It's a west side story in a city that has poured most of its development efforts into its east side.
The Rimmon Heights district in Manchester is coming into its own, attracting new businesses even while the city's downtown area is losing some storefronts.
NHPR Correspondent Ellen Grimm reports.
On a weekday afternoon, Chez Vachon is bustling.
For several decades, the popular restaurant has anchored the Kelley Street throughfare between the west side of Manchester and Goffstown.
It's also part of the area's ethnic heritage, serving French Canadian cuisine.
Manager Linda Monahan describes one of its trademark dishes, called poutine.
MONAHAN1: It's french fries, cheese, and gravy. We call it heart attack on a plate.
Next door is a Pakistani-Indian grocery -- there for about two years -- reflecting a changing ethnic landscape.
City planners and officials have chosen this densely populated plateau for a major neighborhood revitalization project.
Meena Gyawali is a city planner.
GYAWALI1: Downtown is where our financial district is, but in order to keep the city competitive we have to make sure our neighborhoods are strong because that's where the people live. We're not trying to make Kelley Street into another Elm Street, we're just trying to strengthen it as catering to the neighborhood.
That would suit Linda Monahan it seems.
She doesn't want too dramatic a change on the street.
She's been working at Chez Vachon for more than 20 years.
MONAHAN2: Elm Street is like chaos. It's total chaos. I just like that easy, flowing, family feeling. We're just trying to make it safer for the kids and for people. Try to cross Kelley Street. You just -- you can't do it. So we're getting some crosswalks and some sidewalks and some new lights.
Ryan Belanger bought Jake's on Kelley Street when he heard about the city's West Side initiative.
The bike store had been here spot for more than 50 years.
Belanger, who grew up in Manchester, gutted and renovated the store.
FAN SOUNDS, SHOP SOUNDS
BELANGER1: There used to be a lot of businesess on Kelley Street. It's probably in the same place Elm Street used to be, 15 years ago. Now, the city and everybody's woken up. There's almost 10,000 people who live just in this small little district. And that's only part of the West Side. And these people want somewhere to go.
Within a few blocks of Jake's, several new businesses have opened including a stained-glass shop and a pizzeria.
A large renovated building with landscaping and outdoor tables and chairs holds a new jewelery store and sub shop.
It’s also home to a police substation to help discourage crime.
But Kelly Street still has some stretches that are decidedly less spiffy, with one block-long industrial building that could be hard to beautify.
City Planner Meena Gyawali.
GYAWALI2: Downtown Elm Street has lost six or seven businesses in the last year, so the fact that we gained four new businesses in the neighborhood, I see that as a positive.
Ryan Belanger at the bike shop was one of the first to take advantage of a special West Side/Rimmon Heights loan program.
St. Mary's Bank is offering it to both businesses and homeowners.
Since about March, the bank has approved about $1 million in commercial loans -- but that's less than they'd expected.
So last month, St. Mary's announced it's lowering interest rates and making other changes to help spur interest.
Tom Champagne is the bank's director of community outreach.
CHAMPAGNE: When we put together the, St. Mary's put together, the $12 million loan package, we mentioned at that time we knew this was a long-term commitment. We knew it was going to be at least five years or more, so that's what we're prepared for.
Meanwhile about 10 businesses have applied for the city's facade-improvement matching funds.
Five businesses have already made improvements..
Lionel Grassi opened his Tano's pizzeria on Kelley Street last August.
At the time he didn’t know about the revitalization project.
PIZZA SHOP SOUNDS
GRASSI: People said, well, I think you picked the right place because Kelley Street is going to be totally different a few years from now, so it took me by surprise at that time. ..A couple of changes, yeah, They put the arches on both ends of the street.
Those arches have stirred some grumbling.
The 24-foot black steel arches contain the district's new name Rimmon Heights.
After some debate, the area was named after a nearby outcropping of rock known as the Rock Rimmon.
As for the arches, Linda Monahan at Chez Vachon says she’s not sure she likes them yet
MONAHAN3: ….. I don't know. We don't need the archways to let everybody know we're here. I mean we're here no matter whether those arches are here or not. I don't know, I never really look at them.
Lorrenzo Uzarek, who recently opened an antiques and collectibles shop on Kelley Street called Pick N Poke, isn't sure what they accomplish.
UZAREK: All I think it's doing it's splitting up Manchester just like Boston. Boston has Roxbury, Mattapan, all that. All they're doing is subdividing Manchester.
City Planner Meena Gyawali says she has heard an earful about the arches but says they also have a practical purpose.
GYAWALI3: We wanted to tell people, look you're entering a different neighborhood that is different from the 114 or the Pinardville strip. You're actually entering a neighborhood, so slow down a little bit.
And if the arches haven't yet slowed traffic, the city also plans to add pedestrian crossings and widen sidewalks.
SOUNDS OF TRAFFIC?
For NHPR News in Manchester, I'm Ellen Grimm.
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