Introducing Peter Stoddart
It is the dream of many to open their own restaurant, café, or pub. However, the food and beverage industry is not an easy business to succeed within. Most restaurants fail within a few years of opening, so what can you do to stand out and atop the rest? Peter Stoddart is an entrepreneur that did just this. Peter is the owner of The Saint John Ale House in beautiful uptown Saint John, New Brunswick. Peter opened the Ale House in 2004, but had the inspiration to open such a business for much longer.
Peter was amongst the first in his local market to focus on locally sourced, seasonal ingredients for a pub environment. Even his chef, Jesse, runs his own farm to help grow the ingredients they need on a daily basis. Beyond taste, there are other reasons to consider sourcing locally and seasonally. First off, you get to know the people and places that your ingredients come from. You also have the opportunity to spend your money so that it stays within the local economy. Not to mention, your vendors become your evangelists and customers.
Beyond great food, the Saint John Ale House focuses on personal service and a fun, social atmosphere. They seek to build and support a community atmosphere that lets their patrons feel like they are apart of something special. Connecting with his customers is Peter’s greatest joy in the business, as well as offering a product that he can be proud of. This is especially true, when Peter sees visitors from other parts of the world return wearing a SJAH t-shirt. By creating and showing loyalty and developing a connection to his customers and community, he has created an institution. It isn’t easy to do what Peter has done, but with passion and persistence Peter believes you can achieve like he has.
In this episode
Peter tells us about the Saint John Ale House and the steps he has taken to make it the success it currently is. We hear how he generates buzz through social media by creating great content. We hear how Dave went to the Ale House prior to his wedding and almost got married with chicken wing sauce on his face. Greg loves Peter’s approach to local business and how buying from local vendors turns them into your customers and quasi-marketers.
Links
Peter throwing pumpkins from the roof of the SJAH