The owners of Flatbread, the popular brick-oven pizza restaurant that occupied a portion of the building that once housed the storied Hot Tin Roof at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport, have put their ownership in the building, which they share with M.V. Wine and Spirits, up for sale.
Co-owner John Meehan said Flatbread restaurant could continue if the new owner wishes to continue to operate the Flatbread restaurant as a franchise. “That would be the ideal outcome for us,” Mr. Meehan said in an email to The Times.
Mr. Meehan said the Vineyard community had been very supportive, but it was difficult to survive only in the summer months. “In the months of July and August, our sales eclipse most of our mainland stores,” he said. “The off-season is the real challenge. Staying open year-round was a long-term goal, but our small forays into the shoulder seasons were difficult to manage.”
Flatbread’s 66 percent share in the building is on the market for $1.15 million with Suzanne Lanzone at MVYBroker.
Mr. Meehan said the central location with ease of parking was especially appealing for his restaurant guests. “Running a business on the Island was a dream of ours, and we’re sure we’re not the only ones who have those dreams,” he said.
Brion McGroarty, co-owner with his son of M.V. Wine and Spirits, said he will be sorry to see the business leave. “They are a great group of guys,” he said.
Mr. McGroarty, former owner of the Wharf in Edgartown, knows something about the restaurant business. “I think it was the seasonality,” Mr. McGroarty said.
Years ago, the building was a legendary Island nightspot, the Hot Tin Roof, owned by singer/songwriter Carly Simon. In 2006, Barry Rosenthal of West Tisbury and his brother Arthur purchased the club, and renamed it Outerland.
In 2009 a Vermont nightclub known as Nectars took over the well-known venue in partnership with Flatbread Co., a wood-fired pizza restaurant chain with locations in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Hawaii. In 2012, Nectars departed and Flatbread stayed.
