LACONIA — Residents emerging hungry from their winter hibernation might find two local businesses now being operated by new owners.
Fresh! Downtown, formerly the home of GoodNatured Juice and Smoothie Bar, and The Italian Market on Union Avenue have both changed hands since the start of 2025.
For Dana Lamothe, Fresh! Downtown is the second location for her business. She opened Fresh! on Lake Winni in 2021.
Lamothe said she’s had her sights on the city’s urban center for years.
“I wanted to be in a downtown location ever before The Weirs,” Lamothe said. Fresh! on Lake Winni is located on the Winnipesaukee Pier at Weirs Beach, and focuses on offering smoothies and smoothie bowls.
Originally from Connecticut, Lamothe said she was a lifetime visitor to the Lakes Region, and decided to move here about six years ago. She had the inspiration for her business shortly afterward.
“We got the idea when we went to LA. My boyfriend and I had a smoothie bowl for the first time and thought, 'We need this in Laconia,'” Lamothe said.
Like a smoothie, a smoothie bowl is based on pureed fruit. However, when processed for a bowl rather than a beverage, the fruit puree is thicker, scoopable like ice cream, and eaten with a spoon. And since a straw is out of the picture, smoothie bowls can be loaded up with additions such as oats, coconut flakes, and big chunks of fresh fruit.
“We can mix in different protein powders. You’ve got your fruit for the day, and it looks really pretty,” Lamothe said.
At her downtown location, Lamothe is expanding her food offerings, with breakfast toasts and mixed energy drinks in addition to smoothies and smoothie bowls.
Lamothe said she’s seen a “good turnout” since taking over in January. Located within the downtown parking garage structure, she said she has attracted customers from nearby fitness businesses, downtown workplaces and some of her existing fans from Weirs Beach.
“It’s been good for the middle of the winter,” she said.
Fresh! Downtown is located at 569 Main St.
The Italian Market
With the youngest of their six children entering their teenage years, Carrie and Jason Hyde, a Hooksett couple, decided last fall to start looking for a business to buy. Carrie said they wanted something in food service, as that’s where their experience and interests lie, and something small. Their search took in all of the state — they looked at businesses from Manchester to Portsmouth to Lincoln — and the option they liked best was at 585 Union Ave.: The Italian Market, which was opened just a year prior.
Carrie said they liked the limited size of the business, which offers prepared foods to either take away or bake at home, beer and wine, as well as frozen or shelf-stable products imported from Italy.
During the winter, Carrie said she can manage the store with help from a part-time employee, and she plans to put her family to work when it gets busier this summer.
“It works out well,” she said.
Fans of The Italian Market will be glad to know that the Hydes don’t plan to fiddle with any of the recipes of founders Charlie Lockwood and Regina Tucci.
Some of those recipes have surprised Carrie with their popularity. The Hydes were planning to remove one of the eggplant Parmesan sizes — there’s a “queen” and “king” size — but they’ve both been too popular. Carrie was also not expecting the chicken cutlet Caprese sandwich to be a best seller, nor was she expecting the cakes, brought up from a bakery in the North End of Boston, to sell as well as they do.
Carrie said she and her husband will tweak the market’s merchandise slightly, by expanding the scope of offerings to include some items from other European traditions, and by phasing out some items which can also be found at supermarkets.
Carrie said the small shop on Union Avenue is already starting to feel like home.
“I like working in the community, reaching out to the community. Being a small, family-run business in a community is a good thing,” she said.
