Greater Haverhill Chamber to Move to Washington Street Historic District Storefront

The Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce moves next month from Harbor Place on Merrimack Street to a storied Washington Street storefront.

Greater Haverhill Chamber President and CEO Katie Cook appeared on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program Monday and said the business organization moves to the city’s retail heart about the middle of January.

“The Chamber should be storefront, down, usually accessible for individuals to pop in and ask questions about businesses. We’re excited for the opportunity,” she said.

In fact, the 29 Washington St. location once housed Kaleidoscope Gallery, a pottery shop founded in 1976 by urban pioneer Raymond F. Eason and his and his wife Mary-Ellen. They were among the first to see the potential rebirth of the street from manufacturing to retail uses.

The building was recently renovated by developer Jonathan Cody’s Atlantis Investments.

It’s the latest move for the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce that last moved in 2018 into two offices on the third-floor incubator space at Harbor Place. Then-Chamber President and CEO Dougan Sherwood brought the Chamber from the second floor at 80 Merrimack St., to help support the then-UMass Lowell Innovation Hub. Prior to Merrimack Street, the Chamber’s longtime home was 87 Winter St., where poet John Greenleaf Whittier went to high school when the brick building served as Haverhill Academy.

The new offices are between The Hill Downtown Tavern, just formerly known G’s, and Kwik Stop Convenience on the north side of Washington Street. Cook told WHAV, the Chamber will need a couple of weeks to get the location ready.

“Don’t judge us when we first get in there. We got to take some time to decorate and re-arrange our furniture, but we‘ll get it figured out.”

Cook also emphasized the “greater” in the Chamber’s name, noting surrounding towns are also very much part of the organization. She recently launched the Methuen Business Alliance and plans similar groups for Georgetown and Groveland.

“I’ve been trying to think of a way to let each community feel seen and connect to their business communities. I think we do a really great job here in Haverhill, but the rest of the communities feel a little ignored,” she explained.

Now, for example, the Methuen Business Alliance will launch Methuen Restaurant Week during the last week of January. Much like Haverhill’s Restaurant Week, it will showcase Methuen’s dining establishments with about 15 restaurants signup so far.