Got a random MV question that google can’t help ya with? We got you! The theme of this month was off-season concerns. Coming in October we will put together a roundup of things to do on MV in the off-season. For now we’ve got a few quick answers.

As a reminder, you can always drop submissions on Instagram and through our Google Form - so each month we will roundup some unique questions and answer them here.

Q: When do restaurants normally close for the season?

A: Great question. My TLDR answer is ~mid-October. But there are so many restaurants that DO stay open. After 10+ years of observation, here’s how I would roughly break down the restaurant closure timelines:

• 10% will stay open year-round

• 50% will be open ~Memorial Day through ~Columbus Day

• 20% will be open ~Memorial Day through ~New Years Eve

• 20% stay open but take a ~3-6 week break around January-March.

Our weekend updates will break down restaurants that have recently closed or about to close, so that can be your one-stop-shop to see what’s open.

Q: Can you still swim in September?

A: September is my favorite month of the year on MV! Water temps are usually around ~65-66 which isn’t far off from the average of ~68 in July/August. The beach is also amazing because you are able to visit beaches you aren’t usually allowed to visit during the summer season. Here are a few beaches that are usually permit-only that you can start to visit again now that it’s the off-season:

• Lambert’s Cove, West Tisbury (🐕 before 10am)

  • Open to the public: Off-season, 9/6-6/14

• Lucy Vincent Beach, Chilmark

  • Open to the public: Off-season, 9/16-5/31

• Squibnocket Beach, Chilmark

  • Open to the public: Off-season, 9/6-6/14

• Quansoo Beach, Chilmark

• Moshop Beach, Aquinnah

• Philbin Beach, Aquinnah  

Q: Wedding Prep: What are some good locations for a rehearsal dinner down-island?

A: During our research for our wedding, here are the spots we looked into:

• Sweet Life Cafe (we went with this for our reception and loved it! More about our vendors here)

• The Barn Bowl + Bistro

• Atria

• Garde East

• S+S Kitchenette

Since there are so few restaurants that can accommodate large groups, and caterers can be a big undertaking, we definitely recommend you consider a bringing a food truck to your event if you have access to a private residence. We did this for our reception and our guests loved it (some options here are El Gato Grande, Goldie’s, Chef Amy)!

Q: Best Vegan restaurant options?

A: We haven’t tried all of these ourselves, but our readers report the following as favorites:

• Juice By the Sea

• Pawnee House

• Scottish Bakehouse

• Little House Cafe

• MV Salads

• The Covington

Q: Best spots for live music?

A: There’s a ton! Here are just a few options:

• The Ritz

• Port Hunter

• Town MV

• Noman’s

• Cardboard Box

• Flavors MV

• Featherstone - Friday Night

• Ocean Park - Sunday Nights

• Winnetu - Tuesday Nights

• The MVCMA Tabernacle

• Island libraries (check the schedules)

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As always, thanks for reading!

A reminder: none of the content on our blog is sponsored and we do not sell ads or do promotions. You can trust that our answers are based off personal experience, and, if you’d like, you can support us by becoming a paid subscriber ❤️