New Hampshire’s First Kosher Restaurant Is Open for Business
by Ariel Fine – chabad.org
Kosher dining has arrived in the Granite State. The Brooklyn Cafe opened its doors on July 7. in Newington, N.H., and is already serving the local community a taste of authentic New York kosher cuisine in a warm and friendly environment. The beautifully renovated cafe is located on the first floor commercial space in the Seacoast Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish Community Center in the center of Newington.
The cafe is the vision of Rabbi Berel Slavaticki, who also oversees its kosher supervision. Slavaticki moved to New Hampshire six years ago, in 2017, with his wife, Rochel, and family to establish Chabad serving both the New Hampshire coast, on the southeastern part of the state, as well as Jewish students at the nearby University of New Hampshire. Of the 15,000 students on campus, upwards of 500 of them are Jewish.
Chabad of New Hampshire was founded in 1989 when the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, sent Rabbi Levi and Shternie Krinsky to serve the state, which historically did not have a strong Jewish infrastructure. Jewish life has flourished in the years since, and with the Krinsky’s help, in 2003 Rabbi Moshe and Chanie Gray opened Chabad serving Dartmouth University in Hanover. The Slavatickis are the third Chabad emissary couple in the state.
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“When we first moved here, there was no Jewish presence on campus, and outside of Portsmouth, Jewish services in the seacoast region were sparse,” the rabbi says.
Now, the Chabad center hosts several regular programs, including weekly prayer services, men’s and women’s learning circles, programs for children and teens, and weekly classes serving the local UNH campus. The rabbi is a chaplain on the campus and shares a warm relationship with the university.
While the Slavitickis have seen immense success since their move, establishing a kosher cafe in the state was on their minds from the very outset. Its primary aim, they say, is to provide a kosher food option for the local Jewish community.
“Obtaining kosher food in New Hampshire can be a challenge,” the rabbi says. “At the same time, we wanted it to be a warm and unique place that people from all walks of life would want to eat at.”
After much deliberation about what kind of restaurant to open, the Slavatickis settled on a cafe, since it seemed that people were struggling to find a good falafel or bagel in the area, as well as for the relaxed atmosphere that a cafe offers. The name, “Brooklyn Cafe,” was chosen to invoke the feelings of a New York City bagel shop, light-hearted and unintimidating.
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Congressman Chris Pappas, who serves New Hampshire’s 1st congressional district, stopped by to visit the Brooklyn Café and the Seacoast Jewish Community Center. Seacoast Chabad Jewish Center
Meeting Point for a Diverse Community
The Seacoast region is home to an estimated 4,000 Jews. The milieu consists of young professionals, retirees, seasonal residents and college students, in addition to the many travelers on their way to Maine’s Acadia National Park and New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
Since the pandemic, many more have chosen to call the region home. Transplants started cropping up from nearby Massachusetts and New York, as well as from as far away as California.
With the community burgeoning, Slavaticki thought it was the perfect time to go through with his kosher vision. But it wasn’t without a little trepidation. “People laughed at me when I said I wanted to open a ‘kosher restaurant’,” he says.
Notwithstanding the skeptics, the cafe opened in early July, in time to greet summer travelers. The menu includes falafel, pizza and an assortment of bagels as well as pastries baked fresh every day. Patrons can also enjoy a cup of coffee or tea. Its best selling item so far is the two-tone challah, with locals traveling from near and far to get a taste.
Aside from challah for Shabbat, they now won’t have to look far for traditional Jewish holiday foods, either. There are plans in place to serve Jewish-related foods around the holidays like doughnuts and latkes in the Chanukah season.
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“The cafe is bringing a new level of vibrancy to our community,” the rabbi says. “We are connecting with so many new and interesting people because of it. I’ll often choose to bring my laptop and work from the cafe instead of my office.”
And it’s not just about the food.
“It’s become a regular occurrence to take patrons from the upstairs cafe to the downstairs synagogue and show them what we have to offer, help them lay tefillin and give them Shabbat candles,” the rabbi says. “We may soon have to move our offices into the cafe, such has been the popularity,” he jokes.
When the Slavaticki’s first moved into their sprawling Chabad center, people asked what they would do with such a space. Now, it’s home to the cafe, a Hebrew school and a thriving synagogue. Seacoast Chabad Jewish Center
‘I Can’t Believe This is Real’
The effects of kosher in New Hampshire have started to ripple through the small state, which, though growing, remains the ninth-least populated state in the country.
“In the past, we’ve tried to keep kosher a little bit, and we’re not there all the way yet. We are always trying to do a little more, and this cafe really helps,” says Marty Fuerst, a writer and artist from nearby Dover.
In fact, in early August, a woman who has called the region home for more than 50 years came to the cafe with tears in her eyes. “Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought there would be a kosher restaurant in the area,” she told the rabbi. “I can’t believe this is real.”
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The rabbi has also already fielded calls from Jewish students considering applying to UNH and wondering if there was a kosher infrastructure that they could rely on. “We plan to organize kosher meal plans for the students in the near future,” he says. “Additionally, we are in the process of installing shelves in the cafe and hope to start offering non-perishable kosher items.”
Perhaps the biggest success of the cafe, and the mitzvah of kashrut in general, is its immense power to bring people together. Everyone loves to eat good food and hang out. While religious events might at times feel intimidating, many are more open when food is the primary motivator.
For Slaviticki, who has had a busy summer opening the restaurant and hosting the annual Jewish Summer Festival, more than anything, the cafe offers local Jews something to be proud of.
“Having a space that Jews can call their own is a remedy to the isolation many may feel living far from larger Jewish communities,” he says. “It has become a place where people can just ‘be Jewish’.”
The cafe opened in early July, in time to greet summer travelers. Seacoast Chabad Jewish Center
WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.
A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.
Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.
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At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.
A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.
Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.
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Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.
In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.
During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.
When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.
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Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.
While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.
As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.
While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.
“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.
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Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.
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