Chowder to the People with Spice Packets and a Food Truck

When Muriel Barclay de Tolly opened Muriel’s Restaurant in Newport in 1985, she had no idea that her seafood chowder would land her in the Rhode Island Chowder Hall of Fame. Nor could she have predicted that more than 30 years later, her daughter Katie Potter would revive the chowder’s popularity by starting up the Newport Chowder Company, offering Muriel’s award-winning recipe with a spice and herb packet for DIY cooks. Potter is the youngest of Muriel’s six children. She has a day job but she made up the spice packets for a friend’s wedding in 2018; started making the chowder again at the Hope & Main incubator in 2020; and this fall was producing 90 gallons every two weeks to sell from a food truck acquired last August. She also sells lobster rolls from the food truck, with the help of her sister-in-law and her two teenagers. Potter has big plans to partner with a bakery for soft pretzels, a seafood company for stuffies and a retail partner to ship the chowder across the country.

Visit NewportChowderCompany.com for a list of retailers carrying their signature spice packets and follow on social @NewportChowderCompany to find the chowder truck.