Our family has always enjoyed stories. Car rides, since the time my daughter was very young, have included listening to fables, fairy tales and fantastic fiction from the time we first heard New Hampshire-based Simon Brooks in person and then purchased his CDs. And our lives have revolved around musical theater since my daughter was enthralled by a Manchester Community Theatre Players production at age 4 and she left the auditorium filled with wonder, singing the words. Our home has been filled with song ever since!
As we watched the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary special I realized there was something different about this particular story centered on three children at the wizarding school of Hogwarts. Sure, my husband and I had seen every movie as soon as it was released. And he had read all the books. However, once our daughter was old enough to be introduced, things took on a different character.
My husband began by reading her the first five books. Being the Ravenclaw that I am, we followed age-appropriateness guidelines for watching the movies. As she grew, my dyslexic daughter was able to ear-read by listening to the stories herself. Soon she had completed the whole series and was listening to it again, for a second and then a third time. Listening to the stories, little by little, at bedtime, provided a comforting touchstone for my Hermione-inspired daughter, up through middle school. We lost count of how many times she heard the whole series and suspect she could place in the Guinness Book of World Records if we only knew.
The highlight of many Christmases included Potter-themed clothes, gear and games, including our Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw “letter-sweater” jackets for my daughter, my husband and me, respectively, that we then wore to an interactive HP-themed Christmas show in Portsmouth! We once left a family reunion in Sarasota and drove across Florida to spend less than 36 hours at the new (second) Universal theme park and experience the train ride between parks. Most memorable was her 8-year birthday party, an all-out HP-themed extravaganza complete with a “run-through” train station wall, a sorting hat, a Quidditch game, a car in a “Whomping Willow,” adults in character — my husband was Rubeus Hagrid and I Professor McGonagall — and a trek through the Forbidden Forest to save the unicorn by all the children in their Hogwarts regalia!
We have mourned the death of Alan Rickman and other cast members. And watching the retrospective, I got misty realizing the cultural phenomenon that Harry Potter has proven to be — inspiring millions of children, youths and adults, to not lose hope, to fight for good, and to understand and trust the transformative power of love. Now that’s true magic.
In the parlance of performance, 2020 wasn’t a hard act to follow — anything would beat a year of livestreams and solo shows. So the year began hopefully, and it got better as vaccines became available and venues were able to ease capacity restrictions.
Area supergroup Marble Eyes, for example, was Zooming from the Press Room in January; by July they were playing to a packed Prescott Park in Portsmouth.
Tupelo Music Hall returned in the spring with more drive-in shows but was able to head back indoors at summer’s end. Manchester’s Palace and Rex Theatres reopened in June, while the Capitol Center and Bank of NH Stage in Concord waited the summer out, running local-flavored shows in nearby Fletcher-Murphy Park.
On the Seacoast, Portsmouth’s Music Hall split the difference, offering outdoor shows and socially distanced events at its indoor Historic Theatre. The Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach endured several close-to-the-wire cancellations before it returned to a semblance of normal in mid-July.
Creatively, 2021 was a great year. Several area performers released albums, including Liz Bills & The Change. The band’s self-titled record was rewarded with multiple NEMA nominations, including a win for Pop Act of the Year at the awards show in October.
Andrew North & The Rangers made a highlight reel of an album, Phosphorescent Snack. Among the best tracks were the Phish-adjacent “Aditi,” the buoyant, upbeat “Dig Deep” and “Epiphone” — the latter a guitar-free romp, even if it shared its name with a famous six-string.
April Cushman’s debut album, The Long Haul, dropped in July. The title song perfectly captures the struggle for success in the music business, particularly for women. Cushman sings about the “10-year turnaround” she faces as “just another girl among a thousand crowns … in a working man’s town,” the latter a reference to Nashville, where the disc was finished.
After a March 2020 release show was cratered by Covid-19, Married Iguana waited a year to make its hometown debut in Manchester, and their debut EP includes one of the best songs to come out this year. “Go With The Flow” chugs along like a rolling party bus, punctuated by scorching guitar licks from band leader and principal songwriter Brett Higgins.
All three bands have plans to start 2022 with a bang. Cushman will perform with her band on Jan. 13 at Bank of NH Stage in Concord, a venue Andrew North & The Rangers will also appear at, on Feb. 10. Married Iguana will headline a local showcase with The Humans Being and Earthmark on Jan. 22 at Shaskeen Pub in Manchester.
Comedy provided relief to a pandemic-weary region, first with socially distanced shows at places like Chunky’s Cinema Pub, with multiple locations, as well as Newmarket’s Stone Church and Kathleen’s Cottage in Bristol. Maine funny man Bob Marley played an April Fool’s Day show at Saint Anselm College’s Dana Center, while Juston McKinney did several small-capacity socially distanced sets at area venues.
By summer Wednesday night comedy had returned to Shaskeen Pub, accompanied by word that the weekly event would be taken over by Ruby Room Comedy. Longtime promoters Nick Lavallee and Dave Carter announced plans for a handoff with an eight-weekend run of shows. Standup popped up in some new spots, like Backyard Brewery and Yankee Lanes in Manchester, Concord’s Area 23, and Saddle Up Saloon in Kingston.
Sadly, 2021 ended with a series of losses to the music community. Billy Conway, drummer for Morphine and Treat Her Right, and former Concord resident, died on Dec. 19, the same day that David Surette, who for decades was a fixture on the area scene and Concord Community Music School faculty member, also died.
Granite State native Bill Staines lost his battle to prostate cancer on Dec. 5, and singer, songwriter, activist and provocateur Chelsea Paolini died at age 32, also on Dec. 5. She was a firebrand, whether lighting up the fretboard of her Gibson SG or dressing down perceived ignorance wherever she found it.
