The Menemsha Fish House is looking to expand with plans to open a retail and wholesale location in the airport business park sometime this summer, pending approval of permits.
The new venture, called The Fish House, would be sandwiched between the Tin Hangar — soon to be Black Sheep — and the liquor store, co-owner Alec Gale told the Gazette by phone this week. Mr. Gale said he is partnering with Brion McGroarty, owner of MV Wine and Spirits, and Tyler Gibson, current co-owner of the Menemsha Fish House, to own and operate the business.
“We want to expand and be able to sell to the public,” Mr. Gale said. “We figured two birds with one stone up at the airport.”
Mr. Gale is leasing the space from Mr. McGroarty and said they are working on plans for a porch that would connect the Black Sheep, the Fish House and the liquor store. He said they are also hoping to add a commercial kitchen to the space that would allow for premade food.
Mr. Gale said if all goes according to plan, the Menemsha operation will become just a processing facility for boats bringing in fish, but the wholesale side of the business would be run out of the airport location along with a retail fish market.
He said the business has outgrown the Menemsha location after seven years, and while they already sell fish to 47 Island restaurants, most of the rest of the wholesale fish is shipped to the mainland.
“It’s really hard to get local stuff on the Vineyard,” said Mr. Gale. “We want to get that stuff out to the public.”
He said since he started the Menemsha Fish House in 2010, customers have frequently asked where they can buy the fresh fish just brought in from the docks. Traffic congestion has also been an issue, he said, since his 16 employees had to drive into Menemsha during the height of the summer when parking is limited.
The space at the airport still needs to undergo inspections and obtain permits, but Mr. Gale said he hopes to open the Fish House this summer.
“There’s going to be a lot of trial and error,” said Mr. Gale. “Good thing it’s not too hard to sell good fish.”
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