The last time Morgen Schroeder sold a cup of coffee she was in high school working at a Panera Bread in Cleveland, Ohio. Now, she’s joined the Island culinary scene and is dusting off her milk steaming skills as a co-owner of Vineyard Haven’s newest coffee shop Catboat Coffee Company.

Ms. Schroeder moved to the Island in 2020 and, at the time, had no intention of reentering the food industry. Her brother-in-law Naji Boustany was the food expert in the family and, after relocating to the Vineyard from New York City, he started a Lebanese catering and pop-up service called Epicure. But after attending a cheese tasting at The Grey Barn and Farm Ms. Schroeder felt inspired to start her own business, Martha’s Vineyard Cheesery, selling pre-packaged cheese platters.

Naji Boustany and his freshly made hummus.

Ray Ewing

Naji Boustany and his freshly made hummus.

Ray Ewing

Now Ms. Schroeder and Mr. Boustany have teamed up to start Catboat Coffee, a cafe located in the Tisbury Marketplace that both businesses can call home. The menu features Cheesery boxes, Lebanese sandwiches and spreads from Epicure, and, of course, coffee.

“We both had this realization that if either of our food brands were to survive or grow we needed commercial kitchen space,” said Ms. Schroeder. “We started racking our brains on how we could bring this together and that’s when we thought of a coffee shop that has some of everything.”

Catboat Coffee is a true family business, also co-owned by Ms. Schroeder’s husband Alex Ficarelli-Danberg and his two siblings, Andrew Danberg-Ficarelli and Meredith Danberg-Ficarelli, who is Mr. Boustany’s wife.

In 2021, the team of five purchased a commercial kitchen at 79 Beach Road in Vineyard Haven, formerly home to Not Your Sugar Mama’s cafe and chocolate shop. They spent the following year renovating the space, adding artistic nautical touches that reflect the cafe’s Catboat theme.

Catboats, the quintessential New England sailboat, as Mr. Ficarelli-Danberg put it, are an essential part of his family’s history.

“My family has had catboats for generations,” he said. “My great grandfather had at least one Catboat in Edgartown... and my parents bought their first catboats in 1980 and now we have a beetle cat, which is the smallest kind of catboat.”

Ms. Schroeder even mounted the mast from her in-laws’ catboat to an overhead beam in the cafe.

For now, open Thursday through Sunday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Ray Ewing

For now, open Thursday through Sunday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Ray Ewing

“[Catboats] can do a little bit of everything and that’s what we’re trying to do in this shop. A little bit of everything,” she said.

The cafe also sells handmade wooden bowls and cutting boards by Mr. Ficarelli-Danberg and, thanks to Ms. Danberg-Ficarelli who is a zero-waste advisor, includes several elements of sustainability, such as a bring-your-own-cup discount, to encourage carbon consciousness.

Catboat Coffee is open Thursday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.