Beth Dunphy is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for adventure. While exploring the world in 2017, Dunphy realized she wanted to bring her adventures home to Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. Dunphy, who already owned and operated a local restaurant, knew owning two vastly different businesses would be a challenge. But Dunphy has a valuable team behind her to help make her dreams come true. As a restaurant and retail store owner, Beth Dunphy continues to feed her adventurous spirit by selling products from all over the world, right in the heart of Tatamagouche.
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Beth Dunphy was working all the jobs at her restaurant Chowder House on Main in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. From operating to cooking and waitressing, she loved being fully involved. When Dunphy isn’t at Chowder House on Main, she is either on or planning her next adventure. She takes every opportunity to be outdoors and to travel the world. While travelling in 2017, Dunphy found inspiration in various markets containing unique handmade products for sale. “It’s just a whole world of textiles I fell in love with,” Dunphy says. “I had a brainwave that if we could bring these products to Tatamagouche, that would be so cool.”
From 2017-2019, Dunphy gathered new ideas on every trip she took. She lucked in with the building beside her restaurant being empty. After some negotiation, Dunphy was able to rent the main floor and upstairs to make her brick-and-mortar retail business dream come to life. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic came along during the midst of her planning and change the game plan a little. Restrictions were in place and stores were shut down. However, Dunphy was able to use the rise in online shopping and the stock availability to her advantage during the summer of 2020 to order products. She was able to open her new store R&B Adventures in October 2020.
While some people are still beginning to trickle in for the first time, Dunphy says the customer base is getting better each year. “A lot of people know the building as being empty” Dunphy explains. “It’s taking time for people to realize we’re in here.” But on the flip side, she says there are some tourists who travel to the village just to walk the main street and check out the unique stores. Dunphy describes the Main Street in Tatamagouche by saying, “There’s something for everyone.”
Along with R&B Adventures and Chowder House on Main, Dunphy says there are multiple boutiques, food options, a bank and drugstore for necessities, and even the Fire Hall all on Main St. She says that the business owners help each other when they can. “The businesses get together and have little events that are fun for everybody. We all work together, it’s really nice.” Dunphy explains. She orders products for her store cautiously, as she doesn’t want to sell the same product as her neighbours. She encourages tourists to venture into every store on Main St. to see something different each time.
Dunphy’s main challenge is trying to be in two places at once. But thankfully, she says the staff at her restaurant are very reliable and supportive. “They are like gold. They really look after things for me” she says. Dunphy starts her morning at Chowder House on Main, works next door at R&B Adventures during the day, then returns to the restaurant. She explains that her staff is fully involved with her day-by-day schedule, and she leaves the restaurant in very good hands. While she has some great part-time help at R&B Adventures, she mostly works the store herself. She says the communication with her staff at the restaurant is how she’s able to maintain her workload.
At R&B Adventures, customers can find unique, fair-trade textiles from all over the world. This includes incredibly soft baby alpaca wool products, Turkish cottons, and Italian linens. Dunphy sources some of her products from a Canadian company called Pokoloko. Pokoloko curates artisanal items worldwide through fair-trade, and they are dedicated to choosing long-lasting, natural materials. Dunphy also carries a variety of products suitable for hiking and camping. SmartWool and Columbia are two brands she carries with outdoor wear, as well as prAna. Dunphy explains that having prAna is new to the store, but the first round of products went so fast that she had to quickly order more. She also carries Indyeva, a company based in Montreal. Dunphy says, “They make clothes for women. The products and outdoor materials are amazing. I just can’t say enough about it.”
R&B Adventures is the only place in the village of Tatamagouche that carries footwear. Made for exploring European streets, the walking shoes Dunphy orders are all very comfortable. “A lot of the footwear is made of Portuguese cork” Dunphy explains. Cork material is known to be shock absorbent, moisture resistant, and very durable. A few of the brands with Portuguese-made footwear at her store include Bos&Co, Asportuguesas, Fly London, and Softinos. Dunphy also carries hiking boots to compliment her outdoor clothing items. CAT boots along with a limited amount of Vasque boots are available in store. Customers can find a range of footwear from hiking boots to wool slippers at R&B Adventures, with both men’s and women’s options at various price points.
Dunphy also has three new lines of self-care products to add to her growing collection. She says Selv Ritual is a woman-owned brand based in Montreal that produces cruelty-free, vegan products. Mother Earth Essentials is an Indigenous-owned brand whose founder is a Cree woman, member of Metis Nation of Alberta, offering natural products with medicinal plants. And Moon and Mana is a mother-daughter-owned company based in Ontario that makes soy-based candles. Each candle is handmade with natural ingredients and topped with a moon crystal and dried florals or herbs. While Dunphy sells many different brands of self-care products, she wanted to highlight her new stock by sharing their brand names and stories. Dunphy sources products each season and will continue to bring in new, exclusive items to Tatamagouche.
Not only does R&B Adventures carry clothing, footwear, and self-care products, but there is so much more. Some of her other products include jewellery, leather belts, and Indigenous-made animal hide products from Hides in Hand. There is certainly something for everybody at R&B Adventures. Dunphy says, “If every once in a while, customers want to splurge or even just get a really nice gift for a reasonable price, I have that. There is something within a price point for everyone.” While there is a variety of products to choose from, Dunphy warns customers that there aren’t multiples in clothing sizes. “One thing about my store is I order only one in each available size,” she says. Dunphy’s customers have very little chance of meeting someone on the street wearing the same design, making their outfits unique.
So, if you’re cruising down Main St. in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia be sure to stop in at R&B Adventures. With two floors of shopping space, there will surely be a nice gift for yourself or a loved one waiting for you. But in the meantime, check out R&B Adventures on social media to keep up with Beth Dunphy’s latest products in store. If you can’t get down to Tatamagouche, you might just have some luck sending her a message requesting a product be shipped your way. But it is well worth the drive to experience Tatamagouche’s Main St shopping in person.
by Gabrielle Gamblin