Finally, the death of drummer and bandleader Chucky Tester shocked the rock community. A memorial dubbed Rock In Peace happens Jan. 16 at A-Brews in Dracut, Mass. On the bill are Manchester prog rockers Mindset X, Prospect Hill, blindspot and A Simple Complex. For the latter band, it’s an early comeback, their first live performance in over two years.
“We saw the grief in the music community,” A Simple Complex frontman Mark Ingoldsby said recently, “so we decided to break our silence and come off hiatus early to organize a tribute benefit show in honor of Chucky.”
2022 shows to get excited about
Rex Theatre Morgan James, Jan. 15 (rescheduled from December) Max Weinberg’s Jukebox, March 24
Palace Theatre Seth Meyers, Feb. 9 Celtic Angels, March 5
Capitol Center for the Arts Juston McKinney, March 26 (recording a comedy special) Heart By Heart, April 2 (featuring original band members)
Bank of NH Stage Enter the Haggis, Feb. 3 Andrew North & The Rangers, Feb. 10
Tupelo Music Hall Corey Rodrigues, Kyle Crawford, and Alex Giampapa, Jan. 14 (Comedy) Martin Barre, Aqualung 50th Anniversary Tour, Feb. 11
The Music Hall Rachael Price (Lake Street Dive) and Vilray, Jan. 29 Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, Feb. 27
The best movie of 2021 is Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar.
Is it really? Who knows. But the urge to elevate the delightful over the seriously artistic is particularly strong this year. And I think backed up by experience: Several of the Serious Fil-uhm year-end movies (Being the Ricardos and Nightmare Alley or even legitimately good The Power of the Dog for example) have left me feeling sorta “shrug” while I fairly regularly rewatch the Barb and Star scene with Jamie Dornan powerballading to some seagulls because it’s never not joy-inducing.
I am as much of an awards-season completist as the next Oscar nerd, so while I haven’t seen The Card Counter, Spencer, The Green Knight, Respect, Licorice Pizza, Annette and The Lost Daughter they are definitely on my list to see soon (though I did say that last year about This Had Oscar Buzz candidate Ammonite and never got around to it). But I did see plenty to cheer about — from the high art to the “this movie will pair perfectly with popcorn, booze and a couch.” Here are some good, great and goofily entertaining movies I saw in 2021 — and where (as of late December at least) to find them. (Many will also be available for rent or purchase.)
• Let’s call these the “2020” movies: Every year I spend a good part of the first quarter watching some of the better movies that technically (and for Oscar purposes) have the previous year as their release date. That phenomenon was even weirder this year since some movies that actually did get an early 2021 release were in the extended Oscar qualifying window. I talked about a lot of these during Oscar season but these are worth searching for if you haven’t seen them yet. Sylvie’s Love (Amazon Prime) is a really swoony love story starring Tessa Thompson. Promising Young Woman (HBOMax) is a really angry grief story with a solid performance by Carey Mulligan. One Night in Miami (Amazon Prime) is a fascinating bit of historical fiction directed by Regina King. Judas and the Black Messiah (HBOMax) won Daniel Kaluuya his Oscar. Nomadland (Hulu) won director Chloé Zhao and lead actress Frances McDormand Oscars and is truly beautiful. Minari (Showtime) features a great Steven Yuen performance and a highly relatable family story. Sound of Metal (Amazon Prime) is a real showcase for actor Riz Ahmed. I won’t pretend that The Father (Starz) is a birthday party of a movie — it’s full of sadness and loss — but it also features one of Anthony Hopkins’ best performances.
• Good enough? Of course, most movies I saw this year are probably not Oscar-bound. Quite a few, however, fit the “decent entertainment from your sofa” bill. Thunder Force (Netflix) with Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer as sudden, middle-aged superheros was not as good as I wanted but it had its moments. Netflix’s zombie movie and its prequel, Army of the Deadand Army of Thieves, are good lazy-day-on-the-couch fun. I probably liked the second even more than the first. The Ice Road(Netflix) contains exactly what it says on the label: Liam Neeson driving a big truck on an ice road. Red Notice (Netflix) is a very dumb movie that does not live up to the promise of Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds but I still laughed many times. VacationFriends (Hulu) is another dumb but fun outing with good comedic reluctant-buddy chemistry between Jon Cena and Lil Rel Howery. I know that Camila Cabello’s Cinderella (Amazon Prime) wasn’t, you know, “good,” but it was fun and her life’s ambition was more plucky than just “marry a prince.” Also on Amazon Prime, The Tomorrow War is a totally fine Chris Pratt-led action movie.
The winner of the “I’m not gonna say good but it’s worth a watch” prize this year might be an actual Oscar contender, House of Gucci, which is still in theaters and which the internet says will be on Paramount+ at some point in January. Come for the tacky-glam 1980s everything, stay for the “givin’ her all she’s got, Captain” Lady Gaga performance.
• Supermen & wonder women: For me, Zack Snyder’s Justice League (HBOMax), the longer, slower director’s cut of the 2017 movie, is probably more accurately in the previous category — not great but worth a watch. I felt very “oh now I see what’s supposed to be happening” and while it’s still not fun, it’s sort of an interesting historical document.
Things were much better over in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eternals (in theaters and headed to Disney+ on Jan. 12, according to Wikipedia) offered an interesting new group of characters — probably too many to allow us to really focus on the characters with the most potential (Kumail Nanjiani) but I’m willing to ride this branching-out-the-MCU ride. Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Disney+) has a compelling lead in Simu Liu, an even better supporting character in Awkwafina and an excellent villain (sorta) in Tony Leung. Yes, I know Black Widow’s (Disney+) whole deal is setting up other Marvel stuff, but I still enjoyed this stand-alone about Scarlett Johansson’s character (and I’m always excited to see Florence Pugh, “Russian” accent and all). The Marvel standout was probably the recently released Spider-Man: No Way Home (in theaters), which gives a nice completion to the three-movie MCU-Spider-Man arc and gave me a new appreciation for the previous Spider-Man series.
