Home Port Restaurant owners Bob and Sarah Nixon this week announced the sale of the Menemsha mainstay to Boston restaurateur Seth Woods and his business partner Eric Berke, both seasonal residents of Aquinnah. The sale price is nearly $2.6 million.
Home Port Restaurant owners Bob and Sarah Nixon this week announced the sale of the Menemsha mainstay to Boston restaurateur Seth Woods and his business partner Eric Berke, both seasonal residents of Aquinnah, for nearly $2.6 million.
“The Home Port restaurant, the long-standing Menemsha institution, has resumed operations under a new partnership between two longtime friends and Up-Island seasonal residents,” a press release issued Thursday said.
The restaurant has been open under new ownership since June 15, with full table service and a pris fixe seafood menu.
The Nixons had owned the Home Port since 2009, when the town of Chilmark had planned to purchase the property from longtime owner Will Holtham for a public development project. Mr. Nixon convinced voters at town meeting to give the historic space one more chance as a restaurant.
“[The development project] didn’t seem to make sense to me,” Mr. Nixon told the Gazette Thursday. “The Home Port was such a big part of Menemsha, a gathering place really for the whole Island.”
The Nixons paid $2.3 million for the property, and ran it as a full-service and takeout restaurant for the following decade. In recent years, however, the restaurant had failed to open, with owners citing staffing difficulties and the pressures of the pandemic.
The restaurant’s continued closure inspired Mr. Woods, owner of Boston’s Aquitaine Restaurant Group and a long time Home Port patron, to inquire after the business.
“Menemsha was just looking like a little sad, you know?” Mr. Woods told the Gazette by phone Thursday. After scaling down his Boston enterprise, Mr. Woods was on the lookout for something more creative — “a passion project,” he said. Something close to home.
“It had to be local and it had to be something that mattered to me. I couldn’t figure out what that was. And when Eric mentioned [Home Port], it was just sort of like a light went off,” Mr. Woods said. Neither he nor Mr. Berke, they soon realized, could stand to see a local institution like the Home Port fade away.
“[Eric Berke] was coming here when he was four years old. My kids had their first oyster here when they were five years old,” Mr. Woods said. “The town needs it. It needs to be restored.”
After making an offer last summer, Mr. Berke, Mr. Woods, and the Nixon family spent the off-season negotiating a sale. The two parties signed a purchase and sale agreement in April, allowing renovations to move ahead in advance of the summer season. The sale was finalized Thursday. Mr. Nixon said in addition to the real estate, the new owners also paid $500,000 for the business, bringing the total sale price to nearly $3.1 million.
“It just seemed to make really good sense for us to hand it off to them,” Mr. Nixon said. “We just had a real meeting of the minds with them. They love Menemsha and share the values of why [the Home Port]’s important to the town.”
The new owners have big dreams for the Home Port, including live music, breakfast service and off-season service, although Mr. Woods admitted that these prospects all lie in the future.
“We’re looking to be a tourist destination secondarily,” he said. What he really wants, he said, is “to be a local restaurant that’s firmly established in the community.”
Comments
I shucked many oysters at the
ClarkI shucked many oysters at the Homeport, may if forever be a Chilmark institution.
Me too! Dishwasher, salad
Miranda MenemshaMe too! Dishwasher, salad prepped, etc. Hooray for this news! Hopefully they’ll stick to the original key lime pie and quahog chowder recipe. (Anybody else recall Bil Baird playing bagpipes up and down the aisles?).
Me too! Dishwasher, salad
Miranda MenemshaMe too! Dishwasher, salad prepped, etc. Hooray for this news! Hopefully they’ll stick to the original key lime pie and quahog chowder recipe. (Anybody else recall Bil Baird playing bagpipes up and down the aisles?).
Great news! Welcome and good
Steven Fischer ChilmarkGreat news! Welcome and good luck.
Now let’s hope there’s change coming to the eyesore that was the Menemsha Market.
