Some NH restaurants decide to close for winter

By: Kristen Carosa, WMUR

Owners hoping to reemerge stable in spring

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Some Granite State restaurants are making the tough decision to close their businesses during the winter because of the COVID-19 pandemic. News 9 spoke with two business owners about why they will not open their doors again until the spring.

Kath Gallant from Blue Moon Evolution in downtown Exeter has owned the restaurant from more than two decades.

“I think the last 6 months working have been the most challenging in our 25 years,” Gallant said. “I was what they call ‘bleeding out’ in the past 6 weeks and my expenses were more than my income.”

Because of COVID-19, she has made the decision to close until April. Employees will be furloughed, many will receive unemployment.

“The hope is the whole team can come back to a stable business come spring,” Gallant said.

President of the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association Mike Somers said other restaurants are in the same situation.

“There are a lot of downward pressures, sales are off for a lot of people, finding enough staff to keep operations even at limited capacities has become challenging depending on the area of the state you are in,” Somers said.

Click here to watch the full segment on WMUR.com.