Our History

Martha's Sweet Shoppe was founded in 1932 by the great aunt of the current owners. According to family legend, when she immigrated from Greece to New York, Martha Washington Candy was very popular in the area. It is from that candy that Martha's Candy Shoppe is rumored to have gotten it's name. The original candy store encompassed a 20x50 foot space.

In 1944, James Fokas, fresh out of the war, began running his sister's candy Shoppe. He expanded it to include a luncheonette, which had a mere 22 stools. Over the years he would renovate it several times, eager to keep up with the changing times. He was married to Ethel Fokas in 1957. In the years that followed the Fokas' had two sons and a daughter. They also began to acquire the surrounding stores on the Merchants Exchange block, as it was called. Out of the 9 stores, they acquired 5 more, and while they only occupied 2, they leased out the other 5.

Between the years of 1984 and 1985, their two sons, Chris and Bill Fokas, graduated from college. They began to take over and run the family business. In 1987 they expanded yet again to include a restaurant and bar. Only half the bar you see today was included in the renovation. At a price tag of 2 million dollars, the Fokas family worked with a restoration team to restore the entire block to it's original facade.

The Merchant's Exchange building was built in 1872 by D.F. Runners and was the Victorian equivalent of a shopping mall. The original 3 story building was built using the latest advances in architecture. Sadly, in the winter of 1930, a major fire caused the building to suffer many damages, including internal water damage. By the time of the renovations, bricks were beginning to drop from the facade of the building and all but three of the 11 columns needed replacement.

This is when Martha's Exchange was born, named in part after the Merchant's Exchange block where it sat. Also in this renovation, the upstairs function hall was added, allowing Martha's catering to work on site. Apartments and offices were also added upstairs, and the candy Shoppe was kept, and helped to retain the nostalgic quality of Martha's Sweet Shoppe and Luncheonette alive.

Martha's Exchange reopened in December of 1989, and with approximately 150 seats, it started with a bang. By 1993, Martha's was so busy that it needed more seats to accommodate its customers. Another lease ending, Martha's took this opportunity to expand yet again. While expanding the restaurant by another 90 seats, Martha's also made a decision to include a microbrewery; a phenomenon that was just in its infancy. If you look above the brewery tanks, you may also notice a mural painted on the wall. The artist is Steve Barton, who currently has works hanging in the homes of Dolly Parton, Sylvester Stallone, and the White House.

At this time the other side of the bar was added, with the bar being a bit of history in itself. The bar, acquired at an auction, once sat in one of Al Capone's Speakeasies in Chicago. If you look above the bar, you can also see the carved tiger wood on that side, which was a sign of wealth during that era.

Martha's Nightclub hosted bands only for years, finally adding deejays to the line up around 2001. Bands were kept on Saturday nights until a few years ago. However, plans are in the works to bring bands back for Thursday nights.

Martha's Exchange has been through many changes over the years, and will continue to change as our customers do. We have tried to make ourselves a positive influence within the community, from lobbying for outside cafes in 1999, to receiving almost every presidential candidate over the years who have visited Nashua during the New Hampshire Primaries. We believe that there are many more wonderful things in the future for Martha's, and are so pleased to have you, the customer, be a part of it