13 minute read
The Rigger
Rigger Rigger See you at the
Good friends and great food come together at the Square Rigger.
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Story by Geoff Currier Photos courtesy of the Rezendes family
Superb employees like those pictured here helped Will Holtham run the successful Square Rigger and Home Port restaurants.
For many Islanders and seasonal visitors alike, the Square Rigger restaurant at the Triangle in Edgartown is as much of an Island institution as the Flying Horses or a sunset in Menemsha. But to totally understand “the Rigger,” as it’s called, it helps to go back well over a hundred years, to what were the desolate Great Plains of Edgartown, where the house that became the Square Rigger restaurant was originally built. The Square Rigger house has had many owners, among them Manuel S.
Duarte, who in 1949 wanted to move the building from the Great Plains to Vineyard Haven, but Vineyard Haven wouldn’t allow the move, so it ended up at its current location, on a lot at the fork between two diverging roads in Edgartown known as the Triangle. “There was nothing on that land back then,” said Tony Rezendes, current owner of the Square Rigger. “In fact, back in those days, you could go for miles out the Edgartown–Vineyard Haven
Road, and you wouldn’t find a house.” While it may not qualify as a scholarly document, there is a history printed on the back of an old Square Rigger menu that claims that Captain Thomas
Marshall Pease, a whaling captain, built the house, on the
Great Plains out by Edgartown Great Pond, around 1800. And over the years, the house has had a notable history, including a birth, a death … and even a ghost.
A November 2013 obituary in The MV Times lists the death of Dorothy Mae Gazaille West , who was born and raised in the old Square Rigger house on the Edgartown Great Plains.
And in Holly Nadler’s book Vineyard Supernatural, Nadler tells the tale of a tragic event that has given the Square Rigger a reputation for the supernatural, even to this day. “Back in its early days [while still on the Great Plains], a family lived in the upstairs apartment of the house,” Nadler writes. “Brothers — 13-yearold twins — shared one of the bedrooms. One night, an electrical storm was brewing over Nantucket Sound. One of the twins stood at the open window, watching the storm move in. He was struck by lightning, and crumpled to the floor, dead. Legend has it that ever since that gruesome night, the upstairs of the Square Rigger has been severely haunted.” Jenny Dowd, daughter of Tony and Doreen Rezendes, said, “I used to live in the apartment upstairs, and I could definitely feel something. There was a room I didn’t want to go into.” For 20 years after the house was moved to the Triangle, it was used for a variety of businesses, including an art studio and an upholstery shop. And then in 1963, John Donnelly bought the property and turned it into the restaurant we all know today as the Square Rigger.
Will Holtham, former owner of the Home Port restaurant in Menemsha, bought the Square Rigger in 1984, and in his Home Port Cookbook, he writes that before he bought the Square Rigger,
–Tony Rezendes
Tony Rezendes shows off a lobster to a young diner.
it was actually more of a lounge than a restaurant, a place for locals to go for a drink or two. And the fact that it was located in Edgartown, where last call for alcohol was 1 am, may have burnished its cocktail lounge bona fides as well. Since closing time for bars in Oak Bluffs was midnight in those days, patrons of Oak Bluffs bars who were not yet ready to call it a night, would make a dash up Beach Road to the Rigger and have a nightcap or two.
But Holtham, who made the Home Port in Menemsha into an institution, was about to put his stamp on the Square Rigger as well. After 14 years at the Home Port, Holtham was looking to stretch his culinary muscles and expand his repertoire beyond seafood.
Holtham liked the fact that unlike the Home Port, the Rigger wasn’t seasonal. There was a large enough year-round population to cater to the locals and offer things he couldn’t at the Home Port. So when John Donnelly died, Holtham went to lunch with Donnelly’s sister Anne. “And before lunch was over,” he writes in his cookbook, “I had my second restaurant.”
