Iconic Aquinnah restaurant up for sale

Updated June 5

The Aquinnah Shop Restaurant, an iconic, seasonal up-Island eatery, is up for sale. 

The restaurant’s website states there are “new things coming for summer 2023!” and asks people to “stay tuned.” However, co-owner Jacob Vanderhoop confirmed in a statement the business will also be sold. 

“To family, friends and valued customers,” the statement reads. “As operators of the Aquinnah Shop Restaurant we have come to the difficult decision to discontinue operations. Many factors over the last few years have led us to this decision, including the COVID pandemic, staffing shortages, housing shortages, and other outside factors. We would like to thank the many customers who have frequented our establishment over the last 75-plus years. Without you we wouldn’t have made it this far. To the new owners, we wish you the best of luck, and hope you find nothing but success. We kindly ask that you treat the property and community with the respect we did for many years.”

The property that houses the restaurant is also up for sale.

According to multiple Island real estate websites, 27 Aquinnah Circle is available for sale for $3.5 million. The buyer will be responsible for applying for new business permits. Flanders Real Estate is the listing broker. 

The property was last sold in 2016 for $1.29 million. It was put on the market after a “forced sale” ordered by Dukes County Probate Court that stemmed from a dispute between brothers David Vanderhoop and Matthew (“Culley”) Vanderhoop, who were co-owners of the property. The sale did not include the restaurant name. 

The property was built in 1945 by Napoleon Madison, a Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) medicine man; his daughter-in-law, Anne Vanderhoop, built it up as an Island establishment. It was in the Vanderhoop family for generations. 

Aquinnah Select Board member Juli Vanderhoop, whose mother had previously run the restaurant, said she tried to gather the money to acquire the property throughout the winter. Juli said when she asked for more time, the owner didn’t allow it without additional funds. “It is out of our hands and in the market,” she said. “We’re always a day late and a dime short.”

Finding out the property was being put up for sale was a “sad day” for the Vanderhoop family, Juli said, who expressed worry for her mother. Juli said the restaurant has been an important part of the Aquinnah community, particularly for those who are members of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), highlighting that it has been a place for communal events like weddings and funerals.

Juli said the native community does not want the property to leave native hands, and hopes for support and understanding from Islanders. “For generations and generations, it was in native lands,” she said, adding she does not want the building to become “just another historic property” on the Island. 

“We’re not giving up yet,” Juli Vanderhoop said. 

According to the 2016 deed, the property was granted to the 27 Aquinnah Circle Nominee Trust and James F. Reynolds, a trustee. Reynolds declined to comment on the property. 

Julie Flanders, principal broker of Flanders Real Estate, told The Times that the property is not deed-restricted. However, because of the costs, she expects a buyer would use the property as a restaurant. Even if a new owner wanted to change the use of the property, they would have to undergo the permitting process in Aquinnah. 

“Aquinnah is very cautious and protective of their assets,” Flanders said. She also said the hope is to find a buyer with a history with the Island who understands the benefits of having a restaurant in the up-Island location.