A couple of the challenges Dunphy and her staff have faced over the past couple of years are the Covid-19 pandemic and the increase in food costs. She explains that the restrictions negatively impacted the business but how fortunate they were to have support from local cus - tomers. “We were so limited by the restrictions, and we were shut down for almost three months,” she says. On top of the pandemic obstacles, they have had to change the menu in order to accommodate the increasing price of ingredients. “We do the best we can not to take huge price jumps, we redo the menu pricing very cautiously,” she says. Despite the constant increase in costs, Dun - phy only makes price changes once a year. They work around food shortages and continue to source high-qual - ity ingredients. It is important for Chowder House on Main to serve quality meals to their customers, even if that entails finding new products due to shortages. Dunphy says while it may take a while to get back to pre-pandem - ic prices and profits, she is very thankful her restaurant was able to stay open. Some new things to look forward to at Chowder House on Main include new breakfast items on the menu. They have done a lot of work on the breakfast options and
continue to try new ideas. Dunphy says they also take customer feedback into consideration while changing the menu. “We’re adding all the new items that have been our weekly specials onto our menu because they are quite popular.” She says she often thinks about changing the lunch and dinner menu. But whenever she looks at it, she just wants to add to it, not take anything away. Next time you find yourself on Trunk 6 heading through Tatamagouche, take advantage of the many activities it has to offer. Rent a cottage, take a canoe out on the ocean, or even ride a bicycle through the town. No mat - ter how you choose to spend your time, be sure to stop at Chowder House on Main for a hot meal and excep - tional customer service. Although with the very large menu selection, you may have to stop by multiple times. Beth Dunphy’s entrepreneurial journey is only just be - ginning, and we look forward to seeing what more there is to come.
“We do the best we can not to take huge price jumps, we redo the menu pricing very cautiously,”
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 23 ISSUE 3
VOL 23 ISSUE 3 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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