My favorite action franchise outing this year, though, might be No Time To Die(rent or purchase), the send off for Daniel Craig’s iteration of James Bond. I feel like he had more fun than he has in a while and the movie had some fun with the character.
• Family movie night:There was a particularly good crop of kids movies, specifically kids animated movies, this year. Raya and the Last Dragon(Disney+) is a fun adventure tale featuring a talking dragon but also beautiful animation and a lovely score. The Mitchells Versus the Machines(Netflix) is a fun family-on-a-quest tale and it makes fun of Big Tech and it looks great. Lin-Manuel Miranda had songs in two animated movies this year: Encanto (Disney+) and Vivo (Netflix), where he also voices a kinkajou. Both were a delight. Beautiful and soulful, Luca (Disney+) centers on the friendship between two mer-boys who want to check out life on land in Italy. After you watch it, check out the excellent short Ciao, Alberto (Disney+). And while you’re watching shorts on Disney+, check out Olaf Presents…, which features Josh Gad’s snowman doing his recaps on Disney movies and cracks my kids up every time. I know people have all sorts of opinions about James Corden but I really enjoyed this year’s live-action/CG mix Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (Netflix), more even than the first movie.
• Christmas movies! I support this weird Christmas movie arms race happening across TV and streaming. Sure, there’s a lot of blah, but there’s also a lot of solid seasonal fare. This year, I enjoyed Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas (Netflix), another all-ages friendly, sweet-hearted entry in the Shaun the Sheep Aardman Animation canon. A Boy Called Christmas (Netflix) is darker but does some good work looking at kids and grief. 8-Bit Christmas (HBOMax) stars Neil Patrick Harris offering us the A Christmas Story-riff I didn’t know I wanted about life way back in the 1980s. Single All the Way (Netflix) is an absolute charmer of a Christmas rom-com.
• How do you do, fellow kids? These teen movies were not made for me but they delighted me all the same. The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (Amazon Prime) used a Groundhog Day concept to examine a teen romance and teen grief. He’s All That(Netflix) was a fun riff on the 1990s teen makeover movie. Moxie (Netflix), with its zines and its riot grrrl music, seemed at least as aimed at X-ers like me as the teenager it portrayed. Netflix also offered some solid teen horror movies — There’s Someone Inside Your House and the trilogy Fear Street Part One: 1994, Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and Fear Street Part Three: 1666. Everybody’s Talking about Jamie (Amazon Prime) gives you a coming of age story (a teen developing his drag persona) and a joy-filled musical.
• “Above average” is not faint praise: With Monster Hunter (Starz), you get the very Resident-Evil-style Milla Jovovich punching monsters, like what else do you need? Dream Horse (Hulu) is the big-hearted a-town-pulls-together underdog story that feels like cozy socks in movie form. Worth (Netflix) is a bummer about the aftermath of Sept. 11 but features a great performance by Michael Keaton. In my review, I described No Sudden Move as “ a very Soderberghian cool crisp cocktail of capering and doublecross with just a dash of dry humor.” Nobody (rent or purchase) from the John Wick writer is basically John Wick as a suburban dad — and is fun in the same way. I liked Idris Elba’s performance in Concrete Cowboy (Netflix).
• The 2021 standouts: Comedy (or maybe dramedy?) Shiva Baby (HBO Max) is an entertainingly claustrophobic look at early adulthood. Plan B (Hulu) is another hilarious movie about teen-girl female friendship and the unnecessary difficulties of obtaining health care. Belfast (theaters and for rent or purchase) is Kenneth Branagh’s warm-hearted, semi-autobiographical look at life in Belfast in the late 1960s. That movie is in black and white and so is Passing(Amazon Prime), though it gives you race in America in the 1920s shades of gray along with a tense psychological, er, thriller? However you’d label it, it sticks with you. The Harder They Fall (Netflix) is a top-notch Western full of excellent performances (Regina King, Idris Elba, Delroy Lindo, LaKeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz). If you like Wes Anderson and his little model train worlds, you’ll enjoy the short stories collected in The French Dispatch(available for rent). Madres (Amazon Prime) is a horror movie that packs a real (real world) gut punch. Pig(Hulu) is the excellent Nicolas Cage performance you didn’t know you were waiting for.
But my favorite of this group may be CODA (Apple TV+), featuring a truly great performance by Emilia Jones as the only hearing member of an otherwise deaf family. Her love of singing and her urge for independence have her parents (equally excellent Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur) afraid of losing her to a world they can’t access.
• Great docs: Val (Amazon Prime) is a fascinating memoir from Val Kilmer. Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It (Netflix) will remind you why the actress is so beloved. Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (HBO Max) is a fun look at a revolutionary show. And speaking of revolution, Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Hulu) is part documentary and part concert film, and according to iTunes, an accompanying album is slated for Jan. 28.
• Speaking of song:We got more music-filled movies this year. As someone who does not live in New York, I support any opportunities to bring Broadway to my living room. Thusly, I was charmed with Come From Away(Apple TV+). Of course, I can’t help loving West Side Story(still in theaters) and I even like the slight tweaks. And, yes, as mentioned up top, from culottes to Andy Garcia as Tommy Bahama, I love Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar(Hulu) and all of its music (“Edgar’s Prayer” but also everything from the hotel lounge singer).
• Most joyful:But OK, at the end of the day, I guess I won’t give those midwestern besties the absolute top spot. I guess that one goes to In the Heights (HBO Max), another Lin-Manuel Miranda musical, this one adapted for the big screen (versus Hamilton’s filmed stage production). This movie was bright and beautiful and absolutely joyous.
2022?
Look, who knows what the movie schedule will look like in January, much less the rest of 2022. But for now, here are a few things on the calendar that I’m excited to see:
• Scream (Jan. 14 in theaters) Yes, Scream, like the original, with Courtney Cox, Neve Campbell and David Arquette. I guess I am a sucker for some kinds of nostalgia.
