New Businesses – Page 2 – Salem Main Streets

And Now For Something Completely Different: Small Biz Saturday.

Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping No Responses »

Nov 262016

As different as night and day, so too are the approaches to the stressful intensity of Black Friday and the laid-back pick & choose aspect of Small Business Saturday (which takes place, Nov 26, this year.)

A large number of Salem businesses await you with specials and good deals, plus giveaways and refreshments as a way of saying thank you for patronage all year long to regular customers— and a way of greeting new customers with open arms in hopes of facilitating customer engagement.

Did you drag yourself away from Thanksgiving Dinner or from a pleasant full- stomach midnight sleep to stand in line in hopes of being among the lucky few to nab a door-buster of a deal? Feeling tired about now? Get some rest and walk– not elbow– your way into many, many stores in Salem on Saturday as they participate in Small Business Saturday.

What was created in 2010 by American Express to give a kick in the pants to a recession-suffering economy has grown into a “big deal” day with shoppers last year spending $16.2 billion at small retailers, up from $5.5 billion just three years earlier.

Reportedly, 95 million shoppers and 1.3 million retailers participated in 2015!

By supporting small business retailers on Small Business Saturday you will be participating in a local event that is at the same time being enacted in every community across America.

As they say on a TV game show, “come on down” and as an extra incentive, there is free parking at all Salem city garages, parking lots and meters today.

Treat Yourself During Salem Fall Restaurant Week

Contests, Salem Event, Salem Shopping No Responses »

Nov 142016

From freaky fun destination to fabulous foodie stop, Salem Ma converts itself in November from what you saw in October. Gone are the ghouls. Enter the entrees as Salem Fall Restaurant & Wine Week launches Sunday, November 13 – Thursday, November 17.

For these 5 days only, participating Salem Ma. restaurants will offer either a two-course prix-fixe dinner menu for $19, or a three-course prix-fixe dinner menu for $29, or a three-course, prix fixe dinner and wine flight for $49 (note these prices – except for the wine selection – do not include drinks, taxes, or gratuities).

Salem has, over the last few years, established itself on the North Shore as an entertaining culinary destination and people really look forward to our Fall Restaurant Week event. And why not? From one dining locale to another, you will be treated to a wide variety of delicious foods – from steak to seafood, American to ethnic, there is something for everyone. Restaurants offer multiple choices for appetizers, entrees as well as desserts.

Salem Fall Restaurant & Wine Week is sponsored by the Salem Chamber of Commerce.

Reservations are encouraged; contact the restaurants directly. Please mention “Restaurant Week” when making your reservations.

Take a Sip of History on New Salem Spirits Trolley

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Sep 072016

The booming craft maker scene in Salem is getting its own tour! Salem Spirits Trolley launches a new excursion focusing on locally made cider, spirits, and beer beginning Friday, Sept. 9th.

“We are thrilled to offer this fantastic new tour to both locals and visitors,” says Salem Spirits Trolley founder and owner Karen Scalia. “Salem’s renowned and award-winning food scene now has a great companion with its outstanding craft beer, cider and spirits scene.”

The tour will include stops at Far From the Tree Cider, Deacon Giles Distillery and Notch Brewing.

Hosted by emcee comedian Mark Scalia, the Salem Spirits Trolley offers an entertaining and unique look at Salem, from the waterfront to the historic McIntire District. The 3-hour tour includes a special spice tasting, which showcases what spices are used in the making and distillation or brewing process, followed by tastings at each tour location.

Transported by the Salem Trolley, guests have the opportunity to talk with the local crafters about their process and passion, and get a behind-the-scenes perspective on the distilling and brewing process, as well as its relevance to the story of Salem.

Like Scalia’s Salem Food Tours, the experience is not just about the local samples, but about the connections between the spirits, the spice trade, and Salem’s history.

Additional tour partners include Salem Spice and the Cheese Shop of Salem, sharing more of Salem’s rich retail and culinary scene with participants.

The concept came to Scalia, who founded Salem Food Tours in 2010, after two of the local makers, Far From the Tree Cider and Deacon Giles Distillery, impressed her with their extraordinary products and special locations.

“Like our terrific Salem chefs, I wanted to shine a light on what they were doing,” says Scalia, “Since the locations of the tasting room and distillery were not in close proximity, the concept of a trolley tour was born. The addition of Notch Brewing to downtown Salem rounded out a fantastic experience.”

The Salem Spirits Trolley will offer regularly scheduled public tours beginning Friday, Sept. 9th, and private tours are available for groups. All ticket-holders must be 21+ and must sign a waiver before embarking on the tour. For more information, visit salemspiritstrolley.com.

Bargain Hunters Be Advised – Essex Street Fair Returns

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Aug 122016

StreetFairPostcards 2016 v2

As Salem Heritage Days winds down to its closing events, it does not slow down. This weekend, Saturday, August 13 & Sunday, August 14 from 10am – 6pm you will find the Essex Street Fair along the Pedestrian Mall. Rain or shine. The bargains will be on display!

This two-day festival is where over 40 artisans, craftors, and food vendors from in and around Salem join local merchants to sell their merchandise.

Fun for all ages, this street festival has something for everyone. Crafts, jewelry, paintings, stained glass, and other unique items will be featured along the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall all weekend long.

For more information, contact the Salem Chamber of Commerce at info@salem-chamber.org.

Derby Square: Plenty of History & a Flea Market There

Salem Dining, Salem Event, Salem Farmers Market, Salem Shopping No Responses »

Jul 162016

History surrounds us in Salem Ma. You really can’t walk around much without bumping into it. It’s in the walls. It’s on the streets. For example, this month’s edition of the Derby Square Flea Salvage Art Market Saturday, July 16 (10am to 5pm), which normally features eclectic vendors of vintage, salvage, fashion, art & up-cycled objects, will also celebrate Derby Square’s 200^th anniversary.

10:30am Ribbon Cutting with Salem Mayor Kimberly Driscoll
2pm Birthday Cake courtesy of CoffeeTime Bakery
3:30pm Drawing of vintage limited-edition signed print of Old Town Hall by Eleanor Meadowcroft
5pm Happy Hour around the Square

Yes, that little patch of land where farmers’ markets, flea markets, summer concerts, Salem Arts Festival and other events take place, has a history.

According to historian Dona Seger, in a very informative piece she wrote recently for the Streets of Salem website, “John Derby III and Benjamin Pickman, Jr., scions of wealthy Salem families, business partners and brothers-in-law, offered the land on which the majestic and short-lived Derby Mansion formerly stood to the town of Salem in 1816 with the provision that a suitable civic building be built–civic in this context clearly implying both public and commercial functions. The city accepted the offer, and so the new Derby Square was developed over 1816-1817 with the new Town Hall/Market House at its center.”

She goes on to tell an interesting tale of how it developed, changed, flowed with the times, buckled a little, but still kept to tradition.

In keeping with that tradition of Derby Square housing a marketplace, the Derby Square Flea Salvage Art Market came into existence.

Becky Putnam, Carol Hedstrom and Stacia Kraft took their shared passion for “history, architecture and all things vintage” to create a one time pop up market in September 2015. So successful was it that they formed CDP Productions and proposed a full season of outdoor vintage and art markets to the City. A May-September schedule was established.

At this month’s edition of the Derby Square Flea Salvage Art market, you will find both local Salem and traveling vendors, presented with a backdrop of vintage music and interactive vendors.

For additional info, go to derbysquarefleasalvageart.com.

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