New Stores Replace Water St. Businesses
On recent weekend strolls down Water Street, Exonians have been noticing many “Help Wanted” signs tacked onto window panes and vacated storefronts downtown. While town officials claim that store closures and staffing shortages only pertain to a few businesses, other Exeter residents believe they may be a broader reflection of soaring property values and the town’s deteriorating financial health.
Exeter Town Manager Russ Dean depicted the state of Exeter’s current financial affairs in a positive light. “It’s never really been better than right now. We just saw property values increased by about 24 percent in total and, in some categories, upwards of 30 percent,” he said. “I’m in my fifteenth year as Town Manager, and I have not seen what we saw just in the past couple of years in the prior thirteen.”
Dean emphasized that the town is undergoing change, not decline. “There’s a lot of activity in downtown Exeter, but there’s also some transitioning going on, which I think happens when the economy is good,” he said. “In fact, when you fix up your front door, when you put new sidewalks in your downtown, when you take a dam out and restore the river to its natural course, all of a sudden, your desirability index increases.”
Still, it has been hard for Exonians not to notice the closure of many popular stores. Offbeat Owl, a cozy haven previously frequented by Exonians seeking to unwind by painting pottery or grabbing a scoop of Dippin’ Dots ice cream, closed this past summer. Denimrack, a local clothing store, will also move out of its current location at the end of this month, resorting to an online-only sales platform.
According to Dean, these recent and impending store closures do not constitute a worrying trend. “Businesses are going to come and go, depending on what the business is and what the model is… We’ve had a few closures, which is pretty normal. These are all scheduled to be replaced, and we have many new businesses popping up,” Dean said, referencing the town’s balance sheet, improved borrowing rates, lower unemployment rates and higher wages as other indicators of financial prosperity.
Denimrack is set to be replaced by Donut Love, a donut business which has another store in North Hampton, while Offbeat Owl will be replaced by Hempire, which sells Cannabidiol and hemp products for medicinal purposes.
Exeter’s Economic Development Director Darren Winham attributed the closures to climbing living costs in the Exeter locale. “Water Street is a high-end retail thoroughfare... Retailers are having trouble countrywide, and to pay that amount of [rent], to live in that space, you have to make so much more each month to justify it,” he said.
Some town residents similarly suggested a correlation between recent transitions and the hefty financial obligations that come with setting up shop in Exeter. “I think there’s been a really high turnover rate for businesses on Water Street because property tax is so high. Exeter relies heavily on property tax because, when there’s no income or sales tax, they rely on that,” artist Natasha Stoppel said. “My bills in New Hampshire are triple what they were for the same living situation in Oklahoma and Georgia. I do believe it is the reliance on property tax that makes the rent astronomical.”
Dean challenged the suggestion that Exeter’s rent and property taxes are higher than that of neighboring areas, however. “Towns like Newmarket and Exeter have very similar tax rates. It’s hard to imagine a big difference, in terms of being a burden to business,” he said. “The rents are set by the marketplace—whatever landlords are going to charge them… Rents are high because we have very little supply and high demand for space.” Given a recent incline in property value, Dean anticipates a reduction in tax rate in Exeter’s near future, but clarified that this may not necessarily lower the dues owed by taxpayers.
In addition to high rent, local businesses have been struggling with understaffing. “What everybody wants—whatever business customer I deal with—is staff. A lot of people seem to be short staffed. Everybody’s hiring, but nobody wants to work,” Citizens Bank Small Business Relationship Banker Olga Bergere said.
Beyond the downtown locale, staffing shortages have also been an issue in the Academy’s dining halls. “We are experiencing staff shortages in Dining Services. Operations are working fine, but being short staffed for extended periods of time can take a toll on employees who are taking on extra shifts to support operations,” Director of Dining Services Melinda Leonard said, noting that the recent hiring or promotion of five employees has provided some relief.
Denimrack owner Marybeth Kushner noted that understaffing was not the cause of her decision to close shop. “If you do walk up and down the street, there are quite a few businesses with ‘help wanted’ signs in the window,” she said. “We actually have quite a few people that come in on a weekly basis asking if we’re looking for part time help, so for us, staffing hasn’t been an issue.”
A high demand for labor in the Exeter vicinity as a whole has caused business owners to operate more competitively when it comes to employing and retaining workers. “I don’t think it’s just getting them in the door—you have to retain them. You’ve got to offer them benefits,” Krypton Comics owner Joe Galvin said. “When the economy’s not great, people are looking for jobs—they’re looking to stay with a job… Right now, I think the employees have the advantage.”
Winham believes that understaffing issues have been exacerbated by Exeter’s high housing prices. “We have in this state a workforce and housing crisis… If you make six [to] eight bucks an hour with tips, you still have to rent an apartment. And if you’re renting a two-bedroom apartment in Exeter and you’re paying the market rate, you’re probably in the vicinity of 2,000 dollars a month,” he said. “That’s a lot of money. And it’s very hard to make that money with a working wage.”
Demand for housing in Exeter also typically exceeds supply, making it difficult for interested hires to find convenient living arrangements. “When 27 Chestnut Street opened, there were ninety-six units, and it was leased out on the first day. Townhomes on Franklin Street have also all been sold,” Dean said.
To address these issues, Exeter has sought to offer alternative, lower-cost housing options. “We have such a diverse housing stock already that I think it’s genuinely helpful to the situation that we’re in, where values are so high and housing is in short supply. I think we offer some different options within the housing strata,” Dean said.
Dean also noted the widespread availability of mobile homes in the local area. “We have a thousand mobile homes in this town... I think a lot of [people] actually choose to live in a mobile home because it supports the economic lifestyle that they have made—they have something they can call their own,” he said.
Dean voiced pride in the wide variety of housing options Exeter offers to the local workforce. “We are the leader in the area for workforce housing— Newmarket and Exeter both do a lot,” he said. “We work with developers that are looking to build housing to try to get them to come into that workforce dynamic, which can be done by restricting deeds to a certain percentage of your income. You’re only able to buy a unit if you make below the threshold income.” Dean has facilitated several town discussions as of late about affordable housing and socioeconomic disparities to gather feedback from residents.
However, some believe that the people who attend official town meetings do not reflect the diversity and disparate financial circumstances of the town population. “I think there’s an educational gap for some people—it’s hard for them to understand the policies. I just don’t think that they can afford to go,” Stoppel said. “The people represented in government are more financially stable. Because if you’re living in Exeter and you’re struggling to live here, you’re not going to have time to go to the meetings and talk about those things.”
Ultimately, Stoppel urged local residents to rely less on town governance and be proactive as individuals in fostering a healthier and more stable financial climate. “I don’t think it’s just about bringing down financial costs for buildings, but it’s also about businesses working together to promote each other, to promote the town of Exeter as a place to visit,” she said. “I think that will promote a better financial future for Exeter.”