By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT — The popular Mexican inspired eatery Rocky’s Taqueria has announced they will be closing within the month. No specific date has been set but restaurant proprietor, and Claremont native, Rocky Beliveau stated that he will be shutting down at the end of September when they have fully run out of food.
“It’s a great restaurant. It’s been my favorite new business in the town. I’m definitely sad to see it go, and I hope someone sees it as an opportunity to continue the business,” Claremont resident and taqueria frequenter, Loren Howard.
Beliveau studied at the Culinary Institute of America and had worked in the culinary field for roughly a decade before opening his well regarded food cart “Rocky’s Elevated Concessions” in Denver, Colorado on June 10, 2020. A short time later, Beliveau would return to his hometown to open Rocky’s Taqueria on December 29, 2020 at the Opera House Square location.
Aside from serving tacos, the restaurant has been home to a number of events since its inception, including fundraisers and paint and sip nights. Recently, the taqueria hosted New Hampshire State Representative Ann Kuster(NH-02), where she met with local candidates who were up for election. It was the sense of community within Claremont that Beliveau says was instrumental to the success of the restaurant.
“I’m taking a lot of positives away from running this business. Specifically how supportive this community is to their own. From day one selling out when we opened I knew I had the support I needed to get off the ground. During construction things definitely got tough but the community still showed up and helped us get through it,” Beliveau said in an email correspondence.
The construction that Beliveau referred to was the Pleasant Street Revitalization Project that recently began wrapping up in downtown Claremont. A project that Beliveau saw the inception of as a Claremont City Council member, a position from which he recently stepped down from to focus more of his time on the restaurant.
Ultimately, Beliveau says his reason for closing is due to staffing shortages, an issue that has been widespread across many communities and occupations. He has cited a lack of desire for young people to enter into the culinary arts and worries that local culinary programs aren’t doing enough to inspire young people to work in the restaurant industry.
“What I think is a major contributing factor to not just my staffing issues but our industry in the town, stems down to our culinary tech program needing to refocus their goals and objectives from just teaching basic skills to actively trying to recruit individuals with passion into our industry. In my opinion, none of our restaurants in this town should be having staffing issues with one of the only culinary programs around,” Beliveau said.
Beliveau has stated that he hopes someone else is able to take up the mantle and utilizes the Opera House Square location to continue serving food. The restaurant concept and items are currently up for sale through Century 21 and is listed online. According to the listing, the sale includes trade names, recipes, concepts, equipment and food cart. According to a real estate agent listed on the sale, the buyer would assume the lease and have the option to renew in 2024. The listing price is $80,000.
“The business model is strong, our books are strong, and the community is still hungry,” Beliveau said, hopeful that someone will take the opportunity to take over.
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