A historic storefront in the heart of downtown Edgartown is set to become a general store after changing hands last month in a $2.8 million sale.
The building at 37 Main street, currently home to the boutique Sole, was listed for sale a year ago by North Water Street Corporation, a for-profit entity created in 1946 to protect the Edgartown Village Green from development.
Joseph and Lisa Amato, a New Jersey couple that have owned a house in Edgartown for more than 20 years, purchased the building on Feb. 19.
The couple is now working with Island contractor Gery Conover to turn the space into a general store, with hopes of starting restoration in October in order to open in the summer of 2027.
“They’ve had this concept for years in their minds, about how nice it would be to have some really great, old-fashioned general store in the center of town,” Mr. Conover said.
While none of the details are etched in stone, Mr. Conover said the store could sell Island-made products and grab-and-go meals. He said they hope to turn the second floor into a pilates studio and open the back of the property to the Village Green.
“It’s a wonderful park there but it seems to be underutilized,” Mr. Conover said.
Mr. Conover said Sole will occupy the space this summer until restoration work starts in the fall. The building is within the historic district and any changes would need to be approved by the town’s historic district commission.
“I want to keep it all historic and correct,” Mr. Conover said.
The building was originally built in 1790, according to the town’s assessor’s map. It was owned by James Coffin, a wealthy ship owner who gave the property to his daughter Desire Coffin on the occasion of her wedding to John Osborne in the early 1800s.
Stephen Berger, CEO of the North Water Street Corporation, told the Gazette that the property is a remarkable piece of Edgartown history. The corporation chose to sell the property to help generate profit for shareholders and allow for restoration work.
Mr. Berger is confident the Amato family will bring new life to the Main street property.
“Under its new ownership and after some much needed renovation and restoration, we believe it will continue to be a highlight of Edgartown’s Main street community,” wrote Mr. Berger in an emailed statement.
This article appears in March 13, 2026.
These new owners sound wonderful and keeping the historic nature of the house seals the deal. Now, someone needs to alert Holly Nadler, she knows the ghost story of Desire Coffin and John Osbourne to do with this Edgartown home! It is told in her Island classic, Haunted Island.
What a great idea!
Such a wonderful thing to do for Edgartown and this Island we call home. One more attraction coming to Edgartown Good luck with your whole project.
As neighbors in Edgartown, we are thrilled to hear about the plans to transform this historic Main Street building into a general store. It’s wonderful to see such a meaningful piece of Edgartown’s history being thoughtfully restored while creating a space that will serve both residents and visitors. We look forward to seeing this exciting addition come to life in the heart of town.
A wonderful building. May the “old-fashioned” store have a few old-fashioned prices.
Great spot for affordable housing?
Yes, that would be a great idea. Also good location for summer workers.
When I was hired in April 1980 to begin operations for the Preservation Trust, the North Water Street Corporation had been in existence for 37 years thanks to the foresight of Henry Beetle Hough, Fairleigh S. (Dick) Dickinson Jr., C. Stuart Avery, Eleanor Radley, Alfred Hall, Mary Wakeman and others. In 1980, Bob Carroll and Jeff Norton convinced these and other shareholders to give their shares to our newly organized Trust, so I also managed these two buildings and the park uniting both. During my tenure (12 years) we added the Old Whaling Church, 2 museums in Vineyard Haven, the Flying Horses, restored and turned the Church into a vibrant performing arts and civic events, transformed the Dr. Daniel Fisher House into a wedding venue, held concerts on the lawn of the oldest known extant house in America (1672, the Vincent House), started Christmas in Edgartown and the Taste of the Vineyard all with me and another part-time employee (2 of Seth Thomas’ daughters and Sue Crossland, mother of Mark). We (the Board and I) raised ALL the funds necessary to maintain in a historically correct manner all of our properties from the island residents ..year-round and seasonal … we would never sell properties to pay for projects or salaries (of an ever increasing staff). Real Estate Developers is what the Trust has become – so, dear Henry, Dick, Stuart, Eleanor, Mary, and Alfred – as well as later, Bob and Jeff – “You are all gone (and I’m truly sorry that I can’t even pretend to finish my homage with: “but not forgotten”. Unfortunately, your good charitable work has, by now, been forgotten. Sad.
As long as we acknowledge that not all change is better.
So many memories…1974 – my first year round job at Worth and Norton, Jeff and Jane to become lifetime friends. Rich Worth’s office in the original front room where Sole was originally. Secretarial office (me, Jay, Joan, maybe Joy? and others over the years), in the other front office. Jeff, the junior partner, in the back office. I remember the photocopy machine that took up an entire room/closet that I think is now the shoe storage room. Conference room was in the middle of the building. Funny, I don’t think I ever went upstairs to Bob Carroll’s Real Estate office. What a start to my life on the island- the people I met, the knowledge I gained, and the Island history I learned started in that one simple building. Memories of sunny mornings, cold winter afternoons, creaking floors, the center of our town. I only hope this building will have an authentic restoration like the one given the Vincent house. I remember that building so well- the MacKentys offered it to us if we would move it off their property. I remember that layers of paint were meticulously peeled off of the doors to reveal the paint that shows today. Who knows what might be under all the paint and inside the walls of the Desire Coffin house. It’s lifetime alone deserves that careful and thorough investigation. I can’t think of a more appropriate place for a vintage type general store- long missing from our town.