"We don't have to be underground anymore," Pannipa Pace told the Valley News in February. She was standing in the half-finished dining room at 44 South Main Street while her husband, Ken, worked on the renovation. For more than a decade, Tuk Tuk Thai Cuisine had served Tom Yum soup and drunken noodles at the bottom of a steep staircase off a side street. Pace opened it there in 2015, and the turquoise sign was about the only thing that kept people from walking past.
Tuk Tuk didn't move because it wanted a bigger room. It moved because of a building plan, and so did the barbershop that had been its neighbor. Most of the changes on South Main this year trace back to one redevelopment at 5–15 South Main Street. In the most recent public reporting, that project still had no firm date for demolition.
One redevelopment, two moves
The Hanover Planning Board unanimously approved the final site plan for Davison Hanover LLC's 5–15 South Main Street project on July 22, 2025, with conditions and waivers. The plan adds 31 apartments to the existing building, for a total of 44, and keeps the connected retail. Property owner Jon Livadas plans to tear down the roughly 100-year-old rear annex to make room. The front of the building, home to Dirt Cowboy, Murphy's on the Green, and Simon Pearce, will stay standing.
The two tenants in the doomed part of the building were Tuk Tuk and Walt & Ernie's Barbershop, which was in the annex at the back. Walt & Ernie's moved first, opening in January at 42 South Main Street. Tuk Tuk followed in June and took over 44 South Main, the old home of the events space Venue. That put the two businesses side by side again, just as they had been in the annex.
"We were next to each other before, and we'll be next to each other again. Who would have guessed," Carol Eastman, the barbershop's owner, told the Valley News.
The timing tells you something. In August 2025, the Valley News reported that construction was expected to start the following April and run through October 2027. On June 16, 2026, Livadas told the Valley News there was still no firm start date for demolition. We found no public update since then. So the tenants have already moved out for a project that hasn't visibly started.
What the new Tuk Tuk looks like
The new space sits across from the Hanover Park plaza. According to Ken Pace, it seats about 130 people inside and out. He put in epoxy floors and painted the walls turquoise with white and gold accents, a look he called an "ocean effect." The couple, who live in West Lebanon, planned outdoor seating and a custom tent on the patio for the warmer months. Ken Pace liked that the patio is "tucked right in and you're out of the wind." As of February, the renovation had cost about $150,000, with roughly another $25,000 still to go.
The opening date slipped along the way. In February the target was early April. A June 16 Valley News update then said the restaurant would reopen "this Saturday," and that the old location at 5 South Main had closed as of June 16. The menu stayed mostly the same, and Pace added sushi. The June article listed hours of 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. The restaurant's own website now shows the 44 South Main address, indoor and outdoor seating, and the sushi bar. Hours change, so check the site before you go.
South Main, updated, by address
Not every change this year came from the 5–15 project, but they all landed within a few blocks of each other. Here's the 2026 version of South Main and the streets just off it, in address order:
- 5–15 South Main Street. Dirt Cowboy, Murphy's on the Green, and Simon Pearce are in the front portion that stays. Tuk Tuk's old basement entrance has been closed since June 16.
- 42 South Main Street. Walt & Ernie's Barbershop, here since January 2026.
- 44 South Main Street. Tuk Tuk Thai Cuisine, in the former Venue space across from Hanover Park.
- 53 South Main Street, Nugget Arcade. Kyle Timothy Fine Art, which opened June 18.
- 57 South Main Street, Suite 101. Playa Bowls, next to Nugget Theaters in the space The Nest Kitchen and Cafe left in 2025. Hanover Scoops is a few doors down.
- Allen Street. Main Street Kitchens' old storefront. Stinson's Village Store still occupies part of the building.
The landlords set the pace
Look past the restaurants and a pattern shows up. A small number of property owners are deciding what downtown looks like, one storefront at a time.
Playa Bowls is a good example. Franchise co-owners Carrie and Josh Ayers lease their space from the Hanover Improvement Society. That's the nonprofit that runs Storrs Pond Recreation Area, Campion Rink, and the Nugget, and it owns two retail properties next to the theater: the Playa Bowls space and Hanover Scoops. Playa Bowls is a chain, but Jeff Graham, who led the Society for 12 years before retiring in February, said the Hanover franchise owners are "local to New England." Jennifer Rickards is the Society's new executive director. The build-out included surf-themed murals and repurposed wood. In February, the expected hours were 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, running to 9 p.m. from Memorial Day through Labor Day. A grand opening was advertised for April 25, with free bowls and shirts for the first 50 customers. The company's site now lists the Hanover shop as open daily.
At the Nugget Arcade, Kyle Timothy Blood, Dartmouth class of 1990, signed a lease to open Kyle Timothy Fine Art. The gallery held its grand opening on Thursday, July 23. According to the Valley News, it's the first private fine art gallery in Hanover since Spheris Gallery closed in 2014. Blood describes it as "a home gallery for Dartmouth alumni working in the arts," though it shows artists from outside the college too. When the Valley News visited in July, three Henry Isaacs paintings anchored the central wall. The work on display included metal pieces by Margaret Jacobs, a former exhibition coordinator at AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon. Blood's 12-year-old Cavapoo, Tucker, was greeting visitors.
The one storefront without a sequel
Allen Street is where the shuffle hasn't finished. David and Kaitlyn Barrette announced on Jan. 4 that Main Street Kitchens would close on Valentine's Day. They described it as an indefinite hiatus, not a final closing. The Barrettes bought the shop in 2018 from Marv and Mary Schouten, who had run it for decades. In 2020 they moved it from South Main to Allen Street because of high rent. Their public post said they intend "to return when the timing and conditions feel right."
The building's owner, Robert Meyer of the Hanover-based BaySon Company, said he'd be glad to find the Barrettes a space if they reopen. The storefront next door was already empty after Michael's Audio-Video closed in 2025. Samosa Man runs a commercial kitchen in the building's basement, but it isn't open to the public. We found no dated report naming a new retail tenant for the old Main Street Kitchens space.
What hasn't happened yet
The open questions about 5–15 South Main matter most for the businesses that are staying:
- Demolition date. None announced in any report through June 16, 2026.
- Sidewalk and access plan. The Planning Board discussed sidewalk connectivity, crosswalk and ADA compliance, and construction disruption. The minutes don't include a construction-phase plan for sidewalks, parking, or the side street.
- The front-building tenants. Dirt Cowboy, Murphy's on the Green, and Simon Pearce are in the portion that stays. No public source says whether construction will affect how they operate.
The 2026 changes so far came from tenants moving ahead of construction, not from construction itself. When demolition does start, it will begin behind Dirt Cowboy, Murphy's on the Green, and Simon Pearce, the three businesses in the front of the building that stays.
Andy Clouse keeps a close watch on how buildings like 5–15 South Main change downtown Hanover, from planning approvals to the storefronts that change hands along the way. If you'd like to talk through what the South Main redevelopment could mean for property near the center of town, Let's Connect.
