HARWICH — Town Administrator Joseph Powers, serving as hearing officer for the board of selectmen, has found the Port Restaurant and Bar and Ember Pizza, Inc. violated state laws during the COVID-19 State of Emergency. Powers in his findings concluded the Port Restaurant and Bar committed three violations and Ember Pizza, Inc. committed one violation. Powers stated in his findings he would hold his disciplinar...

A program using grant money to purchase large oysters from local oyster farmers and pay to have the oysters shucked, packaged and frozen and donated to food pantries is helping everyone along the line – from the farmers to food-insecure people. “This program not only provides much-needed relief to our local oyster farming industry, it also provides seafood protein to our clients,” says Gennie Moran, chief oper...

HARWICH — If the smiles behind the COVID-19 masks of the employees at Star Market and Shaw’s on Cape Cod are even more difficult to discern these days, it may be because they have just taken a hit in their weekly pay check. Comments about the pay reductions could be overheard in the aisles and at the cash registers of the Star Market in Harwich Port over the past couple of weeks. The move struck some patrons a...

For Lindsay Garre Bierwirth, co-owner with her husband Fred of the North Chatham fitness center Chatham Works, stepping up during the coronavirus pandemic is a way to show her young daughters that in hard times, you have to help others. “In the darkest times, you shine the brightest light,” Bierwirth said during a telephone interview last week. For several months now Bierwirth has opened her gym at 323 Orleans...

ORLEANS — Seventy-five years ago, Jack and Laura Johnson of Truro cooked up an idea for a weekly newspaper. Under its second owner, Malcolm Hobbs, The Cape Codder built a headquarters at 5 Namskaket Rd. in with ample space for a printery, including a giant ink tank. The building would shake as a press operator announced each run: “Caaaaape Cod-uh!” The press is long gone, stilled and sold by an off-Cape corp...

CHATHAM — Treading lightly over what they admit is a complicated issue, selectmen Tuesday opened a dialogue about the proliferation of single-serve “nip” bottles of alcohol. The 15-milliliter bottles litter area roadways, and the problem has led other towns – including Harwich – to consider banning their sale. Nip bans are already in place on the Upper Cape, Selectman Jeffrey Dykens noted. When he walks Route ...

Chatham Records Another Death CHATHAM — The pandemic’s toll on Chatham is growing. In the span of a week, new cases caused three restaurant closures and prompted a new round of testing at Liberty Commons. And public health officials confirm that the town has now recorded its third fatality from COVID-19. “There was a death of a Chatham resident over the weekend who had tested positive for COVID-19,” Health ...

Deposit Is Preferable To Outright Prohibition HARWICH — As selectmen consider whether the sale of nip bottles should be banned, package store operators are seeing red – as in a major financial impact if such a prohibition is put in place. Some owners say nips generate as much as 30 to 40 percent of their business. Selectmen have heard from people in the community about the street-side litter of nip bottles,...

HARWICH — Along with the cold weather, the reality that it may be a tough winter for restaurants is settling in. Facilities for outdoor serving are being shuttered and limited indoor serving capacity could make the usual slow winter even slower. Town officials are weighing options available to restaurants. One is to allow longer closures. Selectmen last week approved owner Damien Wiseman's request to close the...

The Cape Cod Chronicle won the Orleans Chamber of Commerce’s 2020 Small Business of the Year Award, given during the chamber’s 31st annual meeting held virtually on Nov. 17. “Thank you for all you do for the Orleans community,” the chamber’s incoming chair Judy Lindahl of Nauset Marine said in announcing the award. She added that the paper supports the chamber, businesses, non-profits, and civic and community ...

The Addison Art Gallery in Orleans is celebrating its 25th anniversary this November with an unusual twist: For one month it is donating to the nonprofits its clients choose when they buy an artwork. “Since the pandemic started, for months, we chose various nonprofits as recipients of the donations,” says gallery owner Helen Addison. “As I was trying to decide on the organizations to receive funds during Novem...

ORLEANS – The historic Captain Linnell House, long a well-known restaurant, has been sold and will be converted back into a private residence. The 2.28-acre property at 137 Skaket Beach Rd. sold for $1.45 million. Its current assessment is $813,300, according to the town's assessing records. The buyers were Joseph and Linda Beals, according to John Ciluzzi, the realtor who sold the property. Built by sea ca...

For restaurants operating under strict public health protocols during the pandemic, any small bit of good news is worth celebrating. While certainly not game-changing, the relaxation of certain rules that took effect Monday represented progress, said Peter Barnard, owner of the Impudent Oyster in Chatham. “It’s been helpful,” he said. “Everything helps.” Announced last week, the changes allow restaurants...

HARWICH —The chamber of commerce has issued its annual series of awards to local businesses and community members making outstanding contributions to the town and the chamber. The awards were announced during the chamber’s annual meeting, which was held virtually this year. Executive Director Cyndi Williams said after the announcements that the awards were presented in person following social distancing protoc...

ORLEANS — After over a half century at the helm of the Lobster Claw restaurant in Orleans, what will Don Berig miss after the business’s final meals are served on Sunday, Sept. 13? “The people, I’m a people person,” he says without missing a beat. “I think that was my calling, to meet with people.” Berig, 81, reminisced about his 51 years running the award-winning Lobster Claw with his wife Marylou during a...

ORLEANS — This is a tale of three Orleans bookstores. A new independent bookstore will open later this month, while a second will close and a third has already closed. Sea Howl Bookshop is taking over the 600-square-foot space occupied until earlier this year by the now-shuttered Main Street Books at 46 Main St. Booksmith/Musicsmith, which has been in operation since the late 1970s, will close its doors on ...