When Holtham took over the Square Rigger, it offered only five or six dishes, “but they were all fantastic,” Holtham wrote. Holtham made a few changes to the restaurant, like adding an open hearth, and he expanded the menu to offer specialties like bouillabaisse, and some of the best steaks and chops on the Island.
Even before Holtham bought the Square RIgger, Tony Rezendes and his family were quietly making their presence felt at the Home Port, starting with Tony and Doreen’s daughter Amy, who spent several years waitressing at the Home Port. In the ’80s Doreen began working as a hostess there, and ended up managing the dining room. And their son Dana started washing dishes at the Home Port when he was 11. “It was part of their slave labor program,” he joked. Dana would go on to work his way up the food chain in the kitchen, eventually becoming the “takeout” chef. Tony was not involved with the Home Port or the restaurant business — he was working as a plumber, and had been a part-time employee at the West Tisbury Post Office for about 20 years. But that was about to change. After operating the Square Rigger for about 10 years, Holtham wrote that it turned out to be everything he could have hoped for. He enjoyed offering menu items he couldn’t offer at the Home Port. And he was fortunate to have a great staff at the Rigger, headed by Aram Berberian, who had started working at the Home Port as a boy. But when Berberian and his wife decided to move off-Island to seek new horizons, Holtham, who spent the bulk of his time in the summer at the Home Port, suddenly found himself stretched too thin. He looked around for someone who might be interested in taking over the business, but then he decided to look a little closer to home. At this point, Doreen Rezendes was acting as manager at the Rigger, Dana was working in the kitchen, Amy was waitressing there, and their youngest daughter, Jenny, had started waitressing as well.
“It was Dec. 31, 1994,” Tony said; “I’ll never forget that day. Will said to us, You folks have worked hard, it’s time you owned the place. You can buy the business and lease the real estate — the only money I want is enough to cover my mortgage.” It was the best thing ever when Will made that offer,” Doreen said, “and then four years later, he sold us the property.”
“We went to Dukes County Savings Bank,” Tony said, “and talked to Ted Mayhew, the president of the bank, and they gave us the money. It turns out that Ted used to work at the Home Port himself when he was a kid, washing dishes.” Small world.
They signed papers on Feb. 1, and the transition was seamless. Tony took over working in the kitchen along with Dana. “The tables were turned,” Dana said. “There I was telling my father what to do, but in the end it worked out fine.”
“Cooking came easy to me,” Tony said, “I did the grill, and my son did the sauté.”
“So Tony and Dana were working in the kitchen, Amy and Jenny were waitressing, and I was managing the restaurant — this was truly a family business,” Doreen said.
The menu pretty much picked up where the menu under Holtham left off. “I think we had about 38 entrées on the menu back then,” Tony said. “We offered lobster prepared eight different ways. We offered classic entrées like clams casino, prime rib and baked stuffed shrimp. People could look at our menu and not have to ask what that is.”
The Square Rigger caters to a healthy blend of seasonal and year-round clientele whom the Rezendeses look on as extended family. “I like to look out in the dining room,” Doreen says, “and see people talking to one another, telling stories and going around visiting different tables. That’s what this place is all about.” It’s also become a home away from home for many members of the Edgartown Yacht Club. “Often they’ll come to me,” Doreen says, “and say, This is our other club.”
Since the pandemic arrived last spring, the dining room at the Square Rigger has been closed. “Fortunately, we had built up a good takeout business,” Dana said, “so we made a good transition, and we’re going to stick with takeout through this summer season as well. There were a lot of factors that went into the decision; we just felt that this was the safest one. We hope we’ll be opening up the dining room around Columbus Day.” Which can’t come soon enough for me. I’ve got a date with a Lobster Thermidor. .
photo by Tina Miller
Doreen and Tony Rezendes, their son Dana, and daughter Jenny Dowd. Truly a family run business.
Continued from page 27 Sometimes I would get invited in for lunch with Georges and his mother, scrambled eggs, the French way, soft, never browned, bread, potatoes, salad, cheese, fruit, coffee, cookies.
