Nothing fishy about five years of success:

By Jennifer Soukup

November 14, 2014

Burlington, ON

Being the owner of a restaurant is like a recipe:

It starts off with a bunch of ingredients that all get whisked together in a bowl and cooked into something. You have to have many components for the end product to turn out. With time comes perfection.

There’s something about walking in every morning that I love. Kind of neat that after five years I still smile to myself when I pull into the parking lot and turn down the country music.

Soukup does not catch the fish – when she fished – well she is pointing to her most recent catch.

Starting up the coffee pot and checking with the bike store next door if the mail lady dropped off mail. Then it’s a whole bunch of ordering, scheduling, paying bills and prepping, before I turn the open sign to flashing.

I believe the old saying -if you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. Cutting a 700 pound fish sure feels like work, but knowing that the customers are happy with eating wild fish makes me happy.
Making everything from scratch and without preservatives is also time consuming, but it separates our products from the rest. So I guess if you love what you do then it just feels worthwhile.

When I was 25 I bought Boston Fish & Chips. I wasn’t sure what to expect. It has been a roller-coaster of learning that’s brought me to my fifth year here.

Not to mention all of my regular customers who feel more like family. I’ve grown as an individual, and I’ve really enjoyed watching all of their families grow as well.

There’s the elderly couple who come in every Tuesday at 10:45, even though we don’t open until 11 and the man makes sure I put exactly 12 French fries on his plate. Never 11, never 13.

There are the two little girls who ride here on their bikes from around the corner to share a plate of ketchup together, because I can never see the fries.

There is this older gentleman who always tells me a joke every time he comes I always listen carefully, even though it’s always the same joke over and over.

There’s the couple who brings me tomatoes from their garden and tells me stories about their beautiful granddaughter and the trips they’ve taken.

Plus my Mom and Dad who are my biggest cheerleaders and just a phone call away to listen, offer advice and come in to help on the biggest day of my year.

Don’t know where I’d be without them. My grandma who comes to bring me fruit and tell me stories while I cut cabbage, and my other grandparents who stop by regularly.

My sister and brother and their families who come and make sure I’m not working too hard. My supportive boyfriend who always seems to make me laugh and calm me down when things get hectic; my friends who don’t get mad at me for working long hours, and being okay with me meeting them after I close.

Jennifer uses the sign her boyfriend painted to let people know she has been successfully running Boston Fish and Chips for five years.

The girls who work for me, let me take some time to myself and letting me trust them with Boston. All of these things are the things that create my recipe. Without some of these components my end product might not turn out so well.

So if you’re driving by on November 15th, we are celebrating my fifth year here. We are giving away slices of cake and if you spend $25 you’ll receive a free order of onion rings. To all of you, who continue to touch my heart over the years, thank you.