Alchemy Restaurant, the popular year-round restaurant and bar on Main street Edgartown, will soon be under new ownership.
Owners Scott and Charlotte Caskey have an agreement to sell the restaurant to Todd Dagres, the principal partner of A on Main Fine Dining LLC, Edgartown attorney Sean E. Murphy told the town selectmen Monday.
Mr. Murphy was representing Mr. Dagres, who could not attend the meeting. Mr. and Mrs. Caskey attended the meeting but did not speak.
The Caskeys will stay on to manage the restaurant in the short term, Mr. Murphy said.
Mr. Murphy said his client plans no major changes to the restaurant. “To quote Ted Morgan [former longtime Edgartown selectman], everybody comes to Edgartown, the first thing they want to do is change it,” Mr. Murphy said. “Well in this case they don’t want to. He likes Alchemy just the way it is. They intend to run it same as it’s always been. To somebody walking in they won’t know the difference.”
Co-founder and general partner of Spark Capital in Boston, Todd Dagres built his reputation and fortune investing in successful technology startups including Twitter and Tumblr. More recently, he has ventured into entertainment media, producing 10 movies and television shows since 2003. A 2004 profile in the Boston Globe said he grew up in the restaurant business. His family owned the former Sportsmen’s Lounge on Plum Island on the Massachusetts north shore.
Selectmen unanimously approved a liquor license transfer, as well as a request from Mr. Murphy to stay closed for an extra week so renovations could be completed.
Alchemy had been scheduled to reopen Feb. 2 after a monthlong closure. Selectmen agreed to the one-week extension.
The Caskeys purchased the two-story restaurant in the heart of downtown Edgartown in 1999 for $950,000. The restaurant has been a well-known spot for fine dining over the years. In the summer of 2016, the Obamas dined there during their summer vacation on the Island.
In other business Monday, selectmen accepted a letter from former police chief David Rossi, who said he would not serve on the search committee that will help choose his replacement.
At a meeting earlier this month members of the Edgartown patrolman’s union expressed concerns that Mr. Rossi could not be impartial and asked that he not serve on the search committee. Last week selectman Arthur Smadbeck denied the request and said he had no qualms about Mr. Rossi’s ability to be impartial and fair.
But in his letter this week, Mr. Rossi said he would step down from the committee. “I believe that for members to feel this is a fair and equitable process it is best to remove myself from the search process,” he wrote.
Mr. Smadbeck said it wasn’t clear who would replace Mr. Rossi, though the town was considering appointing a retired sergeant.
He also answered questions from resident Gail Gardner about the police chief search.
Selectmen also gave their blessing for the dredge committee to pursue hiring out the town dredge for outside projects. Vineyard Haven and other towns have expressed interest in contracting for dredging work.
Procurement officer Juliet Mulinare said other towns, including Barnstable, do similar work and generate revenue.
Mr. Smadbeck said the board had heard from harbor master Charlie Blair regarding a discussion last week about changing the area where dinghies are docked at the harbor. While members of the marine advisory committee said Mr. Blair supported the change, board received a letter from Mr. Blair stating that was not the case. The matter is being sent back to the marine advisory committee.
Selectmen approved the appointment of Haley Krauss as a full-time paramedic, and closures of the Edgartown Diner from Feb. 2 to March 2 and Edgartown Meat and Fish from Feb. 5 to March 1.
Comments (7)
Comments
Comment policy »