Setting Sustainable Dominoes

Do you remember when people used to spend days setting up dominoes in a school gym, then push the first one and see if they all fell? The dominoes made various loops and turns, then joined again and carried on 'till it was all over–if they did it right.  Listening to the "Re-Thinking Concord Main Street" talk yesterday it hit me how downtown revitalization is much like the domino thing: if you don't do everything perfectly, it will fizzle out somewhere.

The jolt that sent me to domino-land was when Jennifer Kretovic of Concord 2020 summarized the (many) past economic studies and proposals for downtown Concord. She listed numerous proposals, ideas, and budget items such as developing the waterfront corridor, building downtown residential units, branding, increased marketing and more. When she said that research led them to think that the highest priority would be improving the physical Main Street, it was a surprise. But Jennifer and Jessica Eshleman of Main Street Concord made their case. There isn't any amount of business recruitment or glitzy marketing that will get Downtown where it needs to go and keep it there; it won't be sustainable.

Today, I finally got to the Rustic Leaf Bistro in Milford NH to see how Joshua Enright and his wife Danielle are doing. The Enrights created the Seedling Cafe in Nashua where Joshua worked his culinary magic on lunch items, emphasizing fresh, local ingredients including produce from Danielle's garden. Sustainable is a word they both use often. After 4 and 1/2 years, Joshua's desire to create dinner menus, as well as the family's need for more room with the birth of their first child, led them to look for a new location.                                   

                                                   Danielle & sous-chef JJ greet guests

Well, Nashua, Manchester, Concord, New York, Paris-- cry your eyes out, because Milford NH was the town with their dominoes lined up. The Enrights found a perfect property (previous restaurant, priced right), excellent location (2 minute commute vs 45, in downtown Milford just a block off the oval) and a town with a sense of community. Today, a wonderful Sunday brunch featuring all sorts of delicious, healthy, fresh, local, nitrate-free non-carbs and knock-your-socks off coffee was packing in the BYPs– ("bipps", the Beautiful, Young Professionals}–and an assortment of older patrons. 

 The Enrights are a tremendous catalyst in Milford. Maybe catalysts are what will save city planners who are quagmired in the detail and complexity of their task. Catalysts with a vision will be sought by heavy duty recruiters, and they'll have signing days on television just like athletes. They'll get signing bonuses, a free condo in the Trumply Tower, a limousine driver and a guaranteed spot for JJ in the best schools. Okay, you say that's far-fetched, but remember, you read it here first. Meanwhile, don't be surprised if you read about a condo coming to Downtown Milford for all those BYPs.