With His Catering Job a Casualty of the Pandemic, Chef’s Side Hustle Morphs into West Chester’s Newest Eatery

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The newest addition to West Chester’s dining scene, Peter Clark Kitchen, is the brainchild of Erin Morrison, who found himself out of work during the pandemic and began taking soup orders from home. His side business sparked a new culinary outlet, reports Alicia Vitarelli for 6ABC.

The catering company he cooked for laid him off as a result of the pandemic’s squeeze on the foodservice industry. From his home kitchen, Morrison started simmering and selling soup through social media and word of mouth.

“I was making three soups a week,” Morrison said. “I started with 40 quarts a week and it grew to 140 quarts.”

At that point, he decided to apply for a small business loan. The longer-term vision was for a combination eatery/marketplace.

On May 1, the new business officially opened on East Market Street.

The eatery is named after his late father, a chef in the U.S. Navy.

Knowing firsthand the pandemic’s devastating effects on the industry, Morrison committed to hiring other unemployed chefs. He also sources ingredients from local farms (for his dishes and his marketplace), thus supporting their small businesses as well.

He describes his retail outlook as local, sustainable, organic, healthy, and affordable.

Read more about Peter Clark Kitchen at 6ABC.

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