The Elbow Wakes Up

That parking lot — beside Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in South Chatham — is where the Chatham Farmers Market returns for its 16th year. Three to six in the afternoon, same Tuesday rhythm. Farmers, fishermen, bakers, one or two soap makers, someone's sourdough, local seafood, coffee, cut flowers. It does not try to be anything more than it is.

This year, it runs through October 13.

Orleans got there first. The Orleans Farmers' Market moved outside on Saturday, May 2 — Saturdays, 9 to noon, at 19 Old Colony Way — which means the outdoor season is already running by the time Chatham opens. One market to start the weekend. One market to rescue the week. Between the two, you can provision a serious kitchen without leaving the Lower Cape.

That matters more this spring because what you're provisioning for has gotten more interesting.

Cuvée loosened its collar

For years, the formula at 359 Main Street was legible from the outside: Chatham Inn's dining room, a Relais & Châteaux address, Forbes-recognized polish, a Wine Spectator-noted wine program, a fireplace that earns its presence. The kind of place you booked ahead and wore good shoes to.

This spring, it reopened with new language attached: Cuvée à la Carte Dinner. Exceptional food, no formalities required.

That phrase is doing a lot of work.

Chatham already has polished rooms. What it has fewer of is rooms that can hold both sides of the town at once — the instinct for excellence and the "we just came from the beach but want something good" reality. If Cuvée is genuinely shifting toward that second thing without abandoning the first, that is not a small adjustment.

The old Cuvée reputation is still part of the room. But the current public-facing language suggests something more flexible than the previous prix-fixe identity: still careful, still elevated, but less buttoned-up.

Reservations are available through Tock, with Chatham Inn also listing 508-945-1468 for dining inquiries.

The elbow has its own restaurant now

The name at 859 Main Street is a geography joke with a short explanation: codo is Spanish for elbow, and Chatham is exactly where the Cape bends. It is a small detail. It is a good one.

CODO Mexican Kitchen is back for the season — Baja-style tacos, burritos, bowls, cocktails, a livelier room than most of Main Street tends to offer. Coastal Hospitality Group runs it, the same people behind Pate's, The Cut, and Doghouse. The concept knows what it is.

In a town that can lean formal fast, CODO gives Main Street something looser: a drink, a taco, a little noise, and no need to make dinner feel like an appointment.

1077 Main: a barstool, finally

TK's Sports Bar opened this spring at 1077 Main Street. May is its first real month.

Chatham has never lacked places to eat well. It has sometimes lacked places to not make a big thing of it. TK's comes in with pizza, cold drinks, and screens showing sports. Nobody has to explain their footwear.

Chatham's Main Street runs toward galleries and inns and menus with architectural descriptions. TK's is the counterweight. Every good food block needs one.

1200 Main: watch this space

The next change is not open yet, which is exactly why it is worth noting.

Beacon & Buoy is targeting a summer 2026 opening at 1200 Main Street — café, provisions, bistro. The licensing is still working through the town process, with a May hearing tied to a seasonal all-alcohol restaurant license transfer.

The words "café, provisions, bistro" can mean a lot of things: sometimes a beautiful idea that never finds its footing, sometimes the exact place everybody starts using without needing to discuss it.

Worth keeping on the radar.

The parking lot on Meeting House Road opens May 19. The rest of Main Street is already moving.

Chatham Farmers Market | 60 Meeting House Road, South Chatham Tuesdays, 3–6 p.m. | May 19 through October 13

Orleans Farmers' Market | 19 Old Colony Way, Orleans Saturdays, 9 a.m.–noon | Outdoor season began May 2

Cuvée at Chatham Inn | 359 Main St, Chatham Cuvée à la Carte Dinner | Reservations through Tock or 508-945-1468

CODO Mexican Kitchen | 859 Main St, Chatham Open for the season | Check current hours before going

TK's Sports Bar | 1077 Main St, Chatham Pizza, drinks, and wall-to-wall sports

Beacon & Buoy | 1200 Main St, Chatham Café | Provisions | Bistro | Opening target: Summer 2026