ENTREPRENEUR WATCH

Peter Hamelin, co-owner of The Stone Church in Newmarket, poses at the music club. Photo:  Jamie Cohen

It takes a leap of faith to go from being president of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce to co-owner of one of the area’s iconic, but rundown music performance venues. But that’s precisely what Peter Hamelin did in August 2004 when he stepped down as chamber president to focus solely on reviving the Stone Church in Newmarket, which for decades has hosted as eclectic a music line-up of talent as anywhere in New England. Hamelin, a musician himself, and co-owners John Pasquale and Paul Nessel, bought The Stone Church in 2003. They have seen their efforts to revive the facility and its sagging reputation pay off. The facility, which offers as many as six shows a week while drawing customers for its food, has not only survived but has begun to turn a profit. Seacoast Ventures caught up with Hamelin recently to talk about the turnaround and his hopes for the Seacoast Music Collaborative, a wideranging marketing effort to highlight the region’s dynamic music scene.

SV:  What are the challenges and rewards of the entrepreneurial experience?

HAMELIN:  When I come in each morning, no one is here waiting for me to punch my time card. There is so much responsibility and every day I might work as janitor, booker, and doorman or do all of them. But by standing at the door, I get to see smiles on the faces of our customers who get to see who they want in a great place. You really reap what you sow.

SV:  What would be a lesson to pass on to others?

HAMELIN:  They don’t lie when they say the first year is the hardest.

SV:  Do you have an exit strategy?

HAMELIN:  We don’t. Our goal is pretty simple – when we leave we want it to be a better place than when we started.

SV:  Do you need additional investors?

HAMELIN:  We do ... for projects like restoring the balcony to really open the space up the way that it was, which we wanted to start this summer. But we might have to wait a little longer for that. We’ve invested around $150,000 but the longer we hold out and don’t bring on more partners, the more control we will have.

SV:  What else do you see for The Stone Church?

HAMELIN:  It’s about a love for music...We have this vision of around-the-clock music, of artists creating music, classes for kids and workshops and to showcase more local talent.

SV:  What’s your hope for the Seacoast Music Collaborative? Can the Seacoast region develop a reputation as a music hotbed like Austin or Nashville?

HAMELIN:  We want to establish the Seacoast as a destination spot for people who want to see great music live and locally and for the musicians who live here. Our strength is the diversity of what’s happening. There are a lot of good musicians playing in this area and there are so many places to see them and more well-known touring artists.

SV: Are you ready to book the band you play with at The Stone Church?

HAMELIN:  No, we’re not ready to take the stage here yet.