The Salt Hill Pub franchise plans to open a new café in downtown Lebanon this spring, serving a combination of coffee and desserts.
Opening a coffeehouse has been a long-time ambition for the Tuohy brothers, who co-own the Salt Hill Pub franchise. Co-owner Josh Tuohy, who runs the business with his brother Joe Tuohy, said that the original Salt Hill Pub opened at 7 a.m. and served coffee and breakfast.
“That was a really enjoyable part of the business for us,” Josh Tuohy said.
The café will take up the space of a vacated yoga studio. Having long been interested in the property, which is adjacent to the current Lebanon Salt Hill Pub location, the Tuohy brothers quickly pounced on it when it came up on the market, Josh Tuohy said. There are also Salt Hill Pub locations in Hanover, Newbury, Newport and West Lebanon.
The new coffee shop will be connected to the current Lebanon Salt Hill Pub restaurant, which serves Irish-themed pub food. The hope is that the two establishments will complement each other, Josh Tuohy said.
While the menu has not yet been decided, Josh Tuohy said that the shop will provide coffee and espresso in partnership with Woodshed Roasting Company, a coffee roasting company with locations throughout New Hampshire. The café will also serve a range of desserts and light bites.
Salt Hill Pub’s café is not the first coffee venture in Lebanon. While Hanover has long been home to coffee shops such as Dirt Cowboy Café, Starbucks and the King Arthur Flour location on the College campus, other coffee shops have sprung up in Lebanon including Jake’s Coffee Company and Lucky’s Coffee Garage.
Rob Taylor, executive director of the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce, said that the opening of the café is “definitely a positive thing.” He added that Lucky’s Coffee Garage, a recent addition to the community, has boosted commerce in the area and attracted more people to Lebanon’s streets. He said he expects that Salt Hill Pub’s café will add to this.
At the moment, not many Dartmouth students seem enthused by the new café, as Lebanon is relatively far away. Colin Fennelly ’21 said he thinks it is unlikely to build much of a following among most Dartmouth students right now, as Lebanon is only accessible to students with a car or those willing to take a long bus ride on the Advanced Transit bus system.
Jenny Engelman ’21 also said that she would not travel to Lebanon to try the new café.
Urie Choi ’21 agreed with the sentiment, saying it is unlikely Dartmouth students will go to Lebanon to visit the new location.
However, the possibility of a Salt Hill Pub café coming to Hanover is not out of the question.
“It’s certainly possible,” Josh Tuohy said. “I haven’t researched it or looked for any spaces in Hanover, but if [the Lebanon café] does well, and we hope it will, we’ll definitely consider it.”
