In 1971 Captain Robert Douglas opened The Black Dog tavern so that Vineyarders would have a place to gather, especially during the winter months.   A place where they could enjoy a good meal and good conversation.

 If there is an unofficial mascot of MV then the Black Dog is it.   Its tee-shirts, baseball caps, sweatshirts etc with the profile of the black dog have been seen everywhere from MV to Thailand and China.   For awhile MV was the only place you  could visit a Black Dog store but they’ve branched out now to places like Cape Cod, Provincetown, Chatham, Newport RI,  Nantucket, Mystic CT and Portland, ME.   But there still remains only one Black Dog restaurant and that sits unpretentiously on the harbor in Vineyard Haven. 

There actually was a black dog, named Black Dog.   She was an orphan puppy given to Capt Douglas by a friend.  She accompanied him on his ship the Shenandoah almost every day and she turned out to be quite the sea dog. 

Besides the tavern restaurant and the stores the Black Dog also has a bakery and  my mouth is watering just typing this.  The granola is superb, the biscotti is the best I’ve tasted anywhere and according to our family dog Chappy, the dog biscuits are to drool for.