Adelle’s opens in Dover

Although the business had been open for less than two weeks, a handful of patrons seemed very much at home in Adelle’s Coffeehouse on a recent afternoon. A group of three chatted amiably while seated at the counter. A man typed on his laptop at a nearby table. A couple of others sipped coffee in an adjacent room.

The new shop in downtown Dover is named after Adam and Anna Clark’s 15-month-old daughter. The couple had long toyed with the idea of starting their own business in the city they’ve called home for seven years. It all came together when Top Shelf Cigar vacated its storefront at 3 Hale St. and moved around the corner on Central Avenue, leaving behind a prime space beside Dos Amigos Burritos.

The Clarks quickly pounced on the opportunity, but they needed business partners. They called their good friends Nova Mullineaux and Danny Berry, of Portsmouth, and asked if they wanted to start a coffee shop. The couple agreed, and the shop held its grand opening celebration on July 19.

“It’s been doing really well,” Anna Clark said recently. “We’ve been open 10 days and we already have regulars.”
Clark felt that Dover needed another coffee option besides Café on the Corner, which she and her husband used to frequent. Situated at the opposite end of downtown, Adelle’s offers a comfortable hangout for locals and visitors. The wood floors are swathed with sunlight from the storefront’s large windows, and the furnishings and artwork on the walls are tasteful and hip. The shop consists of two adjoined rooms, with two elevated tables beside the bay windows and stool seating at the counter.

But Clark believes the shop’s real draw is its fair-trade, organic coffee. In addition to its eight varieties of coffee, Adelle’s offers tea, lemonade and espresso drinks, as well as snack options like bagels, cupcakes, muffins, cookies, biscotti and yogurt.

The shop also provides an informal atmosphere where customers can hang out and relax while nursing a cup of Joe. “We want our customers to be our friends,” Clark said.

Adelle’s can be reached at 603-742-1737 or by visiting www.myspace.com/adellescoffeehouse.

Celebrity Sandwich expands

Located on Islington Street, Portsmouth’s Celebrity Sandwich has been a staple of the city’s lunch scene for close to 20 years.

Husband and wife Rich Fairweather and Annie Schwechheimer took over ownership of the resturant four years ago. After numerous inquiries from customers about whether they planned to open a second location, the couple decided it was time to expand.

The second Celebrity Sandwich opened at 50 Broadway in Dover during the second week of May. Located across from Red’s Shoe Barn, the new shop offers the same 130 sandwiches as its predecessor, and the owners hope to duplicate the original’s success.

“We’re a little out of the way, so it’s just a matter of people knowing where we are,” Schwechheimer said. She said she and her husband were attracted to Dover because of how much the city has changed over the past few years, with new businesses popping up all the time. 

The idea for the Portsmouth shop came from a previous owner who modeled it after a similar business in California, creating sandwiches like the David Letterman (ham, Swiss cheese and lettuce), the Burt Reynolds (bologna, cheddar, tomato and lettuce) and the Archie Bunker (roast beef, ham, Swiss and tomato). Schwechheimer and Fairweather have added five creations of their own, known as the Big Mouth Sandwiches. Among them is the Tony Soprano, which is stacked appropriately with Italian cold cuts.

“Those are the ones that we really started and had the ingredients kind of go with the name,” Schwechheimer said.
The new restaurant also offers catering service, which accounts for 50 percent of the Portsmouth shop’s business. The menu includes 10 daily specials, and Schwechheimer is waiting for the chicken salad to catch on in Dover. In Portsmouth, they sell about 200 pounds of chicken salad each week. “We’re constantly making chicken salad,” she said.

Dover’s Celebrity Sandwich can be reached at 603-742-3014.