Cafe and bake shop jajabelles had just moved to a larger location across Main Street in downtown Nashua when, two weeks later, Covid shut down the storefront for three months.
“Every reason I moved no longer existed,” said owner Jessica dePontbriand, who had initially planned to offer a separate gathering space for local businesses and nonprofits to meet, expand catering and host happy hour with her newly obtained liquor license — all postponed or invalidated by the pandemic.
With financial support from loyal customers and business assistance programs, de- Pontbriand and her team instead spent time documenting internal processes and adapting to what is, at least right now, the new normal.
“We simplified our menu, redid the layout of the shop, limited our hours as well as opened five days a week instead of six, and now we’re talking about hosting children’s baking classes instead of meetings,” said dePontbriand. “You have to reevaluate the way you do business.”
Shopping dynamics
New Hampshire retailers have had to adapt not only to social-distancing guidelines but the ripple effect of the pandemic: changes in social behavior that impact consumer habits and shopping patterns.
“It’s a new world for retail,” said Marylou Blaisdell, owner of Designwares on Main Street in Nashua, who still has spring seasonal items that did not sell during the lockdown.
“I’m a boutique, so I sell a lot of accessories, dresses, jewelry and giftware, and with people not going to weddings or going birthday parties or anything. You can see a definite difference in people’s buying patterns.”
As a one-woman business, Blaisdell has slowly been working toward online sales. For the moment, she has successfully sold items online by showcasing products on Facebook and Instagram, following the lead of her vendors.
She herself prefers to shop for inventory in-person.
“Now you have to look at images and determine is that product what the image is showing and what I want to buy? I think all independents are buying differently – you’re very cautious and selective in what you choose to buy,” said Blaisdell.
She’s not alone in preferring the in-person experience.
“You can’t replicate the browsing experience,” said Michael Hermann, owner of Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord.
The more than 10,000- square-foot Gibson’s was closed to the public until July, instead providing curbside pickup and shipping online orders. (Its popular live events with authors continue on Zoom.)
Comparing the lockdown period to the store’s reopening, Hermann can see a shift in consumer habits.
“Over half of our sales were online for April, May and June,” said Herman. “Then, when we went to open again, it started to decline a bit, so it’s mostly in store, but online is still a significant portion of our business.”
Ken Kozak, owner of Sheafe Street Books, a much smaller Portsmouth bookstore that provides a mix of antique and new books, saw the same trend play out.
“Online sales really took off during this Covid period, like doubled. It’s sort of winding down, but still August was very strong compared to last year as far as online goes.”
Total sales at both bookstores are down about 30% from last year, the owners said.
Most of Kozak’s in-store sales are coming from tourists who seek out his store, off the beaten path in Portsmouth.
“Truth is, my weekends have been really healthy, but during the week, it’s been unusually quiet for this time of year,” said Kozak.
“It was an interesting takeaway from our retail meeting last week,” said Valerie Rochon, president of the Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth. “We’re seeing a lot of visitors from around New England, New York, Pennsylvania. The visitors, while they are purchasing, they’re really looking for the experience of shopping. Everybody’s been cooped up, they come to Portsmouth to walk around and they’re more browsing than buying. On the other hand, the locals come downtown, buy and leave.”
Shannon Hundley, managing partner of the Life is Sweet candy shop in downtown Keene, said nearly half of her sales were from tourists, many of whom were parents dropping off kids at summer camps that stayed open, and some locals who ventured out with their children on limited trips, making a stop at her store a big event. “We try to make it a big deal when people come in, just to be enthusiastic and welcoming,” said Hundley. “In the beginning, when things were just opening up, people were anxious and they needed a place where they could kind of be normal, and it was important for us to make it feel normal even if we had extra precautions.”
Vibrant streets
With social distancing restrictions remaining on indoor dining, city governments in Nashua, Manchester, Portsmouth, Concord and Keene moved quickly to permit expanded outdoor dining on sidewalks and in parking spots into the fall.
“Coming out of the heart of the stay-at-home order and shutdown of the late spring/early summer we’ve seen a gradual increase of activity and return to new normalcy downtown, which has been positive,” said Mike Skelton, president of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. “I think one of the best indicators has been the popularity of the outdoor dining expansion. If you are downtown on a particular busy night on a Thursday or Friday or weekend night, you can see foot traffic is healthy, and those outdoor dining options are being utilized, and there’s some good vibrancy and life to downtown.”
“Given all that was going on with Covid, we know that our downtown and small businesses were going through a very difficult time and from the city’s perspective, we wanted to do everything possible within our power to help them get back to where they were,” said Mayor Joyce Craig.
Craig said she expects Manchester will provide expanded outdoor dining in the future, regardless of Covid.
One petition that caught her office’s attention proposed shutting down Elm Street, which was discussed at length, but was complicated by the number of people living downtown and businesses that need parking to remain at their storefront.
The city instead sectioned off 21 parking spots with Jersey barriers for outdoor dining.
Mayor Craig did say closing Elm Street on a weekend is under consideration. “What’s really important is communication. If the city is going to do something like that, we need to get buy-in from majority and communicate when it’s going to happen and what the route changes would be from a traveling perspective,” she said.
“It definitely adds to the street,” said Blasdell in Nashua, adding that she is a neighbor of the Michael Buckley’s restaurant, MT. “By expanding the dining into the street, it’s slowed the traffic on Main Street and that’s very important. I’ve gained new customers because they’ve looked in the windows and decided to come in.”
A variety of stakeholders in Portsmouth transformed the Bridge Street parking lot to an outdoor restaurant and performing arts venue that opened in the summer.
Attendees pay an admission price to hear live music in a socially distanced environment, with tables that allow them to remove their masks only in spots designated for eating.
With funding from the city and donations, the space features five sheds hooked up to city water and generators, allowing restaurants that were not granted sidewalk access — Black Trumpet, Vida Cantina, Dos Amigos, The Wilder, Stoneface Brewing and Liar’s Bench Beer Co. — to get “much needed financial relief as they had their season wiped out,” said PopUp NH organizer Tristan Law, who had been working as a concert promoter prior to the pandemic.
“Amongst the restaurant and performance space, we’ve grossed over $25,000 which was great, but to put that in context, that’s what certain restaurants will do in a month.”
The area, which is adding retail tables, will be open through October, though it’s unknown what will happen once the cold weather comes, a fear expressed by many.
Sink of the Concord Chamber is currently looking for grants to provide heaters to restaurants so outdoor seating can extend the season, until snow becomes another obstacle to navigate.
Liisa Rajala can be reached at lrajala@nhbr.com.