Fishermen’s Trust to lease vacant Chilmark fish plant

The Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust (MVFPT) will have a new home in Menemsha after the purchase and impending renovation of 10 Basin Road, the former Poole’s Fish Plant and Chilmark Chandlery, a marine supply and ship equipment store.

Sarah Bernard, and her husband, James Seppala, Chilmark homeowners who have been coming to the Island for decades, purchased the currently vacant property on Thursday for $3.1 million, according to the Dukes County Registry of Deeds. The Fishermen’s Trust signed a 99-year lease for the former fish plant. 

The Chilmark property also includes a mixed-use building that used to be Menemsha Deli, and a cottage. The former deli will be leased to Kevin and Liz Oliver, who ran the Menemsha Market for 17 years, but closed it after a fire in January 2019. The market served boaters and the larger Chilmark community for 96 years prior to the fire.

“It’s not often that an opportunity like this presents itself,” Bernard is quoted in a release from the Fishermen’s Trust announcing the sale. “The 99-year lease to the MVFPT will allow it to meaningfully expand its work, while the additional properties can provide affordable housing and return a market to the harbor. Menemsha is a special place, and we look forward to helping preserve its character for future generations.”

Bernard added that the couple’s purchase honors the legacy of former proprietor Everett Poole, Chilmark town moderator for 45 years and Menemsha stalwart, while also supporting continued preservation of the local fishing industry and village.

Town officials are excited, noting that the purchase will help restore a part of the fishing village. 

“I’m thrilled. I’m happy we’re revitalizing down there,” Marie Larsen, select board member, said. “It’s been empty for too long.” It’s the best of both worlds, she said, referring to the return of a retail space and fish market.

The plan over the next few years is that the trust will expand from the small building next to Larsen’s Fish Market into this new location, increasing its ability to process, refrigerate, and freeze fish and shellfish as part of the nonprofit’s mission to sell local seafood. They will still keep the building on Dutcher Dock as an access point to the harbor.

There are renovations to be done on the newly purchased building. There is existing equipment in the fish plant that hasn’t been tested recently, and the structure needs repair, the press release noted. The trust is also looking to create office and meeting spaces, which the nonprofit currently doesn’t have.

“We could not be more grateful to Sarah and James,” said Shelley Edmundson, executive director of the trust. “Their purchase of this irreplaceable property will not only jump-start some of our dreams for our fishing industry and expand the larger community’s access to local seafood, but it gives us real stability in our work, and keeps us in the heart of Menemsha and close to those we serve. That it includes staff housing at affordable levels seems almost too good to be true.”

The Olivers plan to open a grocery store and deli at the former Menemsha Deli property in 2026. “This new location gives us the opportunity to carry on both the legacy of the Menemsha Market and the old Menemsha Deli,” said Kevin Oliver. “In addition to the offering of the market, we look forward to serving a traditional breakfast, deli-style lunch, and dinner. We are so grateful to everyone who is making the Menemsha Store a reality.”