By Jennifer Crompton, WMUR HAMPTON, N.H. — Between safety protocols and staffing issues, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a big impact on the tourist industry in New Hampshire, but seasonal business owners say they’re hoping for a better summer this year. Hampton Beach business owners said they’re preparing for what they believe will be a...Read More

By Jonathan Phelps, New Hampshire Union Leader Over the objections of dozens of business owners and residents, concrete barriers will return to downtown Nashua to allow expanded outdoor dining. The ordinance permits the barriers for the next three years. Unlike the past two years, all the barriers will be painted the same brick-red color. The...Read More

By Jonathan Phelps, New Hampshire Union Leader Jeff Bois bought Stella Blu martini bar in downtown Nashua 7½ months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He shifted to takeout and then outdoor dining in the summer of 2020. Concrete barriers blocking parking spaces on East Pearl Street gave the restaurant enough room for about 50 outdoor...Read More

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), co-chair of the bipartisan House Small Business Caucus, on Thursday helped pass HR 3807, which would replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and establish a “Hard-Hit Industries Award Program” to keep employees on the payroll at businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Small businesses are the backbone of our...Read More

By Megan Fernandes, Fosters Daily Democrat For business owners across the Seacoast, the pandemic in New Hampshire and southern Maine felt like an earthquake, shaking their foundation, leaving industries feeling aftershocks. The nationwide labor shortage was one of the largest of those challenges locally, most noticeable by the abundance of help wanted signs in the windows of...Read More

Jeff McMenemy, Portsmouth Herald PORTSMOUTH — When people visit this Seacoast New Hampshire city, they want to embrace its rich historic character, but they also want to enjoy “an upscale and unique experience” when they choose where to stay. Doug Palardy is the owner of The Inn Downtown, an 1809 former two-family home that has been transformed...Read More