"Everyone say, 'Cape Porpoise Pier!'" Select Board Chair Mary Beth Gilbert called out on June 24 before cutting the ribbon on the town's rebuilt pier. State Rep. Traci Gere and staff from the offices of Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins and Rep. Chellie Pingree were in the crowd.
The ribbon was cut at the start of summer, but the pier was built for winter. The fishing boats use it every month of the year. This fall is the first off-season since the rebuild, and the places that stay open in Kennebunkport are mostly in the village around it.
A Pier Built for Boats, Not for the Season
The Cape Porpoise Pier rehabilitation cost $8.6 million. Prock Marine won the contract in July 2024 and started construction that November. The project replaced the bait shed and added a new Harbormaster office. It also included fuel-system work, a pier expansion and structural repairs, recreational floats and a pump-out station.
One decision during construction mattered more than the rest. The Press Herald reported in January 2025 that the Select Board, at its Dec. 11 meeting, had approved an $850,000 change order to raise the pier, because storm water had flooded the pier and the bait shed. So the higher deck isn't there for summer visitors. It's there for the winter storms that flooded the old one.
The Portland Press Herald reported that the pier supports about 50 commercial fishing vessels and is "home to several restaurants." During construction, the town's consultant said officials had met with fishermen and with Allen Daggett, owner of the Cape Pier Chowder House next door, to plan around the work. The fishing fleet doesn't follow Labor Day or Columbus Day. The restaurants around it are now on two schedules: some close with the summer crowd, others stay open with the boats.
The Closings Come One at a Time
Kennebunkport doesn't close all at once. Here's the order, based on what each business currently has on its own site:
- Saturday, October 17. Nunan's Lobster Hut at 9 Mills Road in Cape Porpoise ends a 2026 season that began May 21. It has been open from 5 p.m. seven nights a week. The Arundel Wharf on the Kennebunk River lists daily lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and a season-closing night of "Saturday, October 17th." Its site doesn't print a year, but October 17 falls on a Saturday in 2026.
- End of October. Kennebunkport Resort Collection's current dining page lists two of its restaurants as "Open May-October" without naming a year: Tides Beach Club Restaurant on Goose Rocks Beach and The Dory, its poolside spot for burgers and wings.
- December 3 to 13. Christmas Prelude runs these dates in 2026.
- Sunday, December 13. Hurricane Restaurant serves its last dinner of 2026. The fish and chop house overlooks the Kennebunk River and is celebrating 33 years. Its site says, "We always close for the season after the second weekend of Christmas Prelude."
That's eight weeks between the first closings and the last, and the list leaves out many businesses. Several well-known spots haven't posted a 2026 closing date. The Clam Shack's site says "Open daily at 11 AM" with no season or year. The Pilot House lists weekly hours at 2 Harbor Lane without saying whether they change in winter. Call or check before you go, because hours on a business's own page can be out of date.
What Stays Open in the Village
Once Nunan's closes on October 17, Cape Porpoise still has three places to eat within a short walk of the pier. Each has its own reason for staying open.
Cape Porpoise Kitchen says it is "Open Daily & Year Round." Its site doesn't list hours.
Ultramar is at 77 Pier Road, in the building that used to hold Pier 77 and The Ramp. Those two closed in 2022. Chef Germán Lucarelli grew up cooking with his grandmother in Argentina and opened The Lost Fire Grill & Bar in Kennebunkport in 2018. Seacoast Online reported that he opened Ultramar and a sister venue, Casa 77, on Friday, May 12, 2023. The menu pairs local seafood with Mediterranean flavors, cooked over a wood fire. When it opened, Lucarelli told Seacoast Online that Ultramar would run year-round. The site currently lists dinner Thursday through Tuesday from 4:30 p.m., closed Wednesdays. It doesn't post a separate winter schedule.
Caring Community Cuisine is at 2 Pier Road, in the space that was Musette. It opened on November 4, 2024, after founders Selena Roy and Jonathan Cartwright reworked the café with partner Ben Fraser. It's a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports people and families affected by cancer through family nutrition and human connection. Its February 2026 update says it served 246 meals to families in January. January is the slowest month in a summer town, and the café served 246 meals anyway, because its work doesn't depend on visitors. Public café hours are Sunday through Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday cooking classes are on the 2026 schedule.
Up the hill at 167 Main Street, Bradbury Brothers Market is the village grocery and deli. Its site doesn't list hours, so call ahead in winter. Selena Roy described Cape Porpoise as "a village known for its working waterfront, artistic energy, and close-knit sense of community." Each of these places is open for a reason other than tourism. One is a nonprofit, one is a chef's own restaurant, and one is the village market.
Outside the Village: Who Has Said What
In the rest of town and the Lower Village, the off-season choices are mostly at the resort restaurants and a few independents. This table shows each place's own description of its season:
| Place | Season as posted | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Earth at Hidden Pond | Open year-round | Farm-to-fork dining; executive chef Justin Owen |
| Rosella | Open year-round | Billed as the first sustainable sushi restaurant in the Kennebunks |
| The Boathouse | Open year-round | Overlooks the Kennebunk River |
| The Burleigh | Open year-round | Classic Maine dining in the heart of Kennebunkport |
| Mornings in Paris, Lower Village | "365 days a year" | Café open 7 a.m. daily; crêpes 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Hurricane | Through Dec. 13, 2026 | Dinner seven nights until then |
Mornings in Paris posts café hours of 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Alisson's lists lunch inside from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and dinner from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily, with the bar open later. It doesn't say whether those hours run through the winter.
The Calendar Between Closing Night and Prelude
The Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Arundel Chamber of Commerce has a few events scheduled between the October closings and Prelude:
- October 24: Batson River Fright Camp
- October 30: Annual Business Trick-or-Treating
- November 4 to 23: The Chamber's online Holiday Auction
- November 18: Business After Hours at Federal Jack's
- December 3 to 13: Christmas Prelude
The calendar is thin until Prelude. Then Hurricane closes the night it ends.
Pier construction started in November 2024, the same month Caring Community Cuisine opened at 2 Pier Road. The pier is now finished and raised above the storm water that flooded the old one. Cape Porpoise Kitchen says it is open year-round, Lucarelli said Ultramar would be, and Caring Community Cuisine served 246 meals last January.
If you own a home in Cape Porpoise or near the Kennebunk River, the quiet months are a good time to find out what it's worth before spring. Lauren Jones and the team follow Kennebunkport through every season, not just summer, and can give you a clear read before the market picks up again. Get Your Home Valuation.
