Downyflake closes for first winter since 1993
BY MARY LANCASTER
The comfortable Downyflake, a family style restaurant on Sparks Avenue, has been a welcomed offseason destination for residents for 13 years. On Sunday, due to lack of kitchen staff, the home of the doughnut and popular breakfast and lunch fare saw its last customers seeking their favorite blueberry pancakes who lined up in anticipation of the Downyflake’s first all winter closure since it opened in the mid-island in 1993.

Susan Tate, who owns the business with husband Mark Hogan, said they expected the departure of their Jamaican kitchen workers employed under the H2-B visa program, but thought they had two other employees hired to take over and figured they would make it through the winter with one more person.

Just before Thanksgiving the two anticipated crew members did not materialize, and with no one else coming forward they had no choice but to lock the doors on Monday, clean out the remaining food and discontinue meals until the spring.

“This year it just didn’t happen,” said Tate, stressing that she and Hogan are tired of explaining the situation and just want to move on optimistically toward the future. “We are very lucky we’ve had a loyal following. It was very sad for our customers and us. Everybody is used to us being a staple through the winter except for our little break.”

The break she refers to has traditionally been a brief closure for the month of March and first week of April. Under the current situation, Tate hopes to open two weeks earlier than usual on the third week of March if her long-time foreign staff is able to arrive by then with renewed visas. She and Hogan are looking on the bright side in that now they can take advantage of this time to attend to repairs and upkeep of the restaurant that cannot be accomplished while actively serving the public.

The Downyflake opened on Nantucket in the early 1940s as one of several New England franchises and was run by Gordon and Emma MacDonald. It remained in its original spot at the corner of Cambridge and South Water streets even after it was purchased in the late 1960s by the Reinemo family.

A gas explosion in 1991 destroyed the building and the Reinemos moved the seasonal business to Children’s Beach while they had a permanent restaurant constructed on Sparks Avenue across from the fire station. For two years, the locations ran simultaneously, but in 1993 the mid-island venue was made year-round and the Children’s Beach branch closed. On Jan. 1, 1999, Tate and Hogan took over as the Downyflake’s new owners and have not had any logistical difficulties until now.

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