• The Tragedy of Macbeth (Jan. 14 on Apple TV+) In theaters now (including Red River Theatres in Concord starting Friday, Dec. 31), this Joel Coen-directed version of Shakespeare’s play starring Denzel Washington will stream right into your home, for the convenience of current and former lit majors.
• Cyrano (late January) This movie starring Peter Dinklage has appeared on some year-end lists but won’t really get a release until January.
• Downton Abbey: A New Era (March 18, Peacock 45 days later, according to Wikipedia) I don’t know how I feel about this but I will still watch with some polite excitement this latest chapter.
• The Batman (March 4) Robert Pattinson dons the cowl.
• Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (May 6) Our next Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.
Featured photo: Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar.
A look back at the local food scene in 2021, plus trends and predictions for 2022
Local restaurateurs continued to feel the lingering effects of the pandemic throughout what was a very up-and-down year for the hospitality industry in 2021.
“This year certainly wasn’t quite as bad as 2020, but I think it was challenging in somewhat different ways,” said Mike Somers, president of the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association. “At the start of the year, consumer confidence was at an all-time low, and businesses were really struggling to keep their numbers up. … Over the course of the summer months, it was extremely busy. Then obviously it tapered off very quickly once we got past Columbus Day, or thereabouts. … Clearly, we’re going to be having these ups and downs as we go forward.”
New Hampshire-specific results from an operator survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association in mid-September showed that 44 percent of local business owners believe it will take at least another year before the industry normalizes. Profitability is down and food costs are up, with 93 percent of those surveyed saying they’re paying more than ever for product and 85 percent reporting their labor costs have increased. The lack of adequate staffing also remains a major problem — 91 percent of business owners reported being understaffed.
“Back in the spring, we really thought we’d be in a whole different place by now. That hasn’t come to pass,” Somers said. “It really remains to be seen what the next three, four, five months looks like, and I think we’re going to start to see business owners make some key decisions.”
With 2022 on our doorstep and amid concerns about the omicron Covid-19 variant, here’s a look back on how the previous year unfolded and the current obstacles the industry is facing.
Highs and lows
New Hampshire began the year still under a statewide mask mandate for all indoor and outdoor public spaces, including restaurants. That emergency order would expire in mid-April following a sharp decline in Covid-19 cases, thanks to the rollout of vaccines throughout the early spring.
By early May, individual guidelines and restrictions at restaurants, in place since the start of the pandemic, transitioned into what Gov. Chris Sununu called “universal best practices,” consolidating guidelines for all business sectors across the Granite State. The state of emergency came to an end on June 11 as cases continued to drop.
“When you talk about 2021, I mean, there were just amazing highs and lows throughout the year,” said Tom Boucher, CEO of Great New Hampshire Restaurants, the Bedford-based group that includes each T-Bones, Cactus Jack’s and Copper Door location in the Granite State. “Most of our stores were up through the summer, over 2019 sales. … As soon as the fall hit, though, we did see revenues drop a little bit. Not a lot, but it was noticeable.”
As was the case in 2020, rented tents were set up in the parking lot of each restaurant to accommodate more outdoor dining opportunities. For a brief period from about mid-July to mid-September each location was also closed on Mondays as a way to give its staff a break.
Takeout is still not available from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday or Saturday evenings, a move that has been in place since late March to allow each eatery to prioritize in-house dining. But Boucher said that there have been talks to end this temporary suspension at T-Bones and Cactus Jack’s.
Firefly American Bistro & Bar has similarly continued to experience a greater interest in outdoor dining, according to manager Rachael Jones. In addition to putting up tents, the restaurant now keeps its outdoor patio open year-round with propane heaters in the winter months.
“We’ve had the patio maybe eight years or so, but it was always something that was strictly seasonal,” Jones said. “There just wasn’t a call for it once it got cold, but now people are happy to bundle up and have a cocktail outside. It’s just become something that we do.”
At KC’s Rib Shack, owner and co-founder Kevin Cornish made several operational changes, the most significant of them being that he’s now permanently closed for lunch on weekdays. As of about a month ago, he’s also now open an hour later each evening.
“For 20 years I kind of considered whether or not lunch was worth it for us,” he said. “We would do a good lunch, no question about that. But I think closing for lunch has helped us immensely in a lot of different areas as far as keeping the quality of our food up.”
Cornish introduced KC’s Boneyard late in the spring, a new private function and event room housed in the former Souper Melt building directly in front of the Rib Shack.
In mid-March, Tim Baines of Mint Bistro and Bob Scribner of The Wild Rover Pub joined forces to open Elm House of Pizza, a neighborhood pizzeria in the former Theo’s space on Elm Street. It was also a big year for LaBelle Winery, which introduced a new restaurant concept, a retail market, performances and event spaces and a nine-hole golf course across a 45-acre property in Derry. Each of those properties opened in phases over the course of the spring and summer.
The struggle to staff
As restaurants have continued to recover, finding and retaining qualified employees to meet the growing demand became a defining issue in 2021, and it will carry over into 2022 for many.
The Flight Center opened a second location in Manchester in late June and has only recently become able to operate for lunch during the week. Its sister restaurant, the 1750 Taphouse in Bedford, as well as The Flight Center’s downtown Nashua spot, have also been only open for limited hours, managing partner Seth Simonian said.
The Flight Center opened a second location in south Manchester in late June 2021. Courtesy photo.
“As 2020 came to an end and then going into 2021, we saw a pretty significant decline in applicant flow, while business didn’t really change,” Simonian said. “You have people who expect you to be open for lunch and dinner, and to be open seven days a week … Downtown Nashua has been our hardest to staff by far.”
None of LaBelle Winery’s three properties in Amherst, Derry and Portsmouth is operating full-time for similar reasons. Americus Restaurant, which opened in mid-May, currently offers dinner five nights a week and brunch and lunch on the weekends, but owner Amy LaBelle said the goal was to also have it be open during the week.
