The Suite Cafe
Drive down busy Loudon Road and you may almost miss The Office Suite, 211 Loudon Road, Suite D. Brand-spankin’ new as of Sept. 1, The Office Suite is a place for professionals to meet, network, work in a quiet space and/or drink smoothies.
While getting her master’s at Plymouth State University during 2009-2010, Kim Lyden-Ricker devised a business plan for a place where business folks could rent out meeting and office space by the hour.
“Use only what you need, pay for only what you need,” Lyden-Ricker explained. With more people working from home and on the road, she wanted to provide an office-like environment without the overhead cost.
“The concept is how I believe business is going to be,” Lyden-Ricker said. “A lot of people are moving toward self-employment.”
Feeling she was on to something, Lyden-Ricker joined forces with her daughter, Molly Ricker, tacked on a quaint and cozy café and The Office Suite was born.
The suite has rooms for meetings, conferences, seminars and even a quiet single-person sanctuary with just a desk and a computer. All rooms are fully-furnished, so you can rest-assured that you’re bringing clients someplace with a professional vibe. Plus, the ladies make sure you have everything you need, from a copy machine to stamps and envelopes.
Rates start at $10 and go up to $185 depending on what room you want, and how long you plan to hang out.
You don’t need to rent space to visit the café, however. The Suite Café is open to the public and has a modest menu of sandwiches, soups, Dr. Smoothie organic smoothies, locally-brewed Mad River coffee and more. We had a hard time tearing our eyes away from Lyden-Ricker’s colossal homemade whoopie pies. Although classic chocolate is often available, Lyden-Ricker likes to shake things up occasionally by experimenting with different recipes. According to Lyden-Ricker, her pina colada and oatmeal raisin whoopie pies have been definite crowd-pleasers.
Besides providing a spot for business folk and café-goers to visit, the ladies plan to hold open mic nights, too. The Suite Café already hosted a poetry night, but a comedy open mic is in the works for Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. Molly is still looking for comedians, so give her a jingle.
For more information, call 226-3333 or visit theofficesuite.com.
-CASSIE PAPPATHAN
KAZA
The South End is home to lots of Concord gems – Vinnie’s Pizzaria, the Sandwich Depot, the Segway store – but none rival the offbeat hipness that is KAZA.
Located at 202 S. Main St., the store is home to a mix of unusual home decor items, funky jewelry and antiques, and personal care items like perfumes and lotions.
Walk into the shop and you’ll be greeted with a sensory treat. Vibrant, colorful, sweet-smelling soaps perfume the air. Paper chains hang from the ceiling, and you’ll find a dress made from a recycled phone book (if your last name starts with the letters A – G, it’s being modeled at the store).
KAZA, which has been at its current location for just over three years, sells goods that are either made locally (like the Earthway Soap products made by Concord’s own Sharon Clough, or the colorful chest painted by Iraqi artist Saad Hindal), or are fairly traded.
The store’s goal is to stay away from mass-produced products and to “push people’s imagination and encourage them to stick a toe outside the box,” said owner Lisa Swan. “We’re known to have unusual things.”
While you’re there, be sure to pay attention to the art on the walls – the store features work from local artists that are swapped out on a monthly basis.
Daily hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The store is closed Sundays and Mondays. For more information, call 228-5292, or visit kazadesigns.com
-AMY AUGUSTINE
Cafe Indigo
Café Indigo makes being vegan look like a piece of carrot cake.
After searching far and wide for a vegan wedding cake for her daughter’s wedding, owner Patti Dann whipped up her own concoction. The cake was a hit and, long story short, Café Indigo was born.
The café and bakery specializes in – you guessed it – vegan cookery. Many of you already know about Café Indigo’s famous carrot cake (its baked goods are stocked at the Concord Cooperative Market, Whole Foods and various dining establishments and stores across New England) but have you ever been there for lunch?
Despite having name recognition, it’s Café Indigo’s location that makes it a hidden gem. The 128H Hall St. café is sort of off the beaten path. Wedged between several other businesses in an office park, it’s not the sort of place you just stumble upon.
Walk in, and chances are you’ll encounter someone ordering their “usual” at the counter. A favorite among Concord’s vegans and vegetarians, the restaurant certainly has its regulars. But we urge meat-eaters to try it out, too. We’ve heard people swear that “The Rachael” (homemade seitan grilled on rye bread and topped with special sauce and coleslaw, $6.95) is just as good as the its meat-filled cousin, the Reuben. Stop by on a Taco Tuesday or Wing Wednesday and be treated to some other faux-meat options.
Another reason why this place is a gem: The café serves brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the second and fourth Sunday of each month. Fifteen dollars ($8 for children 8 and younger) gets you coffee or tea, your choice of an entrée, salad and dessert. The tofu scramble with “sausage” patties and lemon rosemary roasted potatoes offers something different from boring ol’ bacon and eggs.
For more information about Café Indigo, visit cafeindigo.com or call 224-1770.
-CASSIE PAPPATHAN
Concord Mart
From the outside, Concord Mart on North Main Street looks like an ordinary convenience store. Inside, however, you’ll find a colorful world of tastes packaged inside ready-to-take-home containers.
The international market specializes in Indian fare, but Asian and African foods can be found there, too. Foodstuffs with names like chunky chat masala, fufu flour (flour made from plantains), and assam tea (Indian chai) decorate the market’s tightly-packed shelves.
The small store has a wide selection of Indian spices, and other specialty items like whole and split dalia, ginger paste, guava jelly, whole frozen talapia, gyros bread and fresh fruits like mango and coconut.
Our personal favorite from the store? Frozen samosas. Take ’em home, pop ’em in the oven and prepare your taste buds for a magical trip to Southeast Asia. They’re delicious.
The store is located at 242 N. Main St. For more information, call 224-1723.
-AMY AUGUSTINE
Okay, so we missed a few
Concord is a city filled with hidden gems. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to write about all of them. We asked our Facebook fans to tell us what their favorite joints in Concord are. Here’s what they told us, in no particular order:
– In a Pinch
– The Sandwich Depot
– Living Yoga
– The Gas Lighter
– Chief’s Place
– Outfitter’s Thrift Store
– Sunshine Oriental
– House of India
– Moritomo
– True Brew Barista
– Washington Street Cafe
– The Cowboy Store
