Terry Hedderson is quite the busy man. He is the owner and operator of four businesses in the local region. Hedderson’s Store is located in Lower Griquet and is the location where I interviewed Terry for this piece. He explained to me that the store got its start in 1978, when his father opened a convenience store that operated until 2003 when Terry and his wife moved home from Nova Scotia to take over the business. They built the store at the location it remains, across the road from where his father operated.
It has undergone three renovations (all completed by Terry and his father) and today has grocery, food, gun, tobacco and liquor licenses. Terry noted that he enjoys operating Hedderson’s Store because he is a people person. He said, “I like talking to people, finding out about their travels, where they’re from, where they’re going. Local people too; I like swapping ideas with each other and listening and learning from local people. I was always a people person.”
In 2002, Terry purchased the former Mickey’s Hill Café, a restaurant located at the top of Mickey’s Hill in St. Lunaire. After running it for a couple of years, he decided there needed to be a name change, something “that would spark someone to think of the fresh seafood that they’re coming in the area for.” He tossed around ideas with his wife until they settled on “The Daily Catch.” The restaurant is opens prior to Mother’s Day and remains open until the tourism site at L’Anse aux Meadows shuts down for the year. The menu offers local seafood, much of it caught in the local area, as well as delicious desserts that use traditional recipes and/or local berries. They also have a table license and as such, serve wine, local beer, and spirits.
In 2014, Terry opened up Hedderson’s Fish Market, located next to Hedderson’s Store. They sell cod, halibut, scallop, snow crab, lobster, and shrimp, all caught locally. He purchases as much as he can from his family and friends. As with The Daily Catch, the business is opened seasonally. He was having difficulty getting fresh seafood for the restaurant, noting, “I was starting to buy fresh seafood for the Daily Catch but I was having a hard time keeping up with fresh supply. This sparked the idea to build on a fish market at Hedderson’s Store so I could buy more fish at a better price, fresher, sell more at the store and still have a fresher product for the restaurant.” Again, Terry built the addition on with help of his father.
Last year, Terry partnered with a local boat tour company that operates boat tours from a wharf behind Hedderson’s Store. His partner had operated the tours for several years before approaching Terry. As Terry noted, the location is right on the main “drag” through the community of St. Lunaire-Griquet, meaning more people were seeing the advertisements. They have bigger plans for next season and Terry hopes to offer package deals that include the tour, his restaurant, and his latest venture, the Viking Village Bed and Breakfast located in Hay Cove. This last business was purchased just this past August and includes 5 bedrooms, as well as private showers and bathrooms.
Terry employs thirteen staff across his businesses, which has a positive and important impact on the local economy. He has a refreshing view on managing his staff: “The way I treat my staff to maintain staff is that nobody is working for me, they’re all working with me. We’re working shoulder-to-shoulder right on the front line. If they’re preparing beds at the B&B, I’m making beds with them.” He has his hands in all the businesses, sometimes serving breakfast at the B&B, which allows him to chat with tourists about their plans for the day. Then, he notes, he’s often working at Hedderson’s Store in the afternoon, serving some of those same tourists as they go about their visit. Finally, he helps out at the Daily Catch, where he can learn how the plans of his guests unfolded. That and interacting with local people at his businesses gives him great satisfaction. Thanks for the great interview, Terry!
Kayla Carroll
Coordinator
Vinland Futures Research and Development Corporation
@VinlandFutures