“Given the fact that there’s a golf course and many other daytime activities here on the property, it’s just staggering that we haven’t been able to get that accomplished. We just don’t have the staff,” LaBelle said. “The kitchen is definitely the hardest-hit, but even if I had a fully staffed kitchen I still couldn’t open full-time because I don’t have enough servers.”
Great New Hampshire Restaurants, Boucher said, remains slightly below its normal number of about 800 employees across the company’s 10 locations.
“Staffing has definitely improved for us, but I think the labor shortage is going to continue to be an issue in 2022,” he said. “It’s not exclusive to the restaurant industry either, that’s for sure.”
Beginning in 2022, in addition to Thanksgiving and Christmas, the company will be closing its restaurants on five additional holidays — President’s Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day and Columbus Day — and offering paid time off to its managers for those days.
“I think it’s going to be a really disruptive decision that we’re making to put us in a competitive place to attract employees and managers,” Boucher said. “It’s also a big win for our staff because they’ll be able to make plans to do something with their families or friends.”
Paying the price
Increasing food costs and ongoing supply chain issues have forced local restaurateurs to make critical choices about what to buy, problems they say aren’t likely to go away anytime soon.
“Inflation has really been the challenge,” Somers said. “It’s not about being able to get product. You could get it. It’s just whether or not you could afford to actually put it on the menu.”
LaBelle said she has especially felt these impacts since right around when Americus opened.
“When we are writing a menu now, we look at the prices first and we might say, OK, we can’t put this rib-eye on the menu right now. I’m not going to charge $70 for it,” she said. “So we’ve definitely tailored our menu to be able to reflect really good-quality food, but also things that we can get to people at a reasonable price without compromising our quality.”
Not being able to get the products right away, she added, only makes it more difficult.
“I used to be able to place a food order and get it the next day from our major food suppliers,” she said. “Now there’s a twice-a-week delivery schedule, because they don’t have people to deliver. So if I need something or if we run out of something, I can’t get that quick delivery that I used to be able to get. I have to wait until my designated delivery day. … So we’re not used to that, and it makes the chefs have to be super careful about what they’re ordering.”
At Firefly, Jones said she has already heard from purveyors warning that certain items may be hard to come by for anywhere from the next three to 12 months.
“You’re just so used to having everything at your fingertips,” she said, “but this year, it was just like all the rules go out the window. People have been very understanding, so that’s been great.”
Baines said he has experienced higher costs as well, particularly within the last six months or so.
“We did have to shrink the Mint [Bistro] menu a little bit and were reluctant to do so. Some of it is due to availability and some of it was just that the cost to put it on a plate just didn’t feel right to charge what we would have to to make it work,” he said. “I think you’ve seen that industry-wide. You’ve seen hours shrink and you’ve seen menu selections shrink.”
A taste of events to come
Here are a few foodie happenings to look forward to as we begin 2022. Be sure to visit the event’s website or contact the venue directly for the most up-to-date information.
• The Taste of Bedford is due to return on Tuesday, Jan. 11, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Bedford High School (47B Nashua Road), according to the event’s website. Bedford-area eateries will congregate for a night of food sampling, with proceeds benefiting the school’s Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) chapter, one of the largest in the state. Tickets are $10 per person, or $30 per family of four and $40 per family of five. Visit tasteofbedford.org.
• LaBelle Lights at LaBelle Winery Derry (14 Route 111) continues with a special Fire and Ice Weekend on Friday, Jan. 14, and Saturday, Jan. 15, featuring live performances like fire dancers and ice stilt walkers, in addition to bonfires, themed food and cocktail specials and more. Tickets are $15 to LaBelle Lights, which is being held from 4:30 to 9 p.m. on select days now through Feb. 26. Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras celebrations are also planned before LaBelle Lights closes for the season. Visit labellewinery.com/lights to view the full calendar schedule.
• New Hampshire Wine Week is right around the corner, and tickets are available now to the 18th annual Easterseals Winter Wine Spectacular on Thursday, Jan. 27, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (700 Elm St.). This will be the first in-person Winter Wine Spectacular since January 2020 — the pandemic forced its transition into a series of virtual tastings last year. Tickets are $65 for access to the grand tasting, or $135 for access to the Bellman Cellar VIP tasting room (limited availability), with proceeds benefiting Easterseals New Hampshire. For the most up-to-date details on New Hampshire Wine Week, which also includes bottle signings and wine tastings across the state, visit nhwineweek.com.
A cautious optimism
Despite a looming uncertainty about the future, most of the local restaurateurs we spoke with say they’re optimistic overall heading into 2022 — just as long as there isn’t another shutdown.
“We’re seeing the dining public out and about, and almost every restaurant I see is filling seats,” Baines said. “However people are feeling about it, they’re going out again.”
Nearly a year after opening Elm House of Pizza, Baines and Scribner are introducing another new concept in the Queen City. City Hall Pub, he said, is due to open in the former Cheddar & Rye space on the corner of Hanover and Elm streets by the third week of January.
“We have The Wild Rover, Mint Bistro, Elm House of Pizza and then City Hall Pub all under Southern New Hampshire Hospitality Group,” he said. “We’re going to offer a loyalty program within those four, so you can generate points and use them throughout each of the locations.”
LaBelle Winery, meanwhile, is due to finish construction on a new sparkling wine production facility and tasting room in Derry by late May 2022. LaBelle said plans are already underway to also bring back the highly successful LaBelle Lights holiday celebration next winter.
“We thought we would have 20,000 visitors throughout the three months of LaBelle Lights, but as it turns out, we’ve already had that many in the first month,” she said.
Boucher also said he’s noticed customers are coming back, making him hopeful for the future.
“Restaurants are obviously in the business to serve food, but they’re much more than that. They’re a gathering place,” he said. “It’s not just the food; it’s the warm hospitality that defines restaurants, and I think people really figured that out [by] staying at home through the pandemic. … I think restaurants will always thrive because eating at home just isn’t the same.”
