MANCHESTER, NH – Keke’s Dream LGBTQ+ had its last day as a store in the Mall of New Hampshire on Sunday, March 26, 2023
Store owner Keith Marcoux Sr. said they had received an eviction notice from the mall’s management due to a clause in their lease that could force them out at any time. Any business in the mall on a short-term lease can be supplanted at any time by any other business willing to sign on to a long-term lease. This was the case for Keke’s Dream, which for some time has been the only LGBTQ+ business in New Hampshire.
“We’re going to lose about $50,000 by just being displaced,” Marcoux said. “The store is a small business, and everything we put into the store is lost. We just started establishing the space and everyone knowing we’re here,” Marcoux said.
Several attempts made to reach mall management for comment were unsuccessful.
While business has been above expectations, Keke’s Dream had yet to recoup its initial overlay from opening the business in the first place. The store has been unable to advertise on social media due to negative reactions, responses and messages. The store’s business phone had to be turned off due to repeated harassment, Marcoux said.
Despite this, Marcoux says he remains optimistic about the store’s future. They will return to operating a kiosk in the mall, which is how they started before renting a larger space. And they are looking at options for a new brick-and-mortar home in the city’s downtown.
Security would remain an issue for Marcoux – and an expense, but being in a highly-visible section of the downtown, preferably Elm Street, with the support and alliances of neighboring businesses, could be advantageous.
Marcoux has been working with the Economic Development Department to identify available spaces.
“We’re going to do a 90-day trial,” Marcoux said. “We don’t know what store yet.
Keke’s Dream started as a way for Marcoux Sr. to fulfill a dream for his son, who had the nickname Keke.
The store served customers from all over New England and, at times, all over the country, as people visiting flocked to New Hampshire’s only gay pride store. Community reception was also positive, with hundreds and hundreds of people writing on the store’s walls, which will now have to be taken down.
Featured in the store were items obtained mostly during gay pride month. Marcoux expressed frustration at trying to fully stock the store because, in his words “people aren’t gay for only 30 days out of the year.” A lot of manufacturers simply don’t make gay pride items at certain times of the year. He contemplated having manufacturers rent store space with their brand-name items, in the same way that cereal companies do at grocery stores. He felt as though there was something more he could do, another step he could take.
Much of the store’s inventory has come from local people who made hats and banners and other items.
The handmade items were different than what anyone could buy at other stores. At the same time, Marcoux recognized that he needed more product and more of a selection.
Despite the losses he’s incurred so far, he remains undeterred. There are no plans to close-up shop or reduce operations.
“We weren’t here for the money aspect of it,” Marcoux said. “We were here for the community. That’s what my son’s dream is all about, to be here, to be a support system. Our ideas are far beyond what we’re allowed to do right now.”
Marcoux concluded, “This is a different type of business. I think we’re tapped in at the right time, because it’s right at the beginning of its future that’s going to take off like a rocket.”
Publisher’s note: The story has been corrected to reflect Mr. Marcoux’s search for a new retail space in the downtown and related security issues. We strive for accuracy and apologize for human error whenever it occurs.
Do they have a social media account where they will communicate news about where they eventually move to?