With the Covid-19 pandemic raging, the normally quiet down-Island Main streets have turned ghostly, as the off-season tests the Vineyard winter economy and social fabric.

The owners of Island Food Products have signed a purchase and sale agreement to buy the historic Oak Bluffs grocery Tony’s Market, marking a first foray into retail for IFP.

Leslie’s Drug Store, the family-run pharmacy in downtown Vineyard Haven that was due to close at the end of the year, will be able to stay open after all, the owners confirmed.

Thanksgiving weekend brought the usual holiday shoppers to down-Island towns, though not in the numbers and density of pre-pandemic seasons.

Starting a new business on Martha’s Vineyard takes courage during the best of times. But even in the face of the pandemic, optimistic risk-takers have opened shops, galleries, restaurants and services.

Leslie’s Drug Store, a family-run pharmacy and Main street institution in Vineyard Haven since 1948, will permanently close at the end of this year, after 72 years in business.

The Edgartown Board of Trade elected three new board members on Wednesday.

Small business owners on Martha’s Vineyard can now apply for forgivable federal loans covering up to $10,000 of losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

After 30 years of corporate ownership, the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror will be sold to an island-based ownership group.

Forced to delay opening this spring, many Island businesses are using an unusually busy fall as a springboard into the darker months.