Cafe opened in October 2012 and closed this winter.
Ray Ewing

Cafe Moxie Put Up for Sale

The Vineyard Haven restaurant that rose from the ashes of a Main street fire five years ago has been placed on the market for sale. The bistro reopened in October 2012 and closed last month. The asking price is $1.25 million.

Cafe Moxie, the Vineyard Haven restaurant that rose from the ashes of a Main street fire that occurred five and a half years ago, has been placed on the market for sale.

A listing for the commercial property was posted on LINK, the Island multiple listing service for real estate, on Friday. The asking price is $1.25 million.

Long a neighborhood bistro at the corner of Centre and Main, Cafe Moxie burned in the July 4 2008 fire that also destroyed the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore next door and shuttered the Island’s main port town at the height of a summer season. The bookstore was rebuilt immediately, the restaurant three years later. The downtown business community went through a long period of transition following the fire.

Owner Michael Ryan eventually rebuilt the cafe from the ground up. In October 2012 Moxie reopened with a bright new look, a new chef and plans to stay open year round. Last month the restaurant closed.

The property includes a 49-seat restaurant and bar, a one-bedroom apartment and a studio apartment with a rooftop deck that has views of the harbor.

The property was assessed 2013 at $939,000 (the building is assessed at $572,000, the land at $367,000). Annual property taxes are $7,374.

Lighthouse Properties has the listing.

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 02/03/2014 - 18:44

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Brendan VH / Cambridge

The true tragedy is that this business' permits were fast tracked, and yet the cafe still took two years to fully reopen. After building too far onto the sidewalk it was unknown whether or not they would be allowed to open. At such a prime location in a major town on the island one would have thought this once promising cafe would come back with passion. Unfortunately a reasonably small fire half a decade ago has now marred main street Vineyard Haven. Best of luck to the former business owners, but with this coinciding with the closing of Zephrus and restaurant liquor licenses available it is time for fresh new business owners to revitalize downtown Vineyard Haven.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/04/2014 - 22:30

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Kathleen Vineyard Haven

Sorry to hear the news. How can we use a gift certificate we were given by family visiting us after a nice time there?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 02/05/2014 - 14:38

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peter simon Chilmark

Unfortunately, this reincarnation seemed doomed from the start. Hopefully, new owners with somewhat deeper pockets and who have experience in the eating biz will see an opportunity. Once Josh Aronie took over the food, the place was consistently excellent. We need this place to succeed! New vitality to Main Street is a must!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 02/10/2014 - 08:43

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Joel Kadis Katama

Very likely that a food operator will open here. With all of the restaurant build out in place, much less expensive for food operator to jump in.

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