Big Changes Coming to Martha's Vineyard Copper Anchor Restaurant

I'm not a guy who loves change, and change is coming to one of my favorite Martha's Vineyard restaurants.

Copper Anchor (which I still stubbornly call Copper Wok) has been sold.

Owner JB Blau, who also owns Sharkey's Cantina, Chowder Company and Loft nightclub, has decided to consolidate and downsize.

Blau is prioritizing family time over business, and he's earned the right to do that after 20 years in the brutal restaurant industry.

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"I've got two high schoolers and a fourth grader and life is moving fast," he said. "I want to be able to watch them play travel basketball and be kids. I'm really looking forward to this summer."

The timing for a sale was right for Blau, as Copper Anchor continues to do very well. Sales were up in 2023, and the staff is solid.

"That's when you want to sell a restaurant. You want to sell when it's doing well, not when it's doing poorly," Blau said.

Changes Are Coming to Copper Anchor

With the new owners will come some changes. Blau wouldn't get into the details about the changes on the horizon, but if I were a betting man I'd say the bar will be the centerpiece of the business.

The bar plays into the major advantage for the new owners. The fact that they will have the ability to sell alcohol without food is a game changer that's only been in place for less than a year in Vineyard Haven.

We can tell you the food will not be ethnic. Blau only said that the food will be popular and feature a menu everyone will like.

"I'm just as excited about what's going in there as I am about the fact that I'm not going to be there," Blau said.

The Move Away from a Chinese Menu

Blau said the concept of Copper Wok was developed 10 years ago when Vineyard Haven was just a beer and wine town. Guests were required to order food with their alcohol at the time.

"It was totally different," Blau said. "Chinese made sense because it was about takeout and it was year-round. But now with the new rules you can create a restaurant concept that doesn't have to be based around a policy or regulation, but based around what a restaurant should be."

The plan is to have the new restaurant up and running in time for the island's busy season.

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