Duende opens, Hanover True Value closes downtown

BY EMILIA WILLIAMS

The Dartmouth Staff husband have a home in downtown Hanover and plan to stay in the area, adding that they feel “rooted” in the town.

In recent weeks, downtown Hanover has seen two changes to its store and restaurant offerings. On April 14, Duende, a traditional Spanish tapería, opened for business, according to restaurant owner Juan Garcerán GR’16. The next day, local hardware store Hanover True Value closed as owner Sonya Campbell retired, according to the store’s Facebook page. Hanover True Value first opened in 1918, The US Sun reported.

Campbell said she had been a part of the business for 47 years — first as a “housewares girl” in the 1970s before she bought the shop in 1991.

Campbell said she and her husband, store manager Mike Campbell, listed the store for sale more than a year ago but could not find a buyer.

According to Mike Campbell, the location has brought the community together for years.

“There are so many people that we’ve known over the years — and their families that we’ve known — that still pop in and say hi when they’re in town,” he said. “I’ve helped the engineering students or the engineering classes make hundreds of different projects because nobody knew what to do.”

Dartmouth students agreed that True Value was a valuable addition to the community. Catherine Jewitt ’26 said the store had a “lot of cool stuff.”

“Every time I [went], it was an adventure,” she said. Sam Roth Gordon ’25 said he was “super sad” to learn about the store’s closure, adding that he had planned to return for future hardware projects.

“I went there a couple of times, last fall in particular, to buy some hardware parts,” he said. “All of the workers were super nice, helpful and chatty.”

Sonya Campbell said she and her

“We are not in a big rush to make any great changes,” she said. “Eventually we may move and try to get something smaller all on one level. But we’ve enjoyed living downtown and I’m still a member of the Hanover Improvement Society.” While True Value has closed its doors, Duende has opened to foster a new sense of community in Hanover. The tapería aims to provide a “space where everyone can enjoy and share the energy of Spanish community culture,” according to its website.

“The idea was to really bring a bit of diversity to the dining scene in the Upper Valley through our backgrounds,” Garcerán said. “This is inspired by a very traditional Southern Spanish dining style — very informal. The aesthetic, music, everything is inspired by Spain itself.”

Garcerán, who graduated from the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies in 2016, added that he opened Duende in Hanover because he “loves the Upper Valley.” He said he hopes the restaurant, which is currently open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, will provide a place for local residents to “informally hang out.”

According to Garcerán, the restaurant’s name stems from a flamenco term “that describes an innate talent.” More specifically, “duende” means “a quality of passion and inspiration,” according to the restaurant’s website.

“You may see a seven year old playing guitar in Spain, and people may say, ‘Oh that kid has duende,’” Garcerán said. “It’s only within the flamenco world, but duende is that talent that some people are born with and something that you cannot really

BY TAYLOR HABER

On May 8, the Tuck School of Business hosted Gov. Chris Sununu R-N.H., for its View from the Top speaker series. Sununu spoke about his experiences in public service and fielded questions — both from moderator Dean Matthew Slaughter and audience members — about potentially running for president in 2024.

While Sununu said he was neither ruling out nor “really thinking about” seeking a fifth term as governor, he said that a role in Washington D.C. is “on the table, very much.” Sununu previously stated in April he will make a decision about a White House bid this summer, according to New Hampshire Public Radio.

The hour-long event, which was cosponsored by the Center for Business, Government and Society at Tuck, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center’s Brooks Family Lecture Series and the Tuck Business and Politics Club, was attended in-person by 267 community members, with another 70 viewers joining via Zoom, according to visiting executive program manager Alison Greene.

In an opening conversation with Slaughter, Sununu spoke about leading the Granite State and the experiences which drew him to the Governor’s Mansion. Sununu said his interest in government stemmed from his parents, who instilled in him the importance of community service. Sununu’s father, John Sununu, served as governor of New Hampshire from 1983 to -1989, and as White House Chief of Staff to President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to -1991.

To be effective in government, though, Sununu emphasized thate workinglessons he learned in the private sector , where he served as a corporate executive before entering politics taught him lessons he has used in public office. before entering politics.

“All these skills that you learn in the private sector all translate, I think, to better leadership,” Sununu said. “Not that you have to run a business, per se. Be at a non-profit, do something, get out in the world so that when you do commit to yourself [to] public service or whatever it might be, you give 120%.”

Asked to reflect on his accomplishments in office, Sununu said he was most proud of his administration’s pandemic response, citing “the team and the people that understood what had to be done,” which he assembled. In terms of areas of improvement, Sununu said he hoped to inspire more bipartisanship in the legislative process.

In the latter part of the conversation, Slaughter focused on Sununu’s hypothetical presidential bid. Sununu discussed compared himself to former President Donald Trump, who is widely seen as the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, asking the audience, “Why should you favor me over Trump, really?”

“It’s really simple,” Sununu said. “If you elect somebody, you vote for somebody, it has to be because they can win and get something done — that’s it. We should always vote for the most conservative candidate that aligns with our ideals and can win in November and get stuff done in 2025.”

Although Sununu said he supported Trump in both 2016 and 2020, adding that he would support Trump again if the former president wins the GOP nomination next year, he argued that Trump failed to secure “easy wins for Republicans with Republicans” during his time in office.

“And he had Republicans, by the way, in the House and the Senate,” Sununu said. “He said he was going to secure the border. He didn’t do it. He said he was going to be fiscally responsible and $8 trillion more into the debt. That didn’t happen either.”

Sununu pitched his potential candidacy on the idea that both he and the government “are not here to solve … problems” but rather to “create as many doors of opportunity” for constituents. Operating under a “live free or die” mentality, Sununu said he wants the government to spur individual development and local community involvement.

A self-described “fiscal hawk,” Sununu added if he were to have his ownthat in his own presidential administration, top priorities would include balancing the federal budget, decentralizing the federal government and empowering state governments to take more control of the legislative process. Sununu added the welfare system needs redesigningto be redesigned to protect seniors from future cuts to their benefits, describing social security reform as “the third rail of politics.”

“I’m thinking, ‘what are we going to get out of this five, 10 or 20 years down the road,’ in terms of the state of New Hampshire,” Sununu said. “And I think that if you bring that mentality into Washington, D.C., you’re going to get far better results.”

After the conversation, Sununu answered questions from audience members in a Q&A segment, followed by five minutes of closing remarks. During the Q&A, Sununu engaged with a number of political issues, including climate change, gun control, immigration, healthcare and the recent failure of Silicon Valley Bank. Sununu answered the final audience question with a call for comity.

“We can have it out, but it doesn’t mean we’re personally opposed,” Sununu said. “It means we’re passionate about our issues, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Alex Lawson ’23, who attended the event, said it was “an amazing opportunity.” He added that Sununu’s answer to the final audience question was “really interesting.”

“His response was that we need to have those tough conversations,” Lawson said. “And he highlighted how New Hampshire is an example of doing that because they can work together, and it’s one of the more purple states with a mixed legislature.”