What started as a family tradition in Newport has just taken a significant leap onto the national stage. Newport Chowder Company announced on Friday that it has secured a distribution partnership with US Foods, one of the country’s largest foodservice distributors, making founder Katie Potter’s mother’s award-winning seafood chowder recipe available to restaurants, hotels, universities, and convention centers nationwide.
The milestone represents a remarkable journey for the local business that began operations just six years ago in 2019, honoring the culinary legacy of Muriel Barclay de Tolly, known as the “Chowder Queen” after winning Newport’s Chowder Cook-Off three consecutive years and earning induction into the International Chowder Hall of Fame in 1989.
“Seafood chowder has long been a missing category in foodservice, even though it’s a dish people love from coast to coast,” Potter said in Friday’s announcement. “Our mother Muriel’s legendary recipe, born right here in Newport, can now scale across the country while staying true to its roots. We’re proud to bring a taste of Newport to tables nationwide.”
Potter launched operations in 2022 at the Hope & Main food incubator in Warren, focusing on small-batch production. Within three years, the company has scaled to partner with Blount Fine Foods as its co-packer and has now secured nationwide distribution through US Foods.
The product will be available in a boil-in-bag format, designed for foodservice convenience and consistency, and will be listed as “Newport Chowder Company Soup, Seafood Chowder Boil In Bag” with reference number 1266486.
Potter won the 2022 Sam Adams Brewing the American Dream Pitch contest, graduated from Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Business program as part of Cohort 18, and was honored by the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce as “Woman of Distinction” in October.
The business operates food trucks, a quick-service restaurant in downtown Newport, and the wholesale division that now includes partnerships with both Blount Fine Foods and US Foods.
The US Foods partnership opens doors to institutional foodservice accounts nationwide, potentially introducing millions of diners to Muriel Barclay de Tolly’s chowder recipe that has been perfected in Newport kitchens.
