This Winter, Menemsha Has a Lunch Counter Again

For the first time since a fire closed the old market in January 2019, Menemsha goes into winter with a place to buy milk and eggs and sit down to breakfast. The Menemsha Store reopened in September and plans to stay open through the off-season. It is part of a larger change on Basin Road. The things keeping the harbor village busy this winter are tied, one way or another, to keeping Menemsha a fishing port. That includes the store, a free class at the Community Center, and a hearing at Town Hall next week.

The seasonal places have mostly closed for the year. What's left on the harbor is a working waterfront, and this year it comes with a lunch counter.

Bacon on the griddle by 7 a.m.

The store opened on Wednesday, Sept. 16. The Vineyard Gazette reported that bacon was "once again sizzling" at the 7 a.m. opening and that some customers brought flowers to Kevin and Liz Oliver, who run it together. The store stocks the basics: fresh fruit and vegetables, milk, eggs, snacks and dry goods. It serves breakfast and lunch every day until 2 p.m., along with baked goods.

It's next door to the Fishermen's Preservation Trust building and across the street from the Iggy's Bread outpost. A sign by Gary Demers hangs over the front door. It shows the Little Lady, the boat the Trust has been restoring. According to The Martha's Vineyard Times, it's now the only year-round food store in Chilmark. Many of the opening-day customers ran other Menemsha businesses and were glad their lunch break would be a few steps away.

The family history goes back a long way. The Times reported that Liz Oliver's grandparents, Barbara and Bill Seward, opened the first version in 1948 as the Menemsha Market, near the Menemsha Galley, with a post office inside. Their sons David and Doug ran it until they sold it in the 1980s. Several owners later, the Olivers took it over and brought it back into the family.

"We've always had a big community here. But now that there's a store and another gathering place, it just adds to the sense of community here." Liz Oliver, speaking to the Vineyard Gazette

The rent goes to the fishing fleet

The store's lease was written with the fishing harbor in mind.

In July 2025, Chilmark homeowners Sarah Bernard and James Seppala bought 10 Basin Road for $3.1 million, according to The Martha's Vineyard Times, which cited the Dukes County Registry of Deeds. The property includes the former Poole's Fish Plant and Chilmark Chandlery, a mixed-use building that once housed Menemsha Deli, and a cottage. The Martha's Vineyard Fishermen's Preservation Trust signed a 99-year lease on the old fish plant. The former deli space went to the Olivers.

The Times reported in September that the Trust and the owners are waiving the Olivers' rent and putting that money into the nonprofit and the working waterfront. In turn, the Olivers give 30 percent of net sales to the Trust. According to the same report, the idea started with a phone call. John Keene of the Trust called Kevin Oliver and asked what he thought about running another store.

Kevin Oliver described the arrangement in terms of the harbor's purpose. He told the Gazette that "Menemsha is a fishing port first and foremost." He said the store's provisions matter "for boaters, but also for the residents as well." Each sandwich sold this winter sends money to the fishing fleet.

What closed, and what changed hours

The store matters more in winter because most of the harbor has shut down around it. The Chilmark column in The Martha's Vineyard Times reported on Oct. 21 that several summer spots were done for the year and one had cut back:

• Iggy's: closed for the season.
• Larsen's Fish Market: closed for the season.
• Pandora: closed for the season.
• Menemsha Texaco: shorter hours, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekends.
• Coffee at the Texaco: Monday through Wednesday, 6:30 to 8 a.m., which Marshall reminded readers about in the column.

Put those together and Menemsha's winter mornings have a pattern. Coffee and conversation run at the Texaco three days a week before the pumps open. The Menemsha Store serves breakfast from 7 a.m. and lunch until 2 p.m. every day. By mid-afternoon on a weekend, both are closed.

Halloween already moved to the harbor

The first test of the off-season came on Oct. 31. The Vineyard Gazette's Chilmark column reported that the Community Center held no official costume parade this year. Halloween gathered on Basin Road instead, where parents talked while costumed children filled the street.

The column's thank-you list reads like a directory of the working harbor. It includes Station Menemsha, Chilmark Fire, Chilmark Police, Tri-Town Ambulance, the MV Fishermen's Preservation Trust, Larsen's Fish Market, Menemsha Texaco, Copperworks, Ruel Gallery, Pandora's Box and the Oliver family. Away from the water, Beetlebung Farm and a few households kept their lights on for the youngest trick-or-treaters.

Two November dates built around the fleet

The same Gazette column flagged a date for the people who work out of the harbor. On Monday, Nov. 16, the Fishing Partnership is offering a free CPR and first aid course at the Chilmark Community Center designed for commercial fishing. According to the column, it certifies fishermen in adult First Aid/CPR/AED, meets U.S. Coast Guard requirements, and covers wound care, splinting, hypothermia and tourniquets. Participants can get a free vessel first aid kit. To register, call Julia at 774-840-9418.

Three days later, the town takes up the harbor's rules. A public hearing on Thursday, Nov. 19 will review draft Menemsha Bulkhead Area Rules and Regulations, and the town calendar lists it at Town Hall at 3 p.m. The draft says the Park & Recreation Committee's mission is to manage its part of the Menemsha waterfront "so as to retain Menemsha as a commercial fishing port and to retain the visual character of the area."

The draft lease provisions include:

1. Annual lease renewal applications are due Dec. 1 and must describe the tenant's commercial fishing activity.
2. One lot per individual.
3. Tenants or business managers generally must live in Chilmark at least ten months a year.
4. The waterfront walk must stay clear, and space between lots must be kept open for emergency access.

The document's adoption line still reads "XX," so these are proposals for the Select Board, not adopted rules. This summary is general information, not legal advice. Anyone who holds or wants a bulkhead lease should read the full draft and confirm the details with the town.

The rest of the winter calendar

Around the harbor, the town's indoor calendar continues into December. The fishing course comes from the Gazette column above. The other dates come from the Town of Chilmark calendar:

Another invitation runs through the winter without a fixed date. The Gazette column reported that Molly Peach Mayhew of The Trustees and India Whitcombe of the Martha's Vineyard Museum are recording conversations about the Brickyard: the clay pits, the people who worked there, and the schooners that carried bricks off-island. Anyone with a family connection can reach them at [email protected] or [email protected].

On a weekday morning this month, that means coffee at the Texaco before 8 a.m. and breakfast at the Menemsha Store from 7 a.m. The Fishermen's Preservation Trust building is next door, and part of every sale at the counter goes there.

At Donnelly + Co., we follow what happens on Basin Road in winter as closely as we do in summer, including the store, the bulkhead hearing and the boats tied up in between. If you'd like to talk about Chilmark's off-season or what it means for your plans on the island, our Edgartown office is glad to hear from you. Contact Us.