The Great View Roller Rink has — happily, its owner says — gone to the dogs.
Peter Martin, who closed the Enfield roller rink in June, last week reopened it as Chosen Valley Pet Resort and welcomed his first four-legged guests for romping, toy-chewing and sleepovers.
“When we shut down the rink, we were thinking of what we should do, what would be its best use,” said Martin, who with his wife, Diane, had bought the roller rink in 1987 and ran it for 32 years.
Inspired by the difficulty they faced when an out-of-town trip required them to find a place to board their two Maine coon cats, Martin said, he hit upon the idea of converting the cavernous structure on Route 4 outside Enfield Village into a pet “day care” and boarding facility.
“I mentally walked around the structure and started seeing this in my mind,” Martin said last week as he guided me around the still-being-built-out 16,000-square-foot facility, which by summer will include a 6,400-square-foot outdoor dog playground.
“We have all this space, and we wanted to do something that would be the best use of our building and contribute something positive to the community,” he said.
That’s when Martin came up with the idea of turning the 4-acre site that overlooks Mascoma Lake into an “indoor dog park.”
On the floor of what used to be the roller rink’s blue-painted surface and under a still-hanging disco ball, Martin has erected a 3,060-square-foot rectangle pen built out of plastic divided into three equal sections (one each for small, medium and large-size canines) for “cage-free day care” and bordered by a 270-foot-long, 10-foot-wide “walking path” for on-leash strolling.
He is building 60 large cages outfitted with little mattresses along the rink’s perimeter, where dogs will be boarded (there is a separate room for cats).
Chosen Valley Pet Resort initially will be open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Rates include $25 for a full day of either caged or cage-free day care ($15 for a half day) and $45 for an overnight stay.
Extra fees will be charged for early and late drop-off/pickup or a 30-minute “private walking option” around the indoor walking path. The Martins are being assisted by a full-time employee. One of them will always be on the premises if dogs are being kenneled overnight, he said.
“If we have a pet in the building, someone will be here,” Martin said.
But don’t drop Fido off unannounced on your commute into work: Appointments are required, and Martin said they must see vaccination records before pets can be registered.
They also want to make sure the animals are not aggressive so that they “play well” with others when in the open pen area.
Pets and pet care, naturally, can be an emotional subject, and some people howled (on social media) when they learned about Chosen Valley Pet Resort.
Commentators responded both favorably and critically to the pet resort when Martin announced an “open house” on Facebook last week; some supported the idea while others questioned what experience the owners have in running a dog care facility.
In reply, Martin said he has visited other canine care facilities in New Hampshire and Massachusetts to learn how they operate. The state of New Hampshire requires “commercial kennels,” defined as dog breeders and dog sellers, to be licensed. But a simple pet care facility does not require a license from the state to operate.
(The Enfield Planning Board approved plan for the dog facility on a 6-to-1 vote last summer without referring the matter to the Zoning Board, determining that the change of use of the property was within the town’s ordinances and did not require a variance.)
Martin is aware that some have challenged his lack of formal training in dog care, but he doesn’t think that is an issue because he has educated himself in the business, from touring other pet care facilities to watching videos on YouTube.
“I’ve had pets all my life,” he said. “I also have people, experts in the field, advising me. When I don’t have the answer, I find out. People in this business are proud of what they are doing, and because of the shortage (in pet care places), they welcome you for coming.”
He started selling plants, then began adding fresh produce, followed by locally raised meat and poultry, and now he’s adding a roadside deli offering authentic Italian subs and sandwiches.
Joey Pellegrino, who with his wife, Cheryl, opened Pellegrino’s Farmers Market as a garden center on Route 4 in Enfield in the summer of 2018, is now moving his roadside produce and provisions stand 100 yards east into the former building of the Enfield Movie Market DVD store, where he will have a sit-down counter and tables to serve Italian deli food made from his “grandmother’s secret recipes.”
“We’ll have chicken cutlets, eggplant, meatball sandwiches. A real Italian deli,” Pellegrino said. “Enfield has nothing in the area like this.”
A kitchen is currently being installed in the new premises, and Pellegrino said he hopes to be moved in by Feb. 1, which he describes as “four times larger than we have now.”
He said the larger space will allow him to offer a greater grocery selection, including the Amish jams, jellies, canning, pickles and other canned products he stocks.
Since opening less than two years ago, Pellegrino’s has quickly established a loyal following as the Route 4 corridor between Lebanon and Canaan had long been known as a food desert. But with Pellegrino’s, along with a Jake’s mini-market that opened in Enfield Village last year, the commuter route, if not exactly a food basket, at least has more to offer than previously.
Grappling with the ongoing financial losses, Fort Worth, Texas-based retail chain Pier 1 Imports announced on Jan. 6 that it would be closing 450 of its 936 stores in the U.S. — but the Pier 1 store in West Lebanon is spared, at least for now.
Store manager Brenda Mitchell said the West Lebanon outlet has been told by the company that it is not on the list stores slated to close.
“That’s what we’ve been informed,” she said, referring additional questions to Pier 1 media relations office.
Spokespeople for Pier 1 did not respond to emails for comment. In the Twin States, Pier 1 also has stores in Manchester, Keene and Nashua, N.H., and South Burlington, Vt.
Despite the problems facing retail stores in the internet age, the heavily trafficked Route 12A corridor in West Lebanon appears to be hanging in better than many locations. The parent company of Kmart recently spared the West Lebanon Kmart location from the most recent round of store closings. And in the past 24 months, a new PetSmart, Old Navy and HomeGoods stores have opened in Upper Valley Plaza.
Still, Route 12A has seen its share of retail casualties in recent years, including closings of Sears, Radio Shack and Payless ShoeSource outlets — all stores whose parent companies had filed for bankruptcy.
Another Upper Valley car dealership lot is on the market: The owners of Upper Valley Honda — formerly Gerrish Honda — have put their Miracle Mile property up for sale in anticipation of the dealership’s relocation across the river to White River Junction this spring.
Connecticut-based Gengras Motors Cars, which acquired the Lebanon Honda franchise three years ago, is asking $4.5 million for the 3.4-acre property with a 22,400-square-foot showroom and service center, according to broker BCR Brown Commercial Realty, which is the listing agent.
Currently assessed at $2.8 million, Gengras acquired the property for $4.25 million in 2016 at the time it bought the dealership from former owner Kurt Gerrish, according to Lebanon city records.
Also currently on the market is brothers Allen and Charlie Hall’s former Gateway Motors Ford dealership lot and building on Sykes Mountain Avenue, with an asking price of $6.2 million, down $300,000 from the initial $6.5 million ask. The Halls retired last year, and their Ford franchise was consolidated with St. J Auto’s Lebanon Ford dealership on the Miracle Mile.
John Lippman can be reached at jlippman@vnews.com.
