An Island restaurateur is planning to open a new restaurant in the building that formerly housed Life at Humphreys. 

Theresa Manning, the co-owner of Cliffhangers Aquinnah, said she is renovating the Vineyard Haven restaurant as her team prepares to open a year-round eatery called Quitsa Kitchen. 

Mrs. Manning, who also runs a catering company called Quitsa Cuisine, said the new restaurant would serve breakfast and lunch, though she doesn’t have an opening date in mind yet. 

“We’re working really hard day and night to get it open as soon as we can,” Mrs. Manning said. “We’re doing a lot of catering and are happy to do that for now.”

The new restaurant’s menu will be full of comfort food made with fresh ingredients, similar to what she offers her catering clients. 

Although the restaurant will be open for breakfast and lunch, Mrs. Manning plans to also provide take-home dinners.

“As a year-round mom, I know I have a lot of peers who would love to have that as an option,” she said.

Mrs. Manning initially sought out Life at Humphreys to use the kitchen for her catering company and didn’t intend to open a restaurant there, but she was excited to keep the beloved location in Island hands. 

“I had been looking for a space for a long time, mostly for a catering kitchen,” she said. “I had been in conversation with the previous owners for well over a year. I’m very happy to be engaged with someone local selling something local.”

Mrs. Manning bought equipment from Life at Humphreys and began leasing the space at the start of June. The restaurant was the last iteration of Humphreys Bakery, an Island mainstay which began with Ms. Diaz’s grandfather, Argie Humphreys. 

While Mrs. Manning’s other restaurant Cliffhangers, which she owns with her husband Paul Manning, caters to tourists, Quitsa Kitchen is aimed at another demographic.

“[Quitsa Kitchen] is more geared towards local folks who are looking to get food to live their lives,” Mrs. Manning said. “I hope it becomes a place that feels comfortable going to and spending time in and having good, home-cooked food.”