Kendall Bowie
Welcomes You to Mad Martha’s Island Cafe
By Kathleen Downey
Kendall Bowie
Kendall Bowie is overflowing with exuberance as she talks about the realization of her island dream. Plum Island dreaming, that is. With her business partner Kyree Gerson, Bowie is about to take the helm—and don the apron—of the iconic Plum Island café, Mad Martha’s. (The women have tweaked the name from Mad Martha’s Beach Café to Mad Martha’s Island Café.) Bowie and Gerson officially embark on their island eatery venture on Wednesday, September 14. For Bowie, her connection with the funky café has come full circle.
“My first restaurant job was at Mad Martha’s,” she shares. More recently, Bowie was employed at The Rockfish, where she was the general manager for the past two years and bartender for six years prior. “I loved working at the Rockfish; I met so many great people there, coworkers and customers. And I also learned a lot about the restaurant business,” she says.
Upon meeting Gerson through what Bowie breezily describes as “downtown connections,” the two women became friends and discovered they shared the same dream of owning a restaurant. With Bowie’s dream nurtured through her Rockfish experience, and Gerson’s through her recent restaurant experience at Ceia, the two decided to team up. Synchronicity provided the necessary sprinkling of magic when Mad Martha’s outgoing owner, Brad DeLibero, offered to sell the café to the women.
Bowie has enjoyed a friendship with DeLibero for years. “I’ve known Brad since elementary school,” she says. Bowie adds that DeLibero won’t be abandoning the island; he’s only traveling to Plum Island center, where he will work at the reinvigorated Beachcoma for new owners owners Greg and Cathy Pugh. (DeLibero’s chef/girlfriend Jess will hop into town and into the kitchen at Loretta’s.) As it happens, the Pughs owned Mad Martha’s prior to DeLibero. It’s this kind of townie-like interconnectedness and “island kismet” that contributes to Bowie’s affection for the Port, particularly for Plum Island. Long under the spell of the island’s natural beauty and mystique, Bowie says, “Plum Island has such a special place in my heart.”
Bowie shares that she’s also harbored a wish of one day living on the island. With her dream-come-true of owning her own restaurant, so has her dream of island residence. Bowie recently moved to the island with her boyfriend. “We’re right on the basin, so we can easily launch our kayaks,” she says with a smile. Perhaps best of all, she can stick her toes in the sand, bear witness to breathtaking sunsets, and know that this is her home.
Growing up in the city’s North End, Bowie holds fond memories of bicycling to Maudslay State Park, where she admits to jumping from the famed Indian Rock in a daring (and potentially dangerous) young townie rite-of-passage. She also played sports: field hockey, tennis at Atkinson Common, and softball in the city’s Pioneer League. “I played second base for the Clippers and was team captain during my junior and senior years at Newburyport High School,” Bowie shares.
Kendall and Kyree
In fact, Bowie’s passion for athletics led her to study physical education at Salem State College. “I had intended to become a gym teacher,” she reveals. Bowie allows that a small part of her wonders what her life’s path might be like had she gone into Phys Ed, but she’s too overjoyed with the path she followed “out to the island” to second-guess her career choice. So it’s not surprising that the path of our conversation veers back to Plum Island, specifically to Mad Martha’s.
Over the weeks leading up to their impending restaurant debut, Bowie says that she and Gerson have combed the beach in search of just-the-right driftwoodaccouterments for their Plum Island-infused café. “We were no doubt a comical sight to the islanders who watched us get so excited each time we found a piece of driftwood that we then hauled back to our cars,” Bowie laughs. She gives an inside scoop on the restaurant’s décor. “The driftwood will be transformed into shelving,” Bowie reveals. She’s quick to offer assurance to longtime customers that the café’s wall murals will remain. And Bowie hopes that customers will find delight not only in the entrees but also in the eclectic new cutlery and dinnerware that Bowie and Gerson found by scouring local antique shops and flea markets.
Favorite dishes such as The Lighthouse (an egg sandwich with attitude) and café staples like its famous Portuguese sweetbread will remain on the menu; new features that include gluten-free entrees will be added. “If you don’t see your favorite meal on the menu, let us know,” Bowie addresses her future customers. She promises that she and Gerson will do whatever they can to create a dish that will ensure that each diner’s visit is an enjoyable and memorable gastronomical experience.
The café will continue its Guest Chef Night series, allowing locals to be chef-for-a-night and cook their favorite dishes for friends, family, townies, and nontownies. Adding to the café’s lively spirit will be Bloody Mary buckets and fresh fruit juices to “complement the spirits” that customers bring into the BYOB café, says Bowie.
“I probably should feel overwhelmed,” Bowie confesses, as she rattles off the last-minute preparations before she and Gerson open the door to Mad Martha’s Island Café on Wednesday morning. “But, I’m too happy and excited to feel overwhelmed!”
This past Sunday, friends and family were to be on site to help Bowie and Gerson paint and spruce-up the café. Her parents’ support through this culinary business venture means a great deal to Bowie. “Each has taught me a lot,” Bowie shares. “I get my independent, strong-willed nature from my mother. And I get my patience and wit from my dad.”
From the local restaurant community, Bowie says that she has great admiration for Mike Doyle, proprietor of Newburyport’s legendary Park Lunch. “I’ve always liked how Mike Doyle so easily connects with his customers,” says Bowie. “He makes everyone feel at home.”
Bowie’s wish is for her and Gerson to make their customers feel at home in their cozy, funky, island eatery. With Bowie warmly greeting each customer with her irresistible smile and serving the comforting, to-marvel-over entrees that Gerson creates, Bowie’s wish for Mad Martha’s Island Café should come true.
Mad Martha’s Island Café
51 Northern Boulevard, Newbury.
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
(Friday and Saturday dinner hours to come.)
Kathleen Downey is the Features Editor for Newburyport Today. If you are a townie or a citizen who would like to be profiled (or to suggest someone to profile)—or if you have a local story idea, please email: Kathleen@Newburyport-Today.com.
