The Steady Rise Of Amherst's Business District

Amherst’s business district along Route 101A has gone a long way from the rural area it once was, and nowadays you will find a variety of stores instead of chicken coops and egg farms.

Amherst Patch spent some time with Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce director May Balsama to talk about the recent rise of new business in town.

“When we were in the middle of finalizing our master plan in 2012, one citizen referred to this end of town as ‘the ghetto’ because she was upset with the rate of economic growth,” said Balsama, “but now it has now grown into the Amherst we want to see today and the future.”

Good news is welcome after a steady flow of troublesome news from an economy trying to recover from the 2008 recession.

New businesses has been popping up all over Route 101A this year. These include The Chocolate Fanatic, The Meat House, VouliDance, Hendrix Molded Products, Susan’s Consignment Jewelry/Style Salon and Color Me Clayful to name a few.

“The growth out here on Route 101A has been absolutely spectacular. It speaks well to the confidence people have in our area. We are bouncing back.”

The biggest change on this highway is the revitalization of the Amherst Plaza, which was devastated and abandoned after a fire in 2008. The lot is currently being restored and will include a Goodwill store opening next year alongside a new bank and retail space.

Balsama said that this is a fantastic warehouse and retail operation that will bring more consumers and jobs into town. Seeing vacancies and plazas once again teeming with business keeps money within Amherst borders and helps support the rest of the town’s infrastructure. Many of these local businesses contribute both their money and time to support the community around them.

As many longtime Amherst residents like Balsama know, this area has not always been the bustling business-driven center it is today. The growth of the business district along Route 101A has been a gradual process for such a rural community.

“Route 101A was slow growth. When I moved out here in 1974 it was a caricature of rural life: eat here and get gas. It was a slow crawl of converting properties that were once chicken coops into businesses.”

For those who want to know, Antiques at Mayfair was the store that used to be a chicken coop, and the lot that now houses stores like Sports Authority was originally an egg farm.

The game changed when retail giant Walmart came into town in 1992. This was Amherst’s first big business for shoppers and began to transform the area from rural to commercial. Traffic lights were added and the Route 101A went from a two to a four lane road that has become one of the busiest in the state. More and more businesses would soon flock to this area and provide the variety of goods and services people want, without driving far out of town.

Where do we go from here? There is still plenty of room for growth in this tiny corner of New Hampshire, according to Balsama. She is hoping to see more and more specialty shops, similar to the ones found in Bedford, that will add an even more unique shopping experience for visitors to Amherst. She wouldn’t mind seeing some new plazas built to house them that fit into the community's aesthetic

An alternative fresh market would also provide an excellent new resource for those looking for local, healthier options.

She also cites Bon Terrain Drive, which is currently occupied by F.W Webb Company, as an area ripe for business expansion with the proper planning. Speaking of planning, Balsama is a big fan of Amherst’s newest planning director, Sarah Marchant, as a tremendous asset to the business community and working towards a better future for the town.

In the end, it is the businesses themselves that have lent to the growth of Amherst and its economy. Small business keeps the economic engine running and will keep it driving in the long run.

“There are a lot of business out here  that display the typical qualities of the good service and friendly faces. Those are the ones that have lasted because they make you feel like they appreciate your business.”