Sale Of Nauset Farms In The Works, Hadfields To Manage

ORLEANS – A new era is set to get underway at Nauset Farms.

 Owner Peter Gori is in the process of selling the popular East Orleans market, which he purchased in 2023. The market will now be managed by Cameron and Tyler Hadfield, owners of The Rail and operators of the Barley Neck.

 On Sept. 9, the select board unanimously approved an annual common victualler’s license and the transfer of the market’s off-premises package store wine and malt beverages license to the Hadfields. Speaking to the board, Cameron Hadfield said that staff at the market will be retained and that no changes are anticipated to its operations as of now.

 “We anticipate being able to utilize the space that they have a lot more efficiently,” he said. “The hope is to keep what they have, keep the team in place and just try to provide more support on the back end where we have a little more fire power, a little more labor, a little more boots on the ground.”

 The Hadfields, who are Harwich natives, grew up working in restaurants including the Chatham Squire. They opened The Rail in 2021 on East Main Street, and in 2023 were tapped to operate the Barley Neck across the street. Most recently, the brothers purchased the Polka Dot Panini food truck, which operates during the summer at Nauset Beach.

 “We’re extremely excited to hand it off to local operators who know the community, have already been successful in the community,” Gori said. “They’re frankly doubling down on the neighborhood.”

 Cameron said while he and Tyler were not exploring taking on another venture, they welcomed the opportunity to take reigns on another East Orleans landmark.

 “It’s got all this cool history,” he said. “It means something to people, so we don’t want to go and rock the boat. We just want to try and breathe some life into the area and see what we can do.”

 Gori said a sale of the Nauset Farms real estate is in the works with a private individual that he declined to name. Hadfield also stated that the prospective owner wishes to remain “behind the scenes.”

 The decision to sell comes after a number of difficult winters for the market, Gori said. In 2024, the market was impacted by sewer work along East Main Street that caused road closures and detours in the area of the business. Most recently, the market lost much of its inventory after its generator failed during the February blizzard.

 Going forward, Gori said he will continue to focus his attention on Sundae School, where he is general manager of operations and an “incoming partner” in the business.

 “I love the Lower Cape. I love Orleans,” he said. “It’s just for me right now, at this point in my career, I’m ready for a new challenge.”

Looking back, Gori said he’s proud of his tenure owning Nauset Farms, but is happy to hand over operations to seasoned members of the Orleans business community.

 “They know what they’re doing,” he said. “They have decades of runway in the business to go ahead in their careers. They’re from here as I am. This is a home run for us.”

 Cameron said he sees a lot of opportunity for synergy between Nauset Farms, The Rail and the Barley Neck. That could include incorporating some of the market’s products into the other businesses.

 “They have a great big kitchen that isn’t used at night, for example,” he said. “Maybe we can do some catering out of there, or something like that. They have a bakery there and bakery expertise that we don’t have. Maybe we can do desserts at the Barley Neck that are actually homemade. We’re hoping it will work out really well.”

 At the Sept. 9 select board meeting, Todd Sullivan, who is an abutter to the Barley Neck on Tides End Lane, gave his “full support” to the Hadfields’ incoming management of Nauset Farms.

 “The neighborhood loves what they’ve done, and we’re excited about the new growth,” he said.

 Board members also voiced their support for the change in management, with Kevin Galligan offering a personal request.

 “Don’t forget the potato chips,” he said. “Those Nauset Farms potato chips are deadly.”

 Cameron said he expects he and Tyler will officially assume management of the market in the next six weeks. While he and Tyler’s roles have yet to be defined, he said they’ll likely be less hands-on in the market’s day-to-day operation as they continue to run The Rail and Barley Neck.

 “It kind of fell in our lap, so it would be a shame not to try,” he said of running the market. “So we’re going to do our best.”