Major Project to Transform Concord Alley into Artistic Hospitality Center

Rendering of Art Alley featuring The Friendly Toast. (Photo courtesy of PROCON)

The once-quiet Concord alleyway between Main Street and South State Street, adjacent to the Bank of NH Stage, will undergo a dramatic transformation over the next year into “Art Alley.” Duprey Hospitality announced the project in July. 

Designed and constructed by PROCON in Hooksett, it will include a three-season courtyard and three floors of entertainment, food, and conference space.

Steve Duprey, owner and CEO of Duprey Hospitality, says attempts to bring apartments and office space to the site—which included a three-and-half-year struggle to save a historic building—proved challenging due to building code requirements and other costs. “We couldn’t make the numbers work,” Duprey says, explaining current office rents and no on-site parking for apartments sent the group back to the drawing board.

The first floor will house The Friendly Toast, an “all-day brunch and bar” restaurant with a dozen locations throughout New England, while the second floor will include a 5,000-square-foot event venue designed to host 150 guests for corporate and private events. “Our experience at the Grappone Center shows there’s a demand for additional meeting space that offers a high level of service,” says Pam Bissonnette, COO of Duprey Hospitality, which also operates the center.

The third floor of Art Alley will include the South Main Street Surfer Bar, an outdoor entertainment space featuring a rooftop deck, fire pits, a bocce court, and a repurposed Airstream that will serve as a full-service bar. The space will be open to the public and available for private events, adding a unique addition to Concord’s social scene, Duprey says. Behind the main building, a three-season courtyard will host a 1942 Silk City Dingman Diner, owned by the late Michael Dingman, a renowned NH businessman and philanthropist. “It will be great for a cocktail party after meetings and other private events like retirement parities or birthday parties,” Duprey says. “And the conference center run by Grappone will be a very elegant setting.”

The original 1854 Norris Bakery and Homestead Stabile Building will be preserved and transformed into “Duke’s,” an upscale Nashville-style bar and restaurant. And keeping with its name, Art Alley,  scheduled for completion in April 2025, will feature plenty of public art.