MANCHESTER, NH – Café la Reine owner Alex Horton has announced she is closing the business she started a decade ago – including the small cafe on Elm Street and the full-service restaurant on Webster Street – both of which have served as a comfort zone and community outpost for so many.
On Saturday Horton released the following statement on closing Café la Reine and Café la Reine North End:
“Throughout the last 10 years, it has been our honor to serve the Manchester community. Unfortunately, due to inflation and rising food costs, we have been forced to close our doors. We are grateful to the many patrons who have become our extended family over the years and to the more than 800 employees who have come to work for us. While it is unfortunate that economic conditions prevent us from continuing to live our dream and do what we love, it has been a joy to serve as a Manchester “staple” for over a decade.
We loved bringing art, live music, good food, and house roasted coffee to the people of Manchester and have had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people over the years. We ask our former patrons and friends to PLEASE consider shopping small, shopping local, and supporting family-owned businesses. They need your support now, more than ever and are part of the fabric of our community. Leave a positive review for a restaurant you love. Buy lunch or coffee for the office. Consider going out once a week to a small, local place you’ve never tried before. Unfortunately, the reality is that if we don’t shop small, there won’t be family-owned businesses left in a few years. We have been so grateful to call Manchester our home and thank you so much for all you did to brighten and enrich our lives!”
Horton opened the original Café la Reine at 915 Elm St. in March of 2013 shortly after graduating from Southern NH University. Her dream was to create a space where everyone from high school students to professionals could gather for high-quality coffee in a comfortable setting with a creative menu of good eats.
She also held “Java Jams” which brought local musicians into the cafe for after-regular-hours musical interludes, creating a true coffeehouse vibe.
Although COVID took a toll on her business as it did all downtown eateries, Horton adapted – she added a take-out window and capitalized on outdoor seating and one year ago, she partnered with Dominique Gibson as general manager and expanded her brand – and menu – to open Cafe la Reine North End. on Webster Street.
In March Horton via a social media post reflected on her 10 years in the restaurant business, from opening and weathering the pandemic, to what the next 10 years might bring:
“I remember April of 2020, I was sitting at home and was so unsure of our future. I remember thinking that whatever happened, I just wanted to make it to 10 years. If I could only reach that milestone, I knew we would be okay. I have watched many businesses turn over in my ten years on elm street, and I am so grateful to the few who stuck around as we supported each other through the most difficult times we had ever experienced.
My grandfather, my Jido, believed in me and my business plan when I was only 23. I had nothing, no assets and no credit, fresh out of college. He co-signed a loan with me because he had no doubt that I would make it. He passed away in 2015, and not having him here to lean on and guide me nearly broke me and my business. I have to believe he’s been here watching over me, willing me to keep going, and encouraging me to take some huge steps forward.”
Last week Horton via Facebook posted on both business sites that she was giving staff the week off for “much-needed time off.”
On Saturday, she confirmed what some had already suspected. The hiatus was to be permanent.
On a personal note, I have long admired Horton’s dedication to our community. She has been super supportive of other downtown businesses, including the Ink Link. She has given inexperienced high school students the opportunity to test out their wings as employees. She has provided a space for local musicians and lovers of music to commune, a space for artists to sit for hours and sketch, and a meeting place where many important business conversations were had and life-changing deals, struck.
But above it all she showed us all that everything’s possible. A young woman with no experience and plenty of ambition can build a successful business that meets and fills a community need. She elevated other women in the process and always did so with that warm and incredible smile of hers.
I am thankful for what has been and look forward to whatever is next for her, but I am sad for the rest of us, and the loss of our little “queen cafe” – and I echo Horton’s call for people to keep supporting the small businesses they love.
If you ignore them, they will go away.
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June 25, 2023 at 02:21AM
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Café la Reine owner calls it quits: ‘Economic conditions prevent us from continuing to live our dream’ - Manchester Ink Link
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