A Year in the Kitchen: 2021 edition
The Hippo’s In the Kitchen Q&A series continued throughout 2021, with a different New Hampshire restaurant chef, baker or homestead business owner profiled each week.
Regular readers know that we like to turn to the experts for their thoughts on the biggest food trends currently sweeping the Granite State, and as the industry continues to experience the effects of the pandemic, the answers we received seemed to be all over the map. Farm-to-table dining, comfort items and vegan menus, and the ways we get our food beyond visiting a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant — think ghost kitchens, food trucks or third-party delivery apps — were some of the most common threads.
“I think restaurateurs in New Hampshire have done such an amazing job pivoting their operations over the last year and a half, regardless of what their business model is,” Lisa Kingsbury of Lush Confections in Derry told the Hippo in July. “I think they are more open to different possibilities than they would have otherwise been.”
It’s always fun to see what people come up with as an answer to another question we ask, “What celebrity would you like to see eating at your restaurant?” or “What celebrity would you like to have a meal with?” For the second consecutive year, the No. 1 answer was chef Gordon Ramsay of, among many other shows, Hell’s Kitchen. Actor and New Hampshire native Adam Sandler once again received a fair number of mentions — and, even though he’s no longer with us, the late chef and author Anthony Bourdain also continued to be a common answer.
“In culinary school, [Bourdain] was who we looked up to and somebody we aspired to be,” Jenn Martins of Brickoven Catering in Hudson told the Hippo in August.
We also like to give our interviewees the opportunity to give a shout out to their favorite local eateries. The answers to this question could not have been more diverse — almost everyone called a different restaurant their favorite. But there were a few recurring names, including MT’s Local Kitchen & Wine Bar in Nashua, The Black Trumpet Bistro in Portsmouth, the East Derry Tavern, and several of the La Carreta Mexican Restaurant locations.
Featured photo: Americus Restaurant opened in mid-May 2021 in Derry. Photo courtesy of LaBelle Winery.
Well, it was better than 2020 — that’s the sentiment that many in the art community had about 2021, as they continued to try to evolve among the ebbs and flows of the pandemic.
“All arts organizations have faced tremendous challenges in bringing live performances and art experiences to the public,” Alan Chong, Director of the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, said. “We have all learned to adapt and be flexible.”
Here’s how some artistic groups fared in 2021, and a look at what they think 2022 might bring.
Art
For some organizations, 2021 meant bringing back some sorely missed in-person events. The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, for example, was able to hold its annual fair in Sunapee, with a few modifications that prioritized social distancing.
“We were really delighted that the fair was a total success and people felt comfortable coming,” said Miriam Carter, executive director of the League.
Carter said the artists did very well, with an increase in sales from $2.35 million in 2019 — the last time the fair was held in person — to $2.74 million in 2021.
“People came ready to buy,” Carter said. “It was incredibly heartening.”
The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester has faced financial challenges from being closed for most of 2020 and much of 2021, according to Chong, but it was able to reopen in 2021 with a special exhibition called “The Body in Art,” which looked at images of nudes from different perspectives, like gender, culture and time period.
“The museum also acquired a second house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright just before the pandemic,” Chong said. “We were so happy to be able to open both houses to the public in 2021.”
The museum is now offering free admission for all on Thursday nights, with live music, tours and refreshments.
Joni Taube, owner of Art 3 gallery, also re-opened her studio to the public this year, changing her hours to 1 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with other times open by appointment. Taube, who does art design consulting for individuals and businesses, said that at the beginning of the pandemic she had to adapt how she showed the work in her gallery by hosting virtual show openings, and that has continued in 2021 because her space is too small for gatherings. She said she may have 70 to 80 artists showing at one time, with the majority of the works being paintings, along with some glass, ceramics and metal pieces. In working with so many artists, Taube has heard a range of reactions to the pandemic.
“Artists are doing more experimenting because they’re in their studios all the time now,” she said. “Some are frustrated because the galleries are closed. Many of them have way too much work in their studios that they’d like to find an outlet for. … Some are hunkered down and painting and happy. … I think that’s how a lot of them coped.”
Taube said she thinks it has been difficult financially for artists, which is one of the reasons she started posting work online.
“You try different things for them [like] social media [and putting] shows online so the artists feel like their work is getting exposure,” she said.
The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen was able to reopen its smaller galleries, and Carter said the artists who display their work there have been well-supported by the public.
“Shopping local has really started to stick,” Carter said. “There seems to be a mindset to support the local talent. … [I think] that’s a direct impact of Covid.”
Looking ahead, Carter said the League is already preparing for the 2022 fair and will be ready to adapt if needed.
“At headquarters we’re really excited to be returning to opening our exhibition gallery, [which has been] closed since [the start of the pandemic],” she said.
The gallery will open Jan. 20 with a three-day exhibition of Art & Bloom by the Concord Garden Club. It will then open for regular hours starting Jan. 25 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 4 p.m. A new exhibition called “Setting the Standard,” featuring new work from League jurors in all media areas, will be on display at that time.
At the Currier, Chong said they’re watching the omicron variant situation carefully and will make decisions based on keeping the community safe.
“We are continuing to push experiences [like] remote art classes and educational resources,” Chong said.
A new exhibition featuring the work of Arghavan Khosravi is scheduled to open in April, according to Chong, and the Currier will also be showing Warhol Screen Tests: “short film snippets made in the 1960s that prefigure our selfie culture,” he said.
Art 3 Gallery currently has a show that will be up for another few weeks called “Artful Escapes.”
Taube is hoping to have some in-person opening receptions next year but knows that as with this year, everything can change at any time.
“I don’t know what 2022 is going to bring,” she said. “I’m hoping that people start coming out more and looking again at art, thinking about spaces, decor and how they want to live and have an appreciation of what people go through in terms of forming a piece of artwork.”
Theater
Still reeling from a huge loss of income after the months-long shutdowns in 2020, New Hampshire performance companies and venues spent 2021 recuperating and trying to regain some stability.
