New Hampshire

Seasonal Businesses Near Hampton Beach Reflect on Challenging Summer

One thing that was great this summer was the weather, and "that is the single most important thing at Hampton Beach," according to one business owner in the area

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Seasonal businesses are finally getting back to normal after the coronavirus pandemic halted operations, but they still had other challenges this summer, from finding employees to dealing with supply chain issues.

The weather cleared out Hampton Beach early this Labor Day but it did not dampen the summer feeling.

"We all did well, the traffic was down, and I think that goes back to the price of gas, and inflation, and food, all the things that people are talking about now, but I think that certainly affects the people who come to Hampton Beach," Bob Preston, of Preston Real Estate said.

At the very beginning of the season, there were concerns about staffing. Businesses found foreign students on Visas filled much of the need.

The additional employees helped, but there was little that could be done about shortage of product due to supply chain issues.

"The beach chairs were very overpriced and then we couldn't always get them in," said Chuck Rage, who owns a motel and drug store. "Some would pay more, some would buy a beach blanket and just sit on the blanket on the beach."

Restaurants like the Boardwalk Cafe and Pub dealt with their own wave of supply challenges.

"Lobster Rangoon's were a huge seller for us this year, in the middle of the summer they basically started sending us substitutes, than the regular ones we were selling, so we had a few complaints about the newer ones, so we had to get rid of those," Mike Trainor said.

While the weather changes daily, it at least remained sunny at the beach until Labor Day.

"We had a great summer um weather-wise," Preston said, "that is the single most important thing on Hampton Beach."

The season is technically not over just yet, as this coming weekend the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival is expected to draw big crowds.

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