PORTSMOUTH- The Landing in Portsmouth has been active in the community for only a short amount of time, yet has already developed what some may call a cult following of artists and community members using the space as a community living room, meeting space, music studio, or coffee lounge.

The Landing was dreamed into existence by owner Amanda Klaiber during the pandemic, who was inspired to create a space that blended her Cincinnati roots with her Portsmouth lifestyle. She then entered planning mode, eventually finding herself in the Ignite Portsmouth Boot Camp, where she formalized plans over two months in 2022, leading her to a 2023 opening.

“I had wanted to have a space that was created around music,” Klaiber explained. “There was a listening room in Cincinnati that I always loved going to, and, when Covid started to shut things down, I decided to go about making this happen.”

The business has found success in her vision and has grown exponentially since launch.

“Of course, I wanted it to be a music space, but also a space that offers other options for the community,” Klaiber said. “Today, that means a meeting space in the daytime, as well as a coffee space that serves during the daytime to fund some of the overhead. We also have the skate shop in a corner, because our musicians skate around the corner at the park and there was nowhere to get that stuff. I’m working with The Taylored Cookie to create a custom cookie we sell on our side of the building. We have Dan and Bailey Smith with tincture. Flock Dining sells bread out of the room. We now have a candle maker. We accept anyone who has a business they think may lend itself well to the Landing and we have about six different vendors now. It is a collaborative thing.”

The aesthetic of the space is quite unique and creates a mood for everyone who walks through the door to melt into and relax.

“Whenever I’ve had wall space, instead of going to Hobby Lobby or somewhere, I’ve been able to get local art and goods to fill the space with instead. Of course, we also have musical instruments. I find it important to keep the Portsmouth identity within the fabric of the space,” Klaiber explained. “The rest fell into place. It’s funny because I’m not from

Portsmouth. My husband is from around here, but I’m from Cincinnati and we moved here around ten years ago. When I knew that I was going to do the room, I knew I wanted it to feel like home. When people walk in, it needs to be a space for people to sit down and feel comfortable, as if they walked into their own living room. The one thing I knew I wanted was the leather cognac couch and the rest was built out by visiting local antique shops to pull it together to create that lounge feel, instead of a shop feel.”

Through her journey, Klaiber created a maximalist wall, cared after the exposed brick to keep that history alive, created the right mood lighting and let the space slowly grow into itself.

Despite being new to the community, the establishment has not only grown an organic following, but has won an award for its efforts to bring a new type of business to the community.

The award was a partnership between the ECDI Women’s Business Center and the Portsmouth Area Chamber of Commerce for Startup of the Year.

The general community has also embraced her efforts, accepting her invitation to make it her own. It has led to poetry readings, weekly open mics, and even band performances.

“That sort of surprised me, because the size of the space, but we’ve had many bands with four or five people experiment and play there and ask to come back, so we’ve kind of created this living room concert feeling,” Klaiber explained. “I can’t take all the credit for the space, because the community that has been drawn to it has helped create and build it into what it is now. It is hard to explain it, but the businesses around me have also played a role in shaping the Landing in an organic way. We have a hub for meetings and artistry.”

Expanding on the artist feel of the space, the group recently worked with Trillium Project to install a mural frame to the exterior of the property. Riley Galloway was the first artist to fill the space with her art through the Trillium Project efforts.

The Landing is building out an impressive schedule that is constantly updating. In September, beginning on Thursdays at 6 p.m., there will be a new board and card gaming night held weekly. Open mics are held every Friday at 6 p.m. Open jams are held every Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Planned music currently consists of The Rev Mr. Jeremy Grizzle on Saturday, August 17 at 7 p.m.; Johnny Whisman on Saturday, August 31 at 7 p.m.; and Intercession Imposters on Saturday, September 14 at 7 p.m.

Klaiber and friends are even planning larger concerts now, with a big one taking place September 7 at 8 p.m. The concert will feature The Tape Cassettes, Wade Gillett, Porch Beers, and The Further Along.

The Landing has a quickly growing schedule of events, including poetry readings, open mic nights, concerts, and more in a space that has evolved from living room to meeting space to coffee shop to skate shop to coffee stop. They are welcoming of ideas on how to use the space and for more people to claim it as a space they call their own. The Landing is at 217b Market Street, in the alley behind Market Square. They are a coffee shop by day and lounge by night, operating with the following hours: 8 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday mornings; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday; 5 to 8 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday; and from 5 p.m. to final music Friday and Saturday.