Salvatore Prizio, who became the Executive Director of the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord last fall, said financial difficulty is the biggest challenge to come with his new position.
“One of the major issues CCA and all performing arts centers are facing now is getting back on their feet [financially],” he told the Hippo in November. “They have a lot of fiscal issues from being shut down for months.”
As restrictions on public gatherings were eased, many performance companies and venues saw an opportunity to increase revenue by expanding their programming options as much as possible, to accommodate people with all levels of Covid safety concerns.
“New Hampshire Theatre Project moved to a variety of alternative formats last year, including livestream and on-demand programming as well as in-person and outdoor performances,” said Genevieve Aichele, executive director of the Portsmouth-based company, which had lost 75 percent of its income in 2020, according to Aichele.
The Hatbox Theatre in Concord reopened with its first in-person mainstage production of the year in early summer. With masks required and seats distanced, the venue was able to operate at around 85 percent capacity.
“[Having in-person shows] enables us to … get to a point where productions not only break even but might actually come out ahead a little for their next production,” theater owner and operator Andrew Pinard told the Hippo in June.
Manchester-based Cue Zero Theatre Company was one of a number of local companies and venues that utilized a hybrid format for its performances, allowing people to attend in person or watch from home via livestream.
“Being able to offer streaming alongside the in-person performances created new opportunities for us to reach both a wider audience as well as keep our local audiences feeling safe and comfortable,” Cue Zero artistic director Dan Pelletier said, adding that the company “had a successful 2021, all things considered.”
The New Hampshire theater community also took time in 2021 to celebrate the technology and experimental forms of performance that have kept them going through the pandemic.
“The pandemic has truly redefined the way theater artists make work,” said Matt Cahoon, artist director of Theatre Kapow in Manchester. “We feel very fortunate to have found ways to innovate.”
Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative in Laconia, for example, teamed up with the Community Players of Concord in April to host a Zoom Play Festival, featuring a series of new short plays by New Hampshire playwrights, written specifically for performance over the Zoom video chat platform; and the theme of New Hampshire Theatre Project’s annual Storytelling Festival, held in the spring virtually and in person in Portsmouth, was “What Are You Waiting For?” — a theme inspired, Aichele said, by the innovation of the arts community during the pandemic.
“It’s a new world; we can’t do art the way we used to,” Aichele told the Hippo in April, “so why not use Covid as an opportunity to reinvent ourselves? What are we waiting for? That’s really what these stories are about — not waiting to act or make a change.”
Heading into the new year, performance companies and venues are hopeful that they can continue to present shows in person, but are at the ready to go fully virtual again, should restrictions on public gatherings be reinstated.
“We are well aware that we may need to return to virtual performances at some point in the future, but truly feel prepared to make that transition if need be,” Cahoon said, adding that Theater Kapow is “also working hard to incorporate many of the lessons we have learned and the technology we have acquired into our in-person performances.”
Some companies and venues have had so much success with their virtual programming that they plan to offer it, in addition to their in-person programming, indefinitely, regardless of the Covid situation.
“Digital media … is going to be a long-term component of performing arts centers,” Prizio told the Hippo in November. “That’s going to be critical for us down the road. It’s a way we can reach a wider audience and allow people who might not have the opportunity to get to our physical space, like some of the folks living in senior centers, for example, to experience art from the comfort of their own home.”
Many theater directors are optimistic about the future of community theater, even in the face of uncertainty.
“2021 brought new challenges, but also new opportunities, and we are a stronger company because of it,” said Rob Dionne, artistic director of Majestic Theatre in Manchester. “We are looking forward to seeing our audiences grow again in 2022.”
“We know the challenges of Covid are not going away,” Pelletier added, “but we look forward to traversing them with our audiences into a new landscape where we can continue to create our brand of theater and art.”
Things to look forward to in 2022
ART • “Setting the Standard”: A new exhibition at League of New Hampshire Craftsmen headquarters in Concord that will feature new work from League jurors in all media areas will be open to guests Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m. starting Jan. 25. Visit nhcrafts.org. • Arghavan Khosravi exhibition: The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester will host an exhibition featuring the work of Arghavan Khosravi, “an immensely talented artist whose challenging images have a striking surrealist quality,” according to museum director Alan Chong. The opening date will be announced soon. Visit currier.org.
THEATER • The Majestic Academy of Dramatic Arts presents a Young Performers’s Edition of The Wizard of Oz at the Derry Opera House (29 W. Broadway, Derry), with showtimes on Friday, Jan. 28, and Saturday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 30, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $12 for seniors age 65 and up and $10 for students age 17 and under. Call 669-7469 or visit majestictheatre.net. • Glass Dove Productions presents Mary and Me at the Hatbox Theatre (Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road, Concord) from Jan. 28 through Feb. 13. The original play by Irene Kelleher, inspired by a true story, follows a pregnant 15-year-old girl and her search for understanding while growing up in 1986 Ireland. Tickets cost $22 for adults and $19 for seniors and students. Visit hatboxnh.com or call 715-2315. • The Riverbend Youth Company will perform The Lion King Jr. at the Amato Center for the Performing Arts (56 Mont Vernon St., Milford), with showtimes on Friday, Feb. 4, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 5, at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 6, at 2:30 p.m. Tickets will go on sale in early January. Visit amatocenter.org/riverbend-youth-company. • Cue Zero Theatre Co. presents Deadly, an original movement-based theater piece by Crystal Rose Welch, at Granite State Arts Academy (19 Keewaydin Drive, No. 4, Salem), with showtimes Friday, March 4, through Sunday, March 6. With a nine-person ensemble, Deadly uses movement to explore the modern-day seven deadly sins. Visit cztheatre.com • The Franklin Footlight Theatre presents a production of Little Women at the Franklin Opera House (316 Central St., Franklin) with showtimes on Thursday, March 10, through Saturday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 13, at 2 p.m. Based on Louisa May Alcott’s classic 1869 novel, the play follows the adventures of four sisters living with their mother in Massachusetts while their father is fighting in the Civil War. Tickets cost $16 for adults and $14 for students and seniors. Visit franklinoperahouse.org or call 934-1901. • The Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester) presents a mainstage production of Bye Bye Birdie from March 11 through April 3. The musical comedy, set in 1958 small-town America, centers around teen heartthrob Conrad Birdie, who has been drafted into the Army and announces that he will give one girl from his fan club a goodbye-kiss before reporting for duty. Tickets range from $25 to $46. Visit palacetheatre.org or call 668-5588.
