When all was sipped, said and done, John Costa was “a little shell-shocked” at being able to yell to his Cluck’n Crabs crew, “We won Chowderfest!”

But actually, customers had been telling him all ChowderMonth long that his place’s “Cluck’n Red” was their favorite. When the votes were counted among 25 competitors on Sunday, Oct. 4, it made Chowderfest a day to celebrate.

“It’s been my wife and I’s favorite day of the year for years,” Costa said from the store at 857 Mill Creek Rd.