He Washed Dishes at Pate's in 1984. Now Rock Harbor Grill Is His.

The regulars at Rock Harbor Grill kept showing up early. The sign said one time. The cars in the lot said another. The new owners took the hint.

"We open at 4 p.m. now," Tommy LeBlanc told the Cape Cod Chronicle in a February profile. "We found people were arriving early anyway, so this made sense."

It's a small change. It's also the kind you make after forty years of watching dining rooms from behind the swinging door.

A dishwasher for Mr. Gardner

He goes by Chooch, and his résumé reads like a map of Chatham dinner.

"I started as a dishwasher for Mr. Gardner at Pate's in 1984 and worked for him for 10 years," he said. Then came the Chatham Squire, for 25 years. His wife, Amy Dubis LeBlanc, put in 22 years at the Squire herself.

Between them that's close to six decades of other people's restaurants. Their own site puts it plainly: after years of working for others, they were "thrilled to finally own a place."

The family took the keys

The hand-off came in September 2025. The Chronicle's report on the sale laid out how it works. Amy's parents, Bob and Chris Dubis, bought the building. Amy and Tommy run the restaurant.

It's a family arrangement. Tommy works the kitchen side; the site says he has spent decades behind the line as a chef. Amy runs the room.

The oven survived the hand-off

They kept most of what was already working. Many of the bartenders and staff stayed on. So did the wood-fired oven.

"The wood-fired pizza has always been a staple here," LeBlanc said. "A lot of people come in for that." Last year, when this newsletter's readers voted on Orleans pizza, Rock Harbor Grill finished second in town.

By February they had given the week a rhythm: fish and chips on Monday, prime rib on Tuesday, burgers on Thursday. They added one dish with his name on it. Chooch's chili is a pork-based white bean chili with crispy potato chips on top.

The Squire rule

The thing they brought with them wasn't a recipe.

"Richard [Costello] and George [Payne] taught us a lot," LeBlanc told the Chronicle. "They taught us to take care of our help like they are family, our customers, too. That's what they taught us and what we are continuing to do here. Continue the faith, as they say."

The second winter

Rock Harbor Grill is open seven days a week at 4 p.m., all year. In Orleans, in January, that's a commitment.

This will be their second winter at the helm. They have the oven, the bar crowd, the chili, and a staff they didn't send home. The way he put the job to the Chronicle is shorter than any of that.

"My objective is value for the customer," he told the Chronicle, "especially these days with everything being so expensive."

Rock Harbor Grill | 18 Old Colony Way, Orleans
Open seven days a week at 4 p.m.
(508) 255-3350