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News updates from Nantucket’s culinary community.
Born & Bread Makes Record Sales in 2025
After they opened in 2019, Born & Bread quickly became an island staple. The sandwich shop and bakery, owned and operated by Kevin and Kim Anderson, boasts a line down Centre Street almost every day during the swing of the season, and is a beloved lunch spot for locals in the quieter months. Last year, they set records.
“Born & Bread's record-setting season is an incredible example of what is possible when talented entrepreneurs are given the opportunity to grow,” Cecil Barron Jensen, Remain’s executive director, said.
Formerly a bakery called Petticoat Row (named after the historic women’s community on the island during Nantucket’s whaling days), 35 Centre Street became Born & Bread under owner Kevin Anderson and his team.
“Their success has brought energy, activity, and economic vitality to downtown Nantucket while creating a gathering place that both residents and visitors have embraced,” Cecil said. “We are proud to support their continued growth and celebrate the impact they make on Nantucket every day.”
The bakery is an island favorite for fresh-baked artisan bread, sweets, pastries — like the beloved Born & Bread cruffin — and made-to-order hot and cold sandwiches, along with a full coffee bar, and wholesale bites like local honey and tinned fish.
In last year’s season, Born & Bread’s sales were off the charts, — including 53,000 sandwiches, and 25,000 loaves of bread — and they’re on their way to another amazing season of 2026. The cafe’s sales can be attributed to the hard work of a small, spirited staff — just five full-time and 20 part-time employees.
Mitchell’s Book Corner joins Born & Bread in Boasting New Solar Arrays
Solar in downtown Nantucket is no longer a pipe dream. The newest installation of solar panels by ACK Smart Solar is on the roof of Mitchell’s Book Corner on 54 Main Street, one of the buildings owned by Remain. The project — a dream since 2008 — was completed this spring and is the second building in town, after cafe Born & Bread on 35 Centre Street, that ACK Smart has switched to solar. After lengthy discussions with the Historical District Commission addressing concerns for street visibility and rooftop renovations, the project was finally approved. Remain’s Anne Dougherty attributed much of the project’s success to Tobias Glidden from ACK Smart, who brought the issue to the HDC multiple times.
Prior to the Mitchell’s project, the team worked to build two solar bus stations for The Wave transportation system. The stations, one on Pleasant Street by the mid-island Stop & Shop, and the other on Orange Street by Our Island Home, worked to capture solar while also serving as shelters for waiting passengers (and providing light at night). Later, solar panels were installed above a portion of the outdoor seating at Remain’s cafe property on 22 Federal Street, now Café 22.
“They were these awesome see-through solar panels, so you couldn’t tell they were solar panels,” Anne explained. “That was the inspiration to put them over Café 22 — it allows the light to filter through, but it also captures solar. That was the first test getting it into town.”
The panels above Born & Bread were installed in 2024. Now, the array is finally generating power for Mitchell’s.
“We hope it’s an inspiration to other landlords in town — that you can have solar in town,” Anne said.
Eat Fire Farm Opens ‘The Little Farm Store’
Eat Fire Farm has opened a new brick-and-mortar storefront at 5 West Creek Road, creating a convenient mid-island destination for locally grown produce and food.
Owner Dylan Wallace describes the Little Farm Store as a place that brings together everything the farm has spent years building. Alongside Eat Fire Farm’s own products — including its solar-evaporated sea salt, herb and chile salt blends, pasture-raised pork, and frozen Nantucket bay scallops —the shop stocks a curated selection of pantry staples and goods from other makers.
“We’re hoping it can create a little hub mid-island,” Dylan said.
The store also highlights products from fellow island farms, with greens from Washashore Farm, tomatoes from Bartlett’s Farm, and sweet corn from Moors End Farm as the season progresses.
Outside, customers will soon find a self-serve vintage flower cart stocked with cut flowers grown by Eat Fire Farm, which also supplies the Nantucket Flower Collective.
The shop reflects a longtime dream of Dylan’s wife, Caroline, and her mother. “This is a dream that her mom had — to have a little flower store,” Dylan said. “It’s important for a community to have a little beauty.”
While the storefront opened only recently, it’s the culmination of years of work. Eat Fire Farm has been producing sea salt for about a decade, raising pasture-raised pigs for years, and fishing bay scallops in the winter. The couple also helped establish Sustainable Nantucket’s community farm (see Bluedot’s story) and mentor-farmer program, and they continue to sell at the Nantucket Farmers & Artisans Market each Saturday.
The Little Farm Store also includes a newly expanded kitchen and currently hosts a grab-and-go food business through September, creating another convenient option for island residents seeking locally produced food.
“We’re hoping to create an accessible space for people to buy local food,” Dylan said. “And have it be in that convenient space where it can be easily incorporated into people’s routines.”
Sustainable Nantucket Announces New Cookbook
A new cookbook from Sustainable Nantucket will be available in spring 2027, offering readers a taste of the island's local food system through seasonal recipes and the stories of the people who grow, harvest, and prepare them.
The Sustainable Nantucket Cookbook: Recipes from the Island’s Chefs, Farmers, Fishermen & Food Artisans will feature more than 70 recipes from 23 local chefs, along with profiles of the farmers, fishermen, and food producers who help sustain Nantucket’s culinary community. Organized by season, the book highlights ingredients grown in the island’s sandy soil and harvested from surrounding waters, offering a look at the connections between local agriculture, seafood, and the kitchens that bring them together.
Written by year-round resident Shannon Ross and photographed by documentary photographer Hope Allison with a forward by Angela Raynor, the cookbook was created in collaboration with Sustainable Nantucket. Through recipes, photography, and essays, it explores the importance of seasonality, local food production, and the relationships that shape the island’s food culture.
The cookbook is part of Sustainable Nantucket’s ongoing mission to strengthen the island’s local food economy through its NantucketGrown program, which connects island farmers with chefs, markets, and consumers. Whether you’re recreating a favorite island fish or looking to learn more about Nantucket’s culinary traditions, the cookbook offers a look at the people behind our meals.
