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
A former New Hampshire state representative was sentenced to more than 33 years in prison for involvement in a child exploitation case — almost double the mandatory minimum.
Stacie Marie Laughton, 42, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of children after soliciting and receiving nude photos of three toddlers from an ex-girlfriend who worked at a daycare.
Lindsay Groves, 41, of Hudson, N.H., was sentenced to almost 22 years in prison earlier this month after pleading guilty to the same charges as well as an additional count of distribution of child pornography.
According to court documents, Groves took the photos of the victims in 2023 at Creative Minds daycare in Tyngsboro, where she was a teacher, during designated bathroom breaks and nap times.
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She then sent the photos to Laughton, who requested the images and asked that Grove touch one of the minor’s genitals. In the conversation included in the records, the pair sexualizes the victims.
“Did the girl give you an issue,” Laughton texted after receiving the photos.
“No… the boy didn’t either,” Groves texted back.
In a sentencing memorandum, Laughton’s counsel had argued that she should receive a shorter sentence than Groves and asked for the minimum mandatory sentence, which would have 15 years for each count to be served concurrently.
“Stacie Laughton is a complex 42-year-old woman,” the memo said, noting that she was the first openly transgender woman to be elected to the New Hampshire legislature.
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The filing described Laughton’s history of mental health, substance abuse, sexual abuse, and trauma as mitigating factors the judge should consider.
“One of the few consistencies in Ms. Laughton’s life is her challenges with mental health illnesses,” the memo said. “She began receiving mental health treatment at the age of four and has been in and out of extensive treatment programs ever since.”
The death of Laughton’s wife in 2020 and a tumultuous relationship with Groves also added to her mental health struggles, the memo said, stating that the defendant drank every day and had tried heroin for the first time leading up to her arrest.
A doctor quoted in the filing said that Laughton likely had a low IQ, tied in part to her premature birth, as well as “normal sexual interests.”
“This finding shows both how caught up Ms. Laughton was in her relationship with Groves that she participated in activity counter to this and is … an important factor in considering whether Ms. Laughton would be a future threat upon release,” the memo said.
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The filing described Laughton’s actions as “horrendous, reprehensible, and shocking,” but said that even though the crimes were “utterly inexcusable,” she should still receive a shorter sentence than her codefendant out of a sense of justice.
However, in their own sentencing memo, federal prosecutors requested Laughton receive 40 years in prison.
“These crimes only came to light when Laughton reported them in an apparent attempt to punish Groves for ending their relationship,” prosecutors wrote. “The defendant, of course, did not disclose her own role in the creation of the imagery.”
“She ultimately admitted that she told Groves to touch one child’s penis, and claimed that she was feeding Groves’s attraction to children,” their memo said.
The prosecutors said that Laughton’s voice was the “more prominent one” in the conversation about exploiting children.
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In addition to her prison sentence, Laughton will also serve five years of supervised release.
Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement that she felt the sentence fit the crime.
“The victims in this case were toddlers – children who were not yet old enough to care for themselves and, in some cases, not even fully verbal. Everyone who learns about the conduct in this case should be outraged,” United States Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement. “The sentences imposed reflect the depravity of the conduct and the seriousness of the crimes. My office will seek the most serious charges and the stiffest sentences for anyone who preys on children.”
Three people suffered injuries in a two-vehicle collision early Tuesday morning in Hooksett, New Hampshire.Courtesy of New Hampshore State
Three people suffered serious injuries Tuesday in a two-vehicle crash in Hooksett, N.H., police said.
The head-on collision happened around 5:40 a.m. on Interstate 293 northbound, State Police said.
Police said that Timothy Hubbard, 43, of Rome, Maine, was traveling south when he lost control of his car and crossed the median into oncoming traffic, police said.
Hubbard, his passenger, and the other driver were taken to hospitals to be treated for serious injuries, police said. The injures were not believed to be life-threatening.
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Police said speed was believed to be a factor in the crash, which is under investigation.
Hannah Goeke can be reached at hannah.goeke@globe.com.
Franklin, NH – Sara Jane (Sanford) Doherty, 79, of Franklin, New Hampshire, passed away peacefully at her home on June 11, 2026. A beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, Sara was born on June 5, 1947, in Hanover, New Hampshire, to Harold and Sadie (Pettengill) Sanford.
As the daughter of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employee, Sara spent her childhood moving throughout New England, living in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. She graduated from high school in Hudson, Massachusetts, and later returned to New Hampshire, eventually settling in Franklin, where she made her home for more than forty years.
Sara built a successful career in the textile industry. She worked as a seamstress at Howland Originals before joining Star Specialty Knitting, where she began as a stitcher and, through hard work and determination, advanced to Plant Manager. She retired in 2003, and one of the greatest joys of her retirement was caring for several of her grandchildren, whom she adored.
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Sara was a remarkably talented and creative artisan. She sewed clothing for her children when they were young and later created outfits for her grandchildren and their dolls. She was a gifted painter and artist whose extraordinary drawings and paintings brought joy to those around her. An accomplished seamstress, knitter, crocheter, cake decorator, and musician, Sara had an exceptional ability to create beauty in many forms. Her handmade gifts and treasured creations will be cherished by her family for generations to come.
Her talent for cake decorating blossomed into a successful side business that spanned more than thirty years. Sara created hundreds of stunning and imaginative cakes, including wedding and birthday cakes for her own children and grandchildren. Her passion for baking was so well known that for many years her license plate proudly read “CAKES+.”
Sara also had a remarkable gift for bringing people together. She hosted countless family reunions, each one more creative than the last. With elaborate themes, games, prizes, delicious food, and endless laughter, she created memories that her family will treasure forever. She was also known for her generous holiday gatherings, often welcoming more than thirty family members and friends into her home for Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. Summers brought cherished Fourth of July cookouts by Webster Lake, where Sara delighted in decorating the waterfront and gathering loved ones to enjoy the annual boat parade.
Sara’s love of giraffes was known by all who knew her. She spent years collecting hundreds of them, giving each a special “G” name. Before her passing, she shared one of her favorites, “Geebri,” with her granddaughter Sydni, who is expecting Sara’s first great-grandchild.
Her warmth, creativity, generosity, and love of family touched everyone who knew her. To say she will be missed is a vast understatement. She was truly the heart of her family.
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Sara leaves behind her devoted husband of 43 years, Joel Doherty; her sons, Todd (Michelle) Chapman of Sanbornton, New Hampshire, and Paul (Cheryl) Chapman of Northfield, New Hampshire; her stepdaughters, Ali (Oliver) Frates of Amherst, New Hampshire, and Kate Hodge of Durham, New Hampshire; and her beloved grandchildren, Shelby, Sydni, Morgan, Owen, Duncan, Calum, Macy, and Elyse, and Step-grandchildren, Matthew, Jennifer, Eric, & Kevin.
Sara was predeceased by her parents.
Sara’s family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to Franklin VNA for their rapid and seamless response in setting up hospice, and to The Payson Center for their dedication and care, which gave us more precious time with her.
A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, June 30, 2026 at 11:00 AM in Franklin Cemetery, Thompson Park in Franklin.
For more information or to leave the family an online condolence, please visit www.smartmemorialhome.com.
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