Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont internship, for the White River Valley Herald
BETHEL — Tyler Boardman has been working at The Creek House Diner since his sophomore year of high school. He started as a dishwasher and worked his way up to running and co-owning the business with his mom, Ginger Boardman. When she stepped back in 2020, he took over full ownership of the business.
Creek House has faced challenges over the years, including a fire in 2018 and the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020. In an interview last week, Boardman discussed how the local community in Bethel has supported them through this time.
As the diner approaches its 19th anniversary on Feb. 14, Boardman announced his plan to update the establishment’s look with a new logo.
Q. Tell me about your job and what you like about it.
A. Cooking is something that I’ve grown more and more to love, and having other people love my cooking just as much is a very gratifying feeling. That’s kind of where most of the happiness comes from, knowing that people are enjoying it. We have a lot of people coming back, and that’s kind of your sign that you’re doing something right. A lot of people around here rely on us, so that’s where a lot of passion comes into it.
Q. What do you feel you bring to your community other than a warm meal?
A. When you have a small community like this, it’s not all about the hustle and muscle of it. I’d say it’s more like making people feel comfortable, and making people happy, and making people want to return. That’s an important thing just to have that consistency, where locals know what they’re going to get. They’re comfortable with the place. They love the food. That’s kind of where I pride myself, mostly, is the consistency and being affordable.
Q. Do you feel that there’s a strong sense of community here in Bethel?
A. Yeah, I would say so. The community is what keeps us going this time of year, especially during the slow season when there’s not much traveling going on. This is a very tight-knit community. We all know each other. We all see each other on a daily basis, and you kind of grow with the customers, not only as customers, but you almost have this friendship, and this connection together. It’s hard to put into words, but it is a tight community, for sure.
Q. You’ve faced some challenges, like Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 and a fire back in 2018. How did you get through these hard times?
A. I mean, the flood, back when Irene happened, we stayed open through that. I tried to keep pushing towards staying open, even though almost every avenue to get here was closed at the time, I still tried to stay open for the people in the community. That was important for a lot of people around here.
But then the fire happened in 2018. And that took out this whole place. Right down to the bare bones. So, we had to rebuild at that point. Then shortly after we rebuilt from the fire, we had COVID happen. So, then we were down for another year and a half, and it’s just been very up and down. But the locals are what save us.
Q. Your 19th anniversary is coming up, do you have any plans for that?
A. I’m in the middle of doing a logo change. I got new shirts and hats and a new road sign, all that’s coming. I’m not changing the menu; I’m changing the outlook of the menu. But all the items will be the same. So that’s coming in the next few weeks, I’m hoping. My goal is for Valentine’s Day, our anniversary, to get everything relaunched. The new logo that’s coming in matches exactly who we are as a business. It’s a simple little house with a creek behind it.
Q. What would you tell people who’ve never been to The Creek House diner to get them to come check it out?
A. Well, we’ve had the same waitresses for a long time. So they recognize faces better than I do when it comes to regulars, but they’re always very welcoming to any of the locals. We always make everyone feel kind of like a local, whether you are or not. It should feel like a home to an extent. I’m glad that people can come here, and they feel like they want to come back. It’s kind of the most important thing.