At an Aquinnah select board meeting Tuesday, Wenonah Madison, president of the Aquinnah Land Initiative, which announced plans to purchase the iconic restaurant last year, said she hopes to have it back in operation this season.

Michael Dakin Cochrane, the great grandson of Philip Dakin Cochrane, who helped found Universal Studios in 1912 with his brother Robert, reached out to Aquinnah town hall about the potential of hosting the event between June 15 and 30, 2025. 

The Native Land Conservancy purchased the iconic cliffside restaurant and the surrounding land this week. It will hold the property until the Aquinnah Land Initiative, a new Wampanoag nonprofit, can raise funds to buy the property.

Aquinnah officials say the town stands to gain hundreds of thousands of dollars from offshore wind energy developers that are required to mitigate the effects of offshore wind farms on Aquinnah Circle and Gay Head Light.

Aquinnah is considering work to improve the restrooms and water line at Aquinnah Circle, as well as the town hall parking lot.

Behind Aquinnah Circle’s rolling green hills, beside the small, gray-shingled Cliff Shops, six new trees have sprouted.

The Aquinnah select board and shop owners at the Aquinnah Circle are looking to standardize existing store leases, which expired this year and have historically varied in terms.

The Aquinnah select board paused its plans to lease Aquinnah Circle No. 9 Tuesday, heeding criticism over the lack of Tribal representation in the town’s decision making process for the site.

The Aquinnah select board heard three business proposals for the vacant Aquinnah Circle No. 9 space, with some community members advocating it be reserved for a Wampanoag-owned business.

With the Gay Head Light having completed its historic move last year, and long-term planning underway for Aquinnah Circle, shop owners have a new vision for their town’s commercial and cultural district.