VISITOR’S GUIDE
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Photography by Wendy Voorhis<br />
Connecting the region<br />
Granite State Rail Trail a tourist draw and economic engine<br />
On a beautiful afternoon in June 2013, Melanie Davis and<br />
Carmel Shea were at the end of their bicycle ride on the Derry<br />
Rail Trail. Hungry and thirsty, the two friends looked around<br />
downtown Derry for some place they might be able to grab a<br />
snack and an iced coffee.<br />
And while they saw plenty of great restaurants and lunch<br />
spots in downtown Derry, Davis and Shea said they didn’t<br />
see any coffee shops, or any other downtown establishments<br />
where they would be comfortable entering clad in bike gear and<br />
carrying their helmets.<br />
Davis said at that time both she and Shea were at a crossroads<br />
in their respective careers. So in true entrepreneurial fashion, the<br />
two set out to solve the problem that they encountered.<br />
Such was the spark for the opening, nearly a year later, of The<br />
Grind Rail Trail Cafe, a community-focused, bicycle-themed<br />
specialty coffee bar in historic downtown Derry that offers<br />
organic coffee, smoothies, and protein drinks as well as healthy<br />
snacks, like granola and fruit cups, that cater to the needs of<br />
bicyclists and other outdoor enthusiasts.<br />
Since opening in the spring of 2014, however, The Grind has<br />
found it has appeal beyond the bicycling community. Indeed,<br />
the two said, winter is their busiest season, attracting crosscountry<br />
skiers, snowshoers, and snowmobilers who use the rail<br />
trail in colder months. The coffee shop-cum-community hub is<br />
also popular with employees at the Derry Municipal Center, as<br />
well as area residents who have never set foot on the trail.<br />
But it is the rail trail that provided, and continues to provide,<br />
economic stimulus, not just to The Grind, but to much of<br />
downtown Derry and surrounding communities.<br />
Technically speaking, the Derry Rail Trail is but a part of<br />
the larger Granite State Rail Trail, which stretches more than<br />
100 miles, from Salem, N.H., on the Massachusetts border,<br />
north and west to Lebanon, N.H., on the Vermont border. At<br />
approximately eight miles in length, the combined Derry Rail<br />
10 GREATER DERRY LONDONDERRY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Visit us online
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