Featured Photo: Untitled by Arghavan Khosravi. Courtesy photo.
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
Covid-19 news
During the state’s weekly public health update on Dec. 22, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan reported that, while hospitalization rates due to Covid-19 have declined slightly in recent weeks, New Hampshire is still seeing just over 1,000 new infections per day on average. “We are watching very closely what’s happening with the omicron variant … but the vast majority of infections that we are seeing through New Hampshire continue to be with the delta variant,” Chan said. The following day, Dec. 23, the number of hospitalizations dipped below 400 for the first time in more than three weeks. As of Dec. 27 there were 8,026 active infections. Gov. Chris Sununu also announced during the Dec. 22 press conference the state Executive Council’s vote earlier that day to approve six additional fixed vaccination sites, in Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Keene, Salem and Exeter. Each site will administer booster doses on a walk-in basis, but if you prefer to make an appointment, you can sign up for the state’s second “booster blitz” event on Jan. 8. Registrations will open online on Jan. 3 at covid19.nh.gov/booster-blitz. Find fixed vaccination sites as well as the location of the state’s mobile vaccination van (which has stops scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 30) at vaccines.nh.gov.
Rooms and meals tax
The recently enacted state budget means New Hampshire municipalities are receiving a 45-percent increase in revenue from the Meals and Rentals Tax, according to a press release. In the new budget, the local share of revenues from the state’s tax on restaurants, hotels and car rentals increased to 30 percent, compared to 22 percent in the last budget. “Together with strong growth in New Hampshire’s hospitality industry, this results in more than $100 million going directly to local coffers to help keep local property tax rates down,” the release said. The state Treasury was set to transfer $100,143,752 to cities and towns by the end of the day Dec. 27; that’s an increase of about $32 million from Fiscal Year 2021. “We cut the rooms and meals tax to its lowest level in over a decade and yet we still sent even more money back to cities and towns,” Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement. “Instead of downshifting costs, we downshifted cash, giving cities and towns extra flexibility — a win for our citizens.” Sen. Denise Ricciardi (Bedford) spearheaded the legislation, which was incorporated into the state budget package in June. “I made it my goal this past session to protect local property taxpayers by making certain the state kept its promise to share more of the revenues that our M&R tax generates. … Today, our cities and towns will finally receive the amount they’ve been promised for so long,” Ricciardi said in the release. The budget also lowered businesses’ taxes and cut $100 million from the Statewide Property Tax, according to the release.
Jury trials on hold
All jury trials in the New Hampshire Superior Court system are on hold through the end of January. According to a report from WMUR, Chief Justice Tina L. Nadeau said the increasing number of Covid cases prompted the decision. “[Jurors are] all very good at following protocols, but we are noticing that some are becoming a little bit more nervous about serving,” Nadeau told WMUR. “We’ve had a couple of cases where a juror has had close contact with someone who tested positive so they need to stay home.” She said there is concern that might lead to mistrials. Grand juries and 40 to 50 jury trials across the state planned for January are now on hold, though courts will stay open for other services, according to the report.
Health service concerns
A one-day survey of a sample of hospitals, home care agencies and nursing homes conducted in the Granite State on Nov. 4 found at least 200 individuals were unable to access the right level of care. According to a press release, the survey was conducted by the New Hampshire Hospital Association, Home Care, Hospice & Palliative Care Alliance of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Health Care Association to figure out what is preventing patients from getting appropriate care in a timely manner, and it found that many factors impact their transition to other health care settings. Most of these patients had been medically cleared to leave the hospital but couldn’t because they were waiting for placement in a nursing home; on the day of the survey the 102 patients in 15 hospitals who were waiting to leave had been in a hospital bed anywhere from one to 276 days after being medically cleared. Barriers include lack of available nursing homes beds or home caregivers, patients waiting for Medicaid eligibility to be finalized and behavioral issues, the release said. More than 200 nursing home and home care agency referrals from hospitals were made that day, and most could not be accommodated due to lack of staff, with shortages of Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses and Licensed Nurse Assistants. The state has implemented several short-term initiatives, like expediting licensing and guaranteeing Medicaid payments to open more nursing home beds, according to the release, and several of the report’s recommendations seek the adoption of these short-term measures into long-term change, along with additional investments in health care staffing and Medicaid coverage.
Kathryn Routhier of Somersworth, a senior at the University of New Hampshire, received a $2,500 check to help with college expenses from the Orphans of Veterans. According to a press release from the New Hampshire Department of Education, Routhier’s mother served in the Army during the war on terrorism and died from a service-related illness in 2018. Routhier is majoring in justice studies with a minor in forensic science.
For the second week in a row, the state Division of Historical Resources has installed a new Historical Highway Marker, this one in Newfields. According to a press release, this marker commemorates members of the Hilton family who first lived in Newfields nearly 400 years ago after establishing a fishing settlement in what is now Dover Point.
The Nashua Public Library is challenging kids, teens and adults to work together to read for 550,000 minutes in eight weeks during Mayor Jim Donchess’s Winter Reading Challenge. According to a press release, all ages can read anything of their choosing — with challenges to read books of different genres — from Jan. 3 through Feb. 28 and keep track of the time they spend reading to help Nashua reach its goal. Sign up at nashualibrary.beanstack.org.
