The restaurant at Chilmark’s Beach Plum Inn will open this May with a new head chef. Josh Aronie, who led the kitchen at the nearby Home Port Restaurant last summer, will oversee both restaurants this year.

“I felt I could be a good match for the restaurant, and thought it would be a good challenge,” he told the Gazette by phone this week.

The menus aren’t set just yet, but patrons can expect a focus on seafood at the Home Port, and a farm-to-table menu at the Beach Plum.

For the past two summers, Chris Fischer led the Beach Plum kitchen, before leaving last year. Sarah and Robert Nixon, who own the Menemsha and Beach Plum inns, also own both restaurants.

Between the two dining rooms, Mr. Aronie will oversee a total of 210 seats, but he said he’s up to the challenge. As executive chef, he’ll also have help. At the Beach Plum, chef Nathan Gould, formerly of the Harbor View Hotel, will manage the daily operations. And chef Nick Barbera will do the same in the Home Port kitchen.

Mr. Aronie grew up spending summers on the Vineyard, and got his first restaurant job at age 12 at the Home Port. Over the years, he’s been involved in a variety of restaurant ventures Islandwide, including Cafe Moxie, Saltwater Cafe, Menemsha Cafe, Sharky’s and Park Corner Bistro. For the past two years, Mr. Aronie has operated a food truck that holds court in the parking lot of the Chilmark Store in the off-season.

While the new Beach Plum menu is far from finalized, Mr. Aronie said it will still emphasize local ingredients. He’s looking forward to a very busy summer, and when asked if that means 100 hours a week, he laughed.

“I would say something like that,” he said.