From Dishwasher to Dry Bar Pioneer: Dan Haggerty Is Building Something Manchester Has Never Seen

Industry East. Stashbox. Moka Pot. And now Without -- Manchester's first dry bar. Here's what happens when a cocktail guy follows the community.

I have been in this business for almost 40 years, and I still get excited when I sit down with someone who built something completely their own way. Dan Haggerty walked into The Beacon and within about five minutes I knew this was going to be one of my favorite conversations yet. We laughed. We compared notes on tiny kitchens and demanding regulars. And he said a few things that I am still thinking about.

If you haven't listened yet, go do that first. The full episode is right here:

But if you want the story behind the story, keep reading.

The Kid Who Asked to Work Out Front

Dan started in the industry at 14 -- dishwasher at an upscale Italian restaurant just over the border in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts. He moved up to prep cook, looked around at the kitchen -- everyone yelling, the grease smell, the chaos -- and decided that wasn't for him. So he asked to move to the front of house. His mom calls him the squeaky wheel. He calls it survival instinct.

That one decision set the whole thing in motion. From there: years of bartending all over southern New Hampshire, a stint at Stella Blue in Nashua, a traveling mixology business called In the Mix that he ran for nearly a decade out of his truck and his apartment. And then, eventually, Industry East.

The Hot Dog That Saved the Bar

Here is a sentence I did not expect to say: a hot dog saved Industry East's liquor license.

When Dan and his business partner Jeremy Hart submitted their original menu to the NH Liquor Commission, they got it back with a note. Not enough food. Too snacky. The problem? They had no hood vent, a 650-square-foot kitchen, and exactly no room for a standard bar menu.

So they added hot dogs. As a joke. Sent it back. The commission approved it. And as Dan told me on the show:

"We put it on there like a joke and sent it back to the liquor commission and they were like, Perfect. And we're like, Are you serious right now?"

Those hot dogs -- now called wieners of the week, with over 300 rotating recipes since they opened -- are one of the most talked-about things in Manchester food. The week I visited, it was a banh mi dog. A few weeks before that, an eggs benedict wiener with a perfectly poached egg on English muffin toast points. I have strong opinions about poached eggs and I am here to tell you: it was perfect.

What Jeremy and Dan Actually Do

People ask me all the time how I manage four locations. My answer is always the same: you need to know who does what. Dan has the same philosophy. He describes his partnership with Jeremy Hart simply:

"He's the cocktail guru. I'm the loud one."

Jeremy is the creative engine behind the drink programs at both Industry East and Stashbox -- the guy who makes a drink you'd never order and somehow it's perfect. Dan is the hospitality side. The floor. The face. The person who makes sure every one of those 18 seats at Industry East feels taken care of.

That balance is rarer than it sounds. I've seen a lot of partnerships not work. This one works.

Without -- And Why a Cocktail Guy Is Opening a Dry Bar

This is the part of the conversation I keep coming back to. Dan Haggerty built his entire reputation on craft cocktails. He is not alcohol-free himself. And he is opening Without -- Manchester's first dry bar -- on the corner of Elm and Hanover in Manchester.

I asked him straight out: where did this come from? His answer was better than I expected.

"These companies, these global, huge companies -- they already knew. They knew before we all did. They're changing their marketing. They're changing what they sell."

The non-alcoholic beer market has exploded. Mocktail menus are everywhere. And the customers -- especially younger ones -- are asking for options in a way they weren't five years ago. Dan has been watching this for years in his own bars. He tried to open a version of this concept near Industry East a while back and the space disappeared before he could act on it.

Then the space next to the Moka Pot became available. He partnered with Nick Carnes, who I lovingly call Mr. Manchester. And Without is coming very soon.

The menu is being built by Chef Josh, who is actually from Hawaii -- and is bringing a Polynesian-influenced flavor profile that Dan says you simply cannot find anywhere else in Manchester. Full head-on prawns. Things you've never seen on a menu around here.

And when I asked Dan why he thinks the sober-curious movement is real and lasting, he said something I want to write on a wall somewhere:

"Healthcare is expensive. What's the number one thing making me sick? Booze. But I still want to go out and have a nice time. I still want to get cool food. I want to take selfies. I want people to see me out doing stuff. This is the spot."

The Thing About Manchester

I asked Dan at the end of our conversation what he wants people to know about this city. His answer landed.

"Manchester kind of gets a bad rap from outsiders. But specifically, Manchester has one of the coolest small business communities. It's the biggest city north of Boston but it's still got that small town feel. It's almost eerily how much everyone helps each other out."

That is true. I have lived and worked in this city for decades and I know it to be true. New people who open here see it almost immediately and can't believe it's real. It is real.

Dan is a big part of why it feels that way.

Go find Industry East on Hanover Street and Stashbox on Elm. And keep your eyes on the corner of Elm and Hanover for Without -- it is coming soon and it is going to be something Manchester has never had before.

Industry East: industryeastbar.com | @industry.east.bar

Stashbox: stashboxnh.com | @stashboxnh

And if you want to hear the full conversation -- including Dan's legendary 2am Red Arrow order and his very strong feelings about the word "mixologist" -- the full episode is at:

linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH

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ABOUT CAROL ERICKSON

Carol Erickson has owned Red Arrow Diner since 1987 -- four locations across New Hampshire, open 24/7. She started Beyond the Plate to tell the real stories behind the people who make New England's food and hospitality scene what it is. Not just what's on the menu. What's behind it.

Red Arrow Diner: redarrowdiner.com  | @redarrow24diner