New restaurants cropping up in Tisbury
By Janet Hefler
Published: April 17, 2008
Dining choices in Vineyard Haven are popping up like spring flowers, with two new restaurants - and one resurrected - to choose from in the weeks ahead.
Waterside Market opened on April 4 at 76 Main Street. The market's hours, currently 6:30 am to 7 pm seven days a week, will be extended to 9 pm starting May 1. The menu includes breakfast dishes that are served all day, as well as sandwiches, salads, sides, and desserts, to eat in or take out. Sandwich meats such as turkey, roast beef, and chicken are cooked on the premises. With the arrival of a new rotisserie grill in a few weeks, the menu will be expanded to include roasted whole chickens.
Waterside Market is owned by Stephen and Susan Bowen, Mr. Bowen's parents, Linda and Trent, and friends Shawn and Viviane Morrison. Mr. Morrison is the chef.
Stephen and Susan moved to the Island from West Palm Beach, Fla. They have 15 years of experience running restaurants, and owned an interest in a restaurant in Pittsburgh.
Photo by Susan Safford
"Our goal is to use as many organic and locally grown products as possible," Mr. Bowen said. Mr. Morrison comes from a fine dining restaurant background, he added, and has been able to adapt the menu to make creative sandwiches and keep everything high quality.
A new tin ceiling, wood floors, counters, and cabinets, along with warm, red-orange walls have transformed the space formerly occupied by the former 90 Main Street Restaurant. Waterside Market has 12 tables, soon to be 14, and is approved for 48 seats.
In addition to the dining area, the market has a small retail area with fresh produce and products such as crackers, jams, oils, spreads, cheeses, cookies, candies and more. "My wife tries to find products from companies that donate a portion of proceeds to charities," Mr. Bowen said. "We plan to donate a portion of our proceeds to local charities, as well." Waterside Market will be open year-round.
Louis' returns
For those who mourned the closing of Louis's Tisbury Café and Take-Out at 350 State Road, it is undergoing a resurrection and will reopen on April 25. Property owner Louis Giordano leased the restaurant space to Antonio Silva, the owner of the Tropical Restaurant at Five Corners.
"A lot of people have been excited about the news of it reopening," Mr. Silva said. "It's going to be the same as what was there."
Mr. Silva said Louis' will offer rotisserie items, side and main dishes, a salad bar, pizza, hot and cold sandwiches, and desserts, made by Chef Steve Harrison with recipes supplied by Mr. Giordano. The restaurant has a take-out counter on one side and a dining area on the other.
One major and most likely welcome change for former patrons is that Louis' will now offer breakfast. Opening for breakfast on April 25, the restaurant will operate from 6 am to 9 pm.
Saltwater Restaurant and Bakery
Sometime in June, the new Saltwater Restaurant and Bakery will make its debut in the Tisbury Marketplace on Beach Road. Anyone who has driven past the site on a regular basis has witnessed the construction of a huge addition on the back of what was formerly the Daily Grind Restaurant. The restaurant's new owner, Sam Dunn, built the Tisbury Marketplace in the 1980s and also renovated the Woodland shopping center.
The dining room addition in back will seat 45. The light-filled, spacious area features a raw bar along one wall, a high, rounded ceiling and large windows offering a panoramic view of the Lagoon. In addition, there will be a patio area. The front part of the restaurant will include a bakery and take-out service.
Lunch and dinner will be full service with a wait staff, and continental breakfast (pastries, coffee, yogurt) and other menu items available for takeout.
Mr. Dunn said the restaurant is a family venture. His son Sam, who attended the Southern California Culinary Institute and has worked in Washington and Boston for the past eight years, will be the chef. "The menu will be everything that's fresh and local and simple - and wonderful," Mr. Dunn said. "We'll be open year-round, and want to be supported by the Island community."
