Cafe Valverde Coffee Roasters 196 Essex St Salem MA 01970 How about a hot cup of Joe? Cafe Valverde opened today in what was formerly Fuel, on Essex Street. This is the first retail location for Nelson and Eleni, online coffee importers from the North Shore who focus on beans from Bolivia, Costa Rica, Brazil, [...]
I look at a lot of websites. Too many. If you have a business in Salem, I’ve probably seen your website. I’ve probably looked you up while researching a blog post or to find when your shop is open or to see when your band is playing out. One thing I’ve learned is that most [...]
Earlier this year it appeared that one of Salem’s destination shops Fools Mansion was to close it’s doors forever. Thankfully for us locals and many tourists, on the day John the former owner was to close up shop a young Salem couple stepped up to the plate and bought the store. Matt told me that [...]
Thanks to fellow TheSalemInsider.com contributor Forrest Frazier for the great photos supplied for this article. Recently I was asked to come and cover the ribbon cutting ceremony with the Mayor, Chamber of Commerce and some business owners over at one of Salem’s newest and most unique shops in the down town area, Witch City Ink. [...]
Just because we are smack dab in the middle of restaurant week doesn’t mean we can’t talk about your cooking your own food at home (maybe next week sometime). The number one thing that all chefs will tell you is that in order for your meals to go from good to great you need to [...]
I while back I wrote a post regarding some of the disappearing businesses from Salem’s down town area. As a follow up I’d like to talk about some of the new businesses emerging and expanding. Perhaps I was correct when I stated “now is the time to pick up retail space in the pedestrian mall.” [...]
Bunghole Liquors 204 Derby Street 978.744.2251 I enjoy the bunghole for something fun and different once in a while. It’s also fun to share a friends first bunghole experience with them, I love to see the look on their face. The bunghole never fails to get a smile. I love Bunghole Liquors. With the recent [...]
Salem Wine Imports 32 Church Street 978.741.wine Well, after much anticipation and a huge flame war on one of Salem’s message boards, Salem Wine Imports is now open. Now we at TheSalemInsider.com are not oneologists but we do like a good glass of wine now and again. Thankfully the owner of Salem Wine Imports was [...]
A few weeks back I mentioned that Samantha’s was up for sale. Since then a few other retail establishments have disappeared. The latest one to go is the Henry Derby House Boutique. Looks like it’s a bad time to be an existing business on the mall. On the flip side, I bet you could pick [...]
Apparently the famed Samantha’s Costume shop is up for sale. While there is no information on their website, the front window at their 177 Essex Street location is now sporting the big “For Sale” sign you see above. I don’t know anything about the costume business but my guess is that you probably wont see [...]