Local Seafood at Home Port Captures National Attention

In May the owners of the announced that they would begin serving only locally caught seafood. The announcement marked a noted departure from the past for the 81-year-old Menemsha restaurant, which, alongside chowder and quahogs, has long served up platefuls of seafood shipped in from around the world.

The goal of the change is to support local fisherman who work day-in and day-out, just steps away on the Menemsha docks, said owner Sarah Guinan Nixon.

The decision had the potential to backfire. At least one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes—swordfish—is not always available off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. By sticking to local seafood only, the restaurant committed to reducing its menu options.

In at least one demonstrable way, it appears that decision has now paid off.

Nixon and the Home Port Restaurant recently captured the attention of CNN, in a segment that explores the benefits and hardships of locally sourced seafood.  (The video clip can be viewed here.)

“We have a community of fisherman who are artisanal fishermen. They go out on small boats; they use best practices; and they are competing against factory ships who are completely decimating these fish species and these populations,” Nixon told CNN. We feel that we have to act responsibly and believe that if we’re guided by those values, that the business will come to us.

“It’s not an easy way to do things, but for us, it’s what feels right,”

Nixon and her husband, Robert, bought the historic restaurant in 2008.

That year, the restaurant property was nearly purchased by the town of Chilmark, which offered a plan to demolish the restaurant and replace it with public restrooms and parking space. Voters rejected that proposal at a town meeting, paving the way for the Nixons’ purchase.

The Nixons also own the Beach Plum Inn and Menemsha Inn and Cottages, located just down the road from the Home Port Restaurant.