This is part of a year-long ‘Love for Local’ series called NB365: portraits of New Brunswick entrepreneurs, businesses, and organizations. Huddle is a media partner with Love for Local. Today we feature Danny And Wendy Hudson from Broadleaf Ranch, in Hopewell Hill. We are a family business. Our parents bought this property in 1953, so I guess you can say we were literally “born” into it. The business has evolved over the years through the interest and dreams of our family members.

Our mother was the president of the first “Canadian Farm Vacation Association,” which also evolved into a B&B and now the ever-popular Airbnb. She was a true pioneer of tourism in this area and we grew up welcoming guests and eager to share with them our beautiful region, traditions, and way of life in the country.

Although farm life includes daily chores and we work hard, it is really more of a way of life than a job and a lifestyle that we enjoy.

Supporting local is key and there are many ways to do so: we support local farmers, fishermen, and producers by buying their products for our restaurant; we donate to support local fundraisers and events; we support the workforce by hiring local employees whenever possible; we try to offer products that reflect the needs of local residents.

Throughout the past 20 months, the support from New Brunswickers has been exceptional and paramount in the success of our business. It sometimes feels like a lot of people “found Broadleaf” as out-of-province travel was restricted. We have many guests who are now regular repeat customers who use us as a quick getaway for stress relief and family time. Self-care is more important than ever and so quiet time in nature often allows our guests to re-energize.

The other value-add we have experienced from local guests is the power of word-of-mouth advertising. We have heard more than ever that our guests are coming here from a referral that they got from a friend, neighbour or colleague saying what a great experience they had not only with us but also the many other local operators providing exceptional products and customer service.