Joe Dunn, Chef/Owner, Island Merchant
302 Main Street, Hyannis
508-771-1337
Background: Joe and his wife, Bev, were partners in a Washington, DC catering group that catered for the Washington Redskins when a yearning to return to New England brought the Boston area natives to Cape Cod in 2004. They purchased The Prodigal Son and transformed it into The Island Merchant, a venue for both fine dining and music. They opened The Islander in Osterville a few years later, opened a snack bar at Craigville Beach the same year, and in 2011 opened Summer Stock in Dennis.
Philosophy: “Keep it simple. Don’t take yourself too seriously, but take the food seriously.”
Favorite Ingredients: “Cippolini onions, chives from our garden—and I couldn’t cook without chicken stock.”
Why he supports Cape Abilities: “We love the produce from Cape Abilities Farm, but what really pulled us in was we just really liked the idea of what they were doing.”
