Owner Selling Downtown Dorchester Takeout Joint
DORCHESTER – A southern New Brunswick takeout restaurant in the heart of Dorchester is now up for sale.
Debbie Shea, the owner of Village Square Take-out, confirmed that she listed the restaurant for sale with REMAX Sackville Realty on September 6.
“I don’t have to sell, I just decided to put it on the market. If it sells it sells, if it doesn’t I will keep it running until somebody wants it,” she said.
Shea’s perspective on a potential sale is similar to that of another southeastern New Brunswick restaurateur in nearby Sackville.
While Danny Patterson is considering the sale of his 27-year-old restaurant in Sackville for $1.4 million, with a few tire-kickers showing interest, he told Huddle earlier this summer that he isn’t in a hurry to sell, noting he wants to find the right buyer first.
Shea, who has run her restaurant at 1 Woodlawn Road for around six and a half years, said she’s keeping an open mind about who could potentially take over Village Square.
“Everybody’s got to learn somewhere,” she said when asked if she’d prefer to sell to a newcomer to the industry or someone more experienced. “I’d be willing to help them get going if it was a younger couple. Everybody can learn,” she added.
When asked if the Covid-19 pandemic has affected business or inspired the decision to sell, Shea said that the economic impacts, “slowed it down some” but noted her decision to sell has more to do with the fact that she wants to spend more time with her grandchildren.
RELATED: Patterson’s Owner Mulls Sale And Retirement After 27 Years
Village Square sits on property just across the street from two major tourist attractions: Shep the Sandpiper, the world’s largest semi-palmated sandpiper, and The Dorchester Jail Bed and Breakfast.
While information was not available on the selling price before the press deadline of this story, Service New Brunswick’s online property assessment service says the property alone, at 1 Woodlawn was assessed at a $64,900 value in 2022.
Village Square, known for its fish and chips, specializes in an assortment of take-out fare including various types of burgers, poutine, seafood, donairs, pierogis, and wontons.
“You name it, we pretty much have it,” said Shea.
While Shea didn’t have an exact figure of how many people stop at Village Square to eat every day, she noted the restaurant attracts customers from across the region.
“We people from all over, we get people from Nova Scotia, we get them from Cap-Pele, we get them from Moncton,” she said. “We have a good reputation and excellent food prepared every day. Nothing sits for two or three days.”
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].