Wallingford Small Business Spotlight: Dad's Restaurant

Every local business has a story worth sharing with the community. And that’s the belief behind this exciting series — to shine the spotlight on all our favorite local businesses, and to learn a little about the ones we may not know that well.

Business: Dad’s Restaurant
Owners: Chrissy Barton
Website: http://www.dadswallingford.com
Address: 740 North Colony Rd. Wallingford, Ct. 06492

How did you come up with the name?

The previous owners named this business after their father.

Why start a business in this town?

People NEED home cooked meals , and a family atmosphere !!

What business are you in?

The restaurant business

What’s the most difficult challenge you’ve faced as a business owner?

Buying out my partner, and keeping afloat for what’s going on 13 years !!!

What’s been your proudest achievement since opening?

I am most proud of my CRAZY social media skills, I was the first small business around here to start on Facebook , now we have close to 5,000 fans , and are also on Twitter and Instagram .

How does your business give back to the community?

I work with a couple of different local charities . We work with Colin’s Crew feeding the families of cancer stricken children . Breast cancer is also a big one for us. One of our girls here lost her mom to the disease, and our DAD’S softball team has a survivor on it. We also just did a benefit for a local Meriden boy, Joe Meadows Jr., who is trying out for the Olympics .

Would you like to see your small business showcased in this series? Email wendy.mitchell@ patch.com.