Coming soon! MAT on Main Taqueria … watch the progress at 122 E Main.

by Marsha Chartrand

Last summer, Jason Cooper purchased the old Manchester Bakery buildings at 118–122 E Main St and has been moving forward on renovating both buildings. Late last fall, the new Edward Jones office moved into the 118 building, which was the former bakery storefront, and since that time Cooper has been focusing on plans for his new Taqueria and Microbrewery in the smaller building at 122 E Main.

Initially, Cooper had hoped to open in late March but has now set his sights on a June opening for his eatery, which has been named “M.A.T. on Main” (M.A.T. standing for Manchester Ales and Tacos).

“Things are progressing. Our current goal is to hire a general manager by 5/1 so that we can start preparing for a June opening,” he said. “We have performed our preliminary clean-out and demo. Our design team is finishing up with the construction drawings so we can file for a building permit and start construction.”

On the food side, Cooper and his partner/chef still plan to keep it simple — “creating authentic tacos” — with 4–6 different tacos on the menu, some predictable and some more surprising. As for beverages, they’ll be working on brewing their own beers onsite for a local flavor.

Anyone interested in applying for the General Manager position can email a resume to Careers@matbrewing.com or connect with the business through Facebook, Cooper concluded.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.

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