Dune Brothers Hopes to Expand with a Seafood Market and Restaurant in Tiverton
Nick and Monica Gillespie's seafood restaurant and wholesaler business has its eyes set on Tiverton's Chase Marina.
Chase Marina in Tiverton. Google maps photo.
Dune Brothers is on a (lobster) roll. What started as just a small seafood shack in Providence’s Innovation and Design District nearly eight years ago, has now grown into two shacks in Providence and Riverside, a full restaurant and market in Fox Point in Providence, an outpost in Track 15 food hall, and another seafood market in Warwick. Now the local seafood wholesaler has its eyes set on Tiverton’s Chase Marina at 169 Riverside Dr., where a ten-year lease will go into effect starting on Jan. 1, 2026-Dec. 31, 2035.
The building was originally acquired by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) four years ago, and the State Properties Committee gave preliminary approval for the Dune Brothers lease with two options to renew at five-year periods.
A memorandum obtained from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management states: “Two proposals were received and scored, and Dunes Brothers was selected as the highest-scoring bidder. Dune Brothers will use this property as a seafood restaurant, wholesale local seafood and agriculture market, and for loading and unloading of seafood products from commercial fishing vessels.”
The Dune Brothers mission is to expose guests to local species of underutilized varieties of fish that they market at their restaurants and seafood shacks, except now people can purchase the seafood directly from them at the markets and cook it on their own.
Dune Brothers co-owners Nick and Monica Gillespie say they anticipate using the Tiverton property as a way to bridge the gap between fishermen and all the businesses. “We’re really excited to be working with local organizations and other key stakeholders in the East Bay as we continue our efforts to support and strengthen RI fisheries. The goal is to foster a space for fishermen, women and harvesters to collaborate under one roof and have access to much-needed services and resources with this uniquely challenging industry,” Monica Gillespie says.
“In addition to this, we hope to provide increased accessibility to locally-caught seafood, farm produce and prepared food using the local catch. This is a very special project and we are grateful to be a part of it.” dunebrothers.com