Look like they are off to a
Chris CharlotteLook like they are off to a good start with the "new" Larsen's Fish Market, hopefully others will follow suit.
great news only the best of
rob the roofer new jerseygreat news only the best of luck to you
“Full table service”? Hardly.
Peter Neilley Chilmark“Full table service”? Hardly. You get up and stand in line at the front desk to order your food and pay in advance. Yes, they deliver your meal to your table, but that is the only thing I would call “ table service”. You even have to go get your own water.
Nope. Was there the other
Katama KatamaNope. Was there the other night. Full table service.
Interesting. I was there on
Peter Neilley ChilmarkInteresting. I was there on Day 2 and had the limited table experience. Maybe they concluded that model wasn’t working. Good to know.
Two great people. I wish them
Peacegirl ChappyTwo great people. I wish them huge success.
My twin daughters enjoyed
William Rotz Breinigsville PAMy twin daughters enjoyed dining in & take-out on the back porch since the mid 1980’s. They had their first mussels there. Nothing like stopping there after a day at the beach!
Such great news. My husband
Karen AquinnahSuch great news. My husband was a dishwasher there in 1968 when he was a teenager and the busboys used to put customers’ leftover untouched lobster claws aside for the staff to share at closing time. We never miss a trip to the Homeport when we are on the Island.
A warm thank you to the
Elise Green ChilmarkA warm thank you to the Nixons for their years of stewardship - providing employment for our youth and bringing vitality to the area (as did many others, I worked there in my teens under Will Holtham). Best of luck to the new proprietors!
I’m so happy. Our family has
Deborah EdgartownI’m so happy. Our family has been huge Homeport fans since we first arrived in 2006 and have lamented its closure the last few years. Hope you have a long and successful run !
We have been patrons since
Diane Kretschmann ChilmarkWe have been patrons since the early 1980’s. I recall our daughter Kate having her first meal at 10- months old under the marlin, happily chewing on a corn-on-the cob while we enjoyed our many-course dinners. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to continue our Menemsha traditions!
Now the town of Chilmark
Laurence Cabana Martha's VineyardNow the town of Chilmark needs to step up and let all restaurants serve beer and wine. Trying to make a profit running a seasonal restaurant is hard enough, without the added burden of being in a dry town. Step into the present and stop living in the past.
This argument holds no water,
Prudy Burt West TisburyThis argument holds no water, pun intended. For over five decades, previous owners Chet Cummens and Will Holtham worked HARD during their respective turns at the helm of this restaurant, had fun, made a living and retired at a decent age. They paid their taxes, supported their families, and for a couple generations, put most of the kids in West Tisbury and Chilmark through college. All of this without a beer and wine license. Of course, you have to be OPEN to make money. I much prefer being able to bring my own $6 bottle of swill to dinner. I wish the new owners all the best in their new endeavor.
Don’t forget to bring your
Eric SV DefianceDon’t forget to bring your own wine!!! So glad to see Home Port in good hands.
Our friends on the Vineyard
Chris HyannisOur friends on the Vineyard always took us to the homeport. So glad the Nixon’s saved it once and sounds like they’ve saved it again. Our whole family is looking forward to returning to Menemsha
Wonderful to have this
Batzer Family AquinnahWonderful to have this Vineyard Icon under great stewardship once again. The quick, smooth and successful upgrade to true full table service is terrific. Congratulations and thanks to Seth, Eric and staff for reviving this Menemsha institution!
I'm very glad to hear the
Abbe Burt Vineyard HavenI'm very glad to hear the HomePort will be open again, but so far the menu and prices are not at all similar to the values and spirit of the traditional Homeport restaurant. We an only hope the new owners will respect the history of the restaurant, and most of all remember that Menemsha is not the Jersey Shore! (i refer specifically to the idea of live music the sound of which would reverberate for miles...)
Live music could be as simple
CarolinAmherstLive music could be as simple as someone with a mic and a guitar singing cover songs that everyone loves and sings along to. Definitely wouldn't reverberate for miles. Think of the Nomans example.
