerstone of his business. The...
Tough times have some Upper Valley diners closing down or looking for a fresh start
By ALEX HANSON
For weeks, Andrew Schain tried to find someone to run the Public House Diner, a classic diner in Quechee that he’s been leasing since 2017. His posts on Facebook were frequent and plaintive.“Everything you need to open is here,” he wrote on May 4, the...
2 Upper Valley cannabis growers among first to get licenses from Vermont board
By NORA DOYLE-BURR
SOUTH STRAFFORD — The Vermont side of the Upper Valley may be getting a little greener as the state’s cannabis market begins to take shape.Two Upper Valley businesses are among those to have received some of the first licenses issued in the state’s...
Former Element Hotel in Lebanon sold, with plan to shift to short-term apartments
By JOHN LIPPMAN
LEBANON — After sitting unoccupied for more than two years after an explosion damaged the building, the former Element Hotel on Route 120 will soon be perking back to life.A Massachusetts private equity company that specializes in residential housing...
Nod for prestigious James Beard Award stuns owners of Thai restaurant Saap in Randolph
By BETSY VERECKEY
RANDOLPH — Until this spring, Nisachon “Rung” Morgan had never heard of James Beard.She grew up on a farm in Isaan, in northern Thailand, with eight brothers and sisters and had never cooked professionally. Before she and her husband, Steve Morgan,...
Upper Valley employers team up to fund workforce housing loans
By JOHN LIPPMAN
LEBANON — In a step toward alleviating the Upper Valley’s chronic shortage of affordable housing, eight major Upper Valley employers have banded together to set up a $10 million fund that will loan money to developers and other entities to build...
Effort to reopen Taftsville store goes awry
By ETHAN WEINSTEIN
Angela and Todd Ulman never planned to buy the Taftsville Country Store. Even moving to Vermont was an unexpected decision, prompted by the pandemic. But a year after signing the initial sales agreement for the property, the biggest surprise was the...
Jim Kenyon: Store manager accuses Hanover Co-op of racial discrimination
By JIM KENYON
When the Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society announced it was looking for a new chief executive, Doren Hall was eager to apply.The opportunity to oversee the Co-op’s four grocery stores, two automotive service centers and a commercial kitchen was a...
A shopping spree for Lebanon shopping centers yields mixed results for seller
By JOHN LIPPMAN
WEST LEBANON — A Boston commercial real estate company that acquired three shopping plazas four years ago has sold them off to different buyers, underscoring the ongoing demand for commercial real estate in the Upper Valley.The Davis Cos. purchased TJ...
Quechee Club plans expansion of programs for younger member base, housing for workforce
By NORA DOYLE-BURR
QUECHEE — Amid a tight labor market, the Quechee Club has announced plans to expand due to increased demand for programs and activities by the club’s younger members.In the past few years, the 52-year-old club has seen the average age of its members...
Woodstock Planning Commission chair resigns amid heated debate over on-farm restaurants
By ETHAN WEINSTEIN
WOODSTOCK — Fiery debate over the future of accessory on-farm restaurants has prompted the resignation of the town’s planning commission chair.In a public hearing Friday morning on a petitioned amendment to Woodstock’s zoning rules that would allow...
The scoop on ice cream returning to downtown Hanover
By JOHN LIPPMAN
HANOVER — In a no-brainer as obvious as selling hot dogs at a baseball game, a new ice cream parlor will be opening next door to the Nugget Theaters in Hanover, filling a void created two years ago when gelateria Morano Gelato closed early in the...
Bridgewater Mill co-ownership standoff ends when one buys out two others
By JOHN LIPPMAN
BRIDGEWATER — After years clashing with each other, the majority owners of the Bridgewater Mill have thrown in the towel and sold their stake in the historic property to the family that owns Plymouth Artisan Cheese.Adriana Curutchet and her husband,...
Bottom Line: Retiring business owners find buyers to carry on the legacy
By JOHN LIPPMAN
I can’t count the number of stories I’ve written in recent years about longtime Upper Valley family businesses that have shut down because their owners retired and no one was interested in carrying them on.So it is heartening to see two well-known...
As one restaurant is closing its doors, another starts crowdfunding to stay afloat
By JOHN LIPPMAN
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Elixir, after two years of struggling through the coronavirus pandemic and the wringer of inflation, is swallowing a bitter pill.The White River Junction restaurant, which has operated for 13 years in a historic freight house...
Lebanon board approves 204-apartment complex, Dartmouth library warehouse
By JOHN LIPPMAN
LEBANON — One addresses the shortage in housing, the other a surfeit of paper.The Lebanon Planning Board has greenlighted two big construction projects, the first a 204-unit apartment building and the second a nearly 20,000-square-foot warehouse for...
Powerhouse Mall in West Lebanon purchased by Hanover real estate firm
By JOHN LIPPMAN
WEST LEBANON — A Hanover commercial real estate firm believes — to adapt a misquote from Mark Twain — that reports about the death of bricks-and-mortar retail are greatly exaggerated.In fact, Connecticut River Capital is adamant that retail stores...
Bottom Line: Tunbridge may soon go from no general stores to two
By JOHN LIPPMAN
The small-town general store is hardly thought to be a growth industry. The business in recent years, in both Vermont and New Hampshire, has been marked by closings and abandonments.In few Upper Valley towns was this more evident than in Tunbridge,...
Jim Kenyon: Nonprofit Listen adds spendy boutique to Lebanon thrift store
By JIM KENYON
A thousand bucks for a coat? (Granted, it’s 100% cashmere.) What about $250 for a designer winter jacket with a faux fur collar? And $100 for a chic blazer that looks like it could belong in Nancy Pelosi’s work wardrobe? Welcome to Listen Boutique,...