On July 29th we stopped riding and went into Georges’ house. It was the wedding day of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. Madame Caroly made apricot tart and we drank Champagne and watched the wedding live with the rest of the world.
Before I knew it, my two months in France were coming to an end. I didn’t want to leave. All the loneliness for my friends had subsided weeks before as I had become fully immersed in life on the farm. I loved the constant hum — always having something to do in this stunningly beautiful place. I felt a comfortable calm with the farmers who I only understood by nods and gestures and a few words. I looked forward to outings to the village for fresh baguettes and pastries; I cooked simple meals with confidence, using food grown on the farm. I learned it was weird to go barefoot on the farm, maybe that was just in France. It was weird to eat corn — that was for animals. I learned that riding horses was the same in France as it was at home. I learned homesickness fades, and I appreciated my friends even more as they took the time to write me letters and postcards throughout the summer. I learned a good work ethic is a common language wherever you are. Farms have a timeless element that feels safe and rewarding: safe from abrupt change and rewarding in accomplishing daily tasks.
This was a trip of a lifetime that framed my future in ways I never stop appreciating. Yes, it was the magic of France — the incredible food, the quality of life, and the ability to slow down. The French culture and sense of community, hard work, and appreciation for simple beauty — those things are important to me still. Miranda’s unapologetic spirit and gusto gave me the confidence I needed at seventeen, as a young person and a young woman. .
MARTHA’S VINEYARD’S
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Eva Faber (left) noted that more people on Martha’s Vineyard are conscious of where their food comes from than in any other place she has lived or visited.
Continued from page 18
“It was like every single business on the Island followed us and were like ‘can't wait to collaborate, can't wait to try the food, where are you?’ It’s really special, and it’s not the same elsewhere,” she said. “It’s been a very warm welcome and I think we did a good job of putting a bunch of things on our menu that are undeniably awesome and tasty, and there is really something for everyone.”
Faber said she grew up eating great food made by her mother, Gretchen, who is also her business partner.
About two and a half years ago, Faber met Roth, and they immediately connected and started dating. Faber was looking to start a career, and Roth was looking to create her own food business.
“That was when it clicked that we both realized we wanted to do food together,” Faber said.
It was daunting to decide how the two would compose their menu, but they eventually decided on the extremely modish rotisserie style.
Faber explained that lots of new rotisserie restaurants are popping up in major cities like New York and Los Angeles, and her group of friends were talking about how much of a hit it would be on Martha’s Vineyard.
Although there are a fair amount of good takeout options here, Faber said the highend rotisserie was nonexistent on-Island.
“We all thought of the times where we were driving around on these busy days kind of thinking ‘Oh, what’s gonna be for dinner? I wish there was a rotisserie spot,’” she said.
With a rotisserie, the possibilities are endless, because hot, crispy chicken goes well with so many different foods. After months of making phone calls and searching for a trustworthy livestock supplier, Faber said she has learned that there are no shortcuts in offering the freshest ingredients in all their food.
And because the food is humanely raised and consciously produced, the values of the two cooks are exemplified in the food they serve.
Faber noted that more people on Martha’s Vineyard are conscious of where their food comes from than in any other place she has lived or visited.
The food truck will be at the Artisans Festival in West Tisbury twice a week, and is also approved for the drive-in at the YMCA. Faber said she hopes to also be on the list for the 159th Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair.
In the near future, Goldie’s will be looking into new menu items and potentially hiring staff if they expand their offerings.
“But we really just want to start out simple, focus on the chicken, and perfect that experience,” Faber said.
For many young people who want to start their own restaurant but can’t afford a high initial overhead cost, food trucks are a great, more accessible option. Faber thinks food trucks are the way of the future, especially on Martha’s Vineyard, where many popular outdoor venues draw huge crowds during the busy summer months.
“People are so supportive — friends, family, and other business owners. This is a really wonderful community, and we are just happy to finally start serving food and making people smile,” Faber said. .
