Biggest increase: weekdays Business booms after Yankee magazine article

KENT — A month and a half after Yankee magazine declared Kent the top foliage town in all of New England, businesses here are still seeing a major influx of new customers.

The article declaring Kent “the pinnacle of the leaf peeping experience� in New England was published in the magazine’s September/October issue, which is still on newsstands.

While none of the business owners interviewed for this article could give a precise figure for the number of new customers attracted by the article, all agreed that business has picked up.

Elissa Potts, who is president of the Kent Chamber of Commerce and the owner of the Fife ’n Drum Restaurant and Inn, said the article has had a definite positive impact.

“We’ve been busy [at the restaurant and inn], and there have been so many people in town,� Potts said. “The nice weather has added to it. People are coming out and they’re enjoying themselves.�

At Kent Coffee and Chocolate, Manager Jill Zinzi said business has been “phenomenal� since the article was published.

“Weekday business has become like weekend business,� Zinzi said. “We can barely keep up with the demand. A few days ago, our chocolate-making machine actually blew a fuse because we were using it so much.�

Anne McAndrew, co-owner of Backcountry Outfitters, said customers have come into the store with a copy of the magazine.

“It has become very busy during the week,� McAndrew said. “We’ve chatted with people from Maine and Pennsylvania who have come over to visit. I’ve talked to people who say that normally when they think about leaf peeping they think about Vermont. But this year they’ve come here, and they all agree that Kent is spectacular.

“We have had a big increase in customers ever since that article came out,� she added.

James Neunzing, co-owner of J.P. Gifford Market, which opened in March, said business has also picked up at the gourmet food shop.

“I’ve never seen so many people walking down Main Street,� Neunzing said. “Lots of new customers have come in because of that article.�

Will business continue to be good in town after leaf-peeping season is over?

Potts said she sure hopes so.

“We’ll still be here,â€� she said. 

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