MANCHESTER, NH — Downtown is beginning to look a lot like a retail destination with the addition of a pop-up gift shop at 860 Elm St. Fans of Apotheca flower shop in Goffstown will be tickled to know they now can find some of the same lovely items in the new downtown storefront.
A temporary shop opened up Dec. 6 where Lorena’s Cantina restaurant was, as a way of seeing if there is a market for this kind of retailer, says Liz Hitchcock.
“We wanted something in there that fits with the core values we’re trying to grow in the downtown,” said Hitchcock, who owns the storefront as part of Pinwheel Properties. “Apotheca cares so much about the customer experience and we wanted to give them a chance to see if we can make retail work in that space.”
The cool part, says Hitchcock is how quickly it came together – from idea to reality.
“We had reached out about a half-week beforehand with no real plan in place – just to see if there was interest, but it just organically happened and came together,” Hitchcock said.
According to Apotheca’s Instagram story post, “When the Bookery calls, you say yes!,” according to owner Alyssa Van Guilder, who added the caption to a photograph of the Apotheca sign going up. You can see more photos and video via their Instagram page, where they are featuring a mix of gifts, flowers and home decor.
“We’re super excited to work with another local New Hampshire establishment that cares so deeply for customers and customer experience,” Hitchcock said.
Seeing a retail revival in the downtown is an often repeated goal of city officials and residents alike. Apotheca joins several other existing retailers who are open for business with plenty of time to shop before the holiday season ends.
List via Intown Manchester’s Downtown Retail Guide
Antiques on Elm
321 Elm Street
603-606-1736
972 Elm Street
603-606-785
