Another N.H. restaurant achieves ‘local’ certification

12 restaurants have been recognized since the program began

Another New Hampshire restaurant has been recognized for its commitment to serving up New Hampshire farm products and supporting local farmers.

The Sugar Hill Inn, located on Route 117 in Sugar Hill, recently achieved “Certified Local” status from the New Hampshire Farm to Restaurant Connection, a nonprofit that aims to help New Hampshire farms and food producers by connecting them with restaurants, schools, hospitals and the public.  

The Sugar Hill Inn and its chef, Val Fortin, were recognized for serving seasonal, locally grown produce and meat in the inn’s mountainside dining room. It is the twelfth restaurant in New Hampshire to be certified through the program, which aims to celebrate restaurants that support and create demand for local agriculture.

The program is voluntary, and once a restaurant has decided to apply for potential certification, staff members of the Farm to Restaurant Connection evaluate it based on a detailed point system. Restaurants can achieve points in a number of ways, from serving up local produce to offering New Hampshire-made goods for sale to composting waste.

Those that achieve a high enough score are certified as “local,” and receive a logo they can use, window stickers, and inclusion in promotional materials produced by the Farm to Restaurant Connection.

Other New Hampshire restaurants that have been certified since the program launched in late 2011 include:

• Republic Café, 1069 Elm Street, Manchester
• The Grappone Conference Center, 70 Constitution Ave, Concord
• Margarita Grill, 78 Rt. 302, Glen
• Blue Moon Evolution, 8 Clifford Street, Exeter
• MT’s Local Kitchen & Wine Bar, 212 Main Street, Nashua
• Cotton, 75 Arms Street, Manchester,
• Dyn Café, 90 Dow Street, Manchester
• The Local Eatery, 17 Veteran’s Square, Laconia
• The Crust and Crumb Baking Company, 126 North Main Street, Concord
• Martingale Wharf, 99 Bow Street, Portsmouth