I agree, the prices are
Marie EdgartownI agree, the prices are insane. I can but I won’t, a matter of principle. I just returned from a winter in Grand Cayman where the prices are responsible. We would take family and friends that came to town to the beautiful fishing village for a wonderful meal at the Homeport, no longer. I will support the local fishing people and eat the best meal ever at home or on the beach watching sunset and try to remember why I live on this island. I guess greed has taken over and if the market will bear it will prevail. I am trying to think why we need so many restaurants and businesses anyway. Sorry….I know the old island will never return, it’s soul has been sold. I am glad I knew and lived it, great memories.
Keep your memories but please
Mike Davis Oak BluffsKeep your memories but please don't spoil ours. We're new to the island and had a wonderful time with our first visit to the "new" Homeport. It was wonderful, and we'll be back, making new memories for our family. I'm sure Grand Cayman would be nice for you in the summer, too.
We had a delicious meal there
goldleafgirl chilmarkWe had a delicious meal there on opening night! Congratulations all around!
Congratulations!!! Good Luck
Tom Greenville RICongratulations!!! Good Luck and continued success!!
Happy to see Home Port back
Brent Oak BluffsHappy to see Home Port back open in what has always been a vibrant area. Now to get the store back open.
…with Kevin Oliver back! Kev
Margot Lane Menemsha…with Kevin Oliver back! Kev we miss ya!
I have wonderful memories of
Alison ShawI have wonderful memories of many dinners with friends and family at the Home Port. I always ordered the same thing - smoked bluefish pate which came with a black olive and was served with crackers, the house salad with celery-seed dressing, a single boiled lobster, shoestring fries, and pecan pie for dessert, all for a bargain price. We brought a cooler with wine and beer, which we shared with other patrons who didn’t understand the concept of a “dry town.” My dear friend Gretchen Manter would sometimes call the reservation in under the name “Dr Shaw,” insisting to me that a doctor was bound to get better preference in securing a reservation. And if we wanted to do “back door” instead, that involved walking through the screen door and into the actual kitchen where we placed our order. Happy to have the place opening up again, and wishing the new owners lots of success!
Thrilled to have Homeport
Regina Hurley EdgartownThrilled to have Homeport back!
Where else would you have to
Nina Gabel-JorgensenWhere else would you have to sing Happy Birthday to Carly Simon? Embarrassing!
Best tables to wait were the long three in the middle, if you turned them three times, that was a couple hundred bucks in your pocket - and that was decades ago. Definitely made my college money there. If only we could turn back time. Curious if there are even enough young Island kids around to hostess, wait tables, bus tables, man the line, wash the dishes.
The good old days, my friend.
Jamie Alley Norwood/West TisburyThe good old days, my friend...brings tears to my eyes thinking about it. The place really did provide so many young people with college money, with the additional benefit of life-long friendships. And an appreciation of the benefits of hard work and working together. Will expected a work ethic from us that we learned to use in other areas of life, and still use today. Plus, we had fun times too! (I'm sure Carly appreciated the singing.)
My wife are I are coming to
Timothy John Dacey Metuchen, NJ ( summer Edgartown)My wife are I are coming to the island on Saturday and are very happy that the Homeport has reopened. Our best wishes go out to the new owners! We look forward to observing sunset from it's deck!
Great to hear that the Home
John Edwards New YorkGreat to hear that the Home Port is back. Looking forward to visiting. Any word on the Bite, which the Nixons also owned in recent years after it closed? I understand there was an application pending for the needed septic work there, but it sounds like it won't be opening this season. Hope it returns someday!
I worked there for 6 summers,
William Ivry Santa Fe, New MexicoI worked there for 6 summers, the first five when Chet Cummens was the owner and the last year under Will. Started as potwasher and declawing 300 lobsters a night and then ran the kitchen with Steve Larsen, Matt Poole and Matt Barile the last 4-5 years. We were a great crew had a lot of fun working there. We started the back door service for the local fishermen and it took off to be quite the take-out business for sunsets. Biggest mistake I ever made was not buying it from Chet for under $200,000 in 1978 but tough to come up with funds when I made $2.01 per hour, which I thought was a good salary then!!
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