Cooking Matters Closing After 10 Years on Main Street

Tony Adams launched Cooking Matters at 97 Main Street more than a decade ago, a second career for him. Now, he's preparing for the next chapter of his career.

In less than two weeks, the popular downtown gourmet eatery will go dark. Without getting into too many details, Adams said when a business no longer is profitable, it's time to move on. 

"If you're not profitable, there's no reason to exist," said Adams. When pressed, he said the downtown sidewalk project was a factor. 

"Look, the results are undeniable. It looks better, it's safer. But it would be sugar coating it if I said all the construction didn't affect my business. I depend on foot traffic. You can't expect people to walk through a cloud of cement dust to come through the door for lunch," Adams said. 

Many of his patrons were fellow downtown business owners and workers who looked forward to his daily soup, salad and sandwich specials, which included gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian options.

For all the "Best Of Nashua" awards hanging on his wall, there are plenty more he never had time to put up, Adams says.

A large front window created a warm and inviting seating area, and Adams carried a line of gourmet and specialty food items as well.

While Adams said he's not ready to talk about what's next, he did reflect a little on his reasons for closing, effective Nov. 1.

"When I first got here, the downtown was hopping – there was a lot of action, a lot going on. Now – well, just look around. There are a lot of empty spaces," Adams said. "All the sidewalks in the world don't matter if you can't get businesses that can survive. Pretty soon it's going to be nothing but banks and bars."

In the past several months other businesses on his block have closed, including Baby Butsu Boutique, Bippity, Boppity, Baby, Saffron Bistro, Slawsby Insurance, COE and McKenzie's bar.

He said it's his opinion that there needs to be more collaboration between merchants, landlords and the city to revive the downtown.

"Landlords can rent to whoever they want, and you don't want to encroach on their right to do that, but there needs to be more of a partnership with business owners and city government. If I were a landlord, I'd rent to a bank in a nanosecond. But you can see many of the businesses that have come and gone weren't going to last," Adams said. "You need businesses with long-term sensibilities."

He believes part of the responsibility lies with the city, to make sure the downtown offers a good mix of businesses with drawing power as well as staying power.

"We're closing Nov. 1. I'm going to scale back a little, while trying to keep as much variety available until then," Adams said. "Yes, there were plenty of sleepless nights and number crunching that went into this decision. It didn't come easily."