AMESBURY — Under construction since the beginning of 2024, Hedgehog General Store recently opened its brand new event space behind its main store at 6 Morrill St.
“The grand opening plan will probably be this spring,” Hedgehog co-owner Chirs Harris said.
The new space is located in the 36-foot-by-36-foot building behind Hedgehog, and is split into halves.
“So one side is a huge hall for whatever, the dancing, music, eating, etc., and the other side has the old ice cream bar,” Harris said.
They will also have an outdoor wood-fired kitchen.
“So we’ll cook all the steaks and hamburgers and french fries and everything And everybody can go out back and enjoy it at that space. And then we have live music on Saturdays and Sundays,” Harris said.
Hedgehog General Store has been a staple of the Amesbury business community since 2014. The local market offers everything from breakfast sandwiches and butcher meats to beer and wine.
Harris and his family have been holding on to the vacant space since 2017 but had been waiting for the best time to tap into its asset.
“I had this other building out back, and I noticed in Amesbury, there’s not really too many event spaces for people to rent for functions or just to sit down,” Harris said.
Harris said the venue has plenty of parking and will be family-oriented, only serving beer and wine on weekends.
“It is open currently right now for people to go in and enjoy their breakfast, watch the TV that’s in there, I got an 89-inch TV. They can put the news on, whatever they want, they got Wi-Fi, they can go in there and sit down and get warm and get breakfast,” Harris said.
Amesbury Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sheila Beach described the new event space as a “fantastic development for Amesbury.”
“Hedgehog has consistently been a valuable asset to our community, always coming up with fun and creative offerings and we at the Amesbury Chamber of Commerce are thrilled to see them continue to grow,” Beach said.
Harris said they already have people interested in renting the space.
“We actually have a family last year during construction that saw it in its building stage, and they rented it and reserved it for September for a wedding and baby shower,” Harris said.
New offerings mean more employees, according to Harris.
“I’m looking for experienced people to help and especially in the back, so I am hiring,” Harris said.
Asked about why he wanted to expand in Amesbury, Harris said it is the support his customers have shown him throughout the years.
“I get a lot of locals here on the 2nd Street and they’re all wonderful. They enjoy the butchery,” Harris said.