News

Restoration in the Forest

By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
NEWPORT-In The Forest Of Time Vintage Memories, located at 35 Spring Street, hopes to not only beautify your home, but the town of Newport as well.

Jessi Ryan, a Newport resident, has completely revitalized a once decaying building. After owning a store on Main Street, Ryan hoped to find something a bit larger to house his high quality wares. Initially unable to find anything to suit his needs, he drove around the town and stopped into what was formerly a junk store. Ryan inquired about the connected barn and was informed that it was condemned and scheduled to be demolished.

“The space was horrible. Dark, dingy, and smelly but I thought well this could be home. I’ve always been good at making things better. I saw what it could be,” Ryan said.

With a vision in mind, Ryan contacted the owner and leased out the space in 2015. After meeting with the town’s zoning board, the space was approved to double as Ryan’s business and home, where he has been working on it ever since. After meeting with a structural engineer, Ryan has single-handedly been breathing new life into the once decrepit building.

He has high hopes for the space. While it already doubles as his home and business, he hopes to someday have an Air BnB space, as well as a cafe. He hopes the people coming into his store will feel at home, and have a unique experience.

The antique store currently features hundreds of beautiful antiques including furniture, kitchenware, gumball machines, and trunks. He sets up sections of his space so that shoppers can get a feel for what the items will be like in their homes. Ryan doesn’t want to be a salesman, and knows that his pieces will speak for themselves, and speak to the individual.

“I like to decorate and display things so they can see what it will look like, when they bring it home,” said Ryan.

Entering his fifth year of leasing the space, Ryan was put into a position of needing to completely pay off the space or he would inevitably have to give it up. This is when the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund stepped in to help. Community-Driven Economic Empowerment is a pilot program started by the NAACP and New Hampshire Community Loan Fund was created to help to bring people of color in the area together, and to create resilient neighborhood business. It was with the aid of C-DEE that Ryan was able to pay off the remainder of the balance on the property and own it outright.

In his free time, Ryan is a writer and singer. While living in New York City, he would spend time in studios recording his songs. His connection to the space as an artist comes as no surprise when considering the history of the building. Originally owned by Broadway actor Billy B Van, Van was once considered the honorary Mayor of Newport and coined the nickname “The Sunshine Town” for the town. Van also operated a dairy farm from the Spring Street location.

Ryan hopes that his beautifully restored building and antique goods become a travel destination for the town. Hoping that revitalizing the building brings tourists to the town he lives in and a community he loves. “I want this to be a destination. I want people to come here and then once they’re here to visit the rest of the town of Newport.”

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