Jonas Baker Takes The Helm At Corner Table And Nantucket Culinary Center

Island restaurateur Jonas Baker will soon take the helm at The Corner Table and the Nantucket Culinary Center at 22 Federal Street, the downtown property owned by Wendy Schmidt's philanthropic organization Remain.

Baker, the former owner of Slip 14 and a current partner at The Brotherhood of Thieves on Broad Street, has more than three decades of experience in restaurant management and operations on Nantucket. He will be taking the torch from Un Altro, the management team led by Taylor Oliver and Andrea Solimeo of Ventuno and Via Mare, who have operated The Corner Table and the Nantucket Culinary Center since 2023.

“I’m thrilled to carry forward the legacy of 22 Federal and the Nantucket Culinary Center,” Baker said in a statement. “This is a chance to create something synergistic with the energy on Broad Street, connecting my ongoing work at the Brotherhood of Thieves with a new chapter just down the road. We see endless potential for collaboration, great food and genuine hospitality that the community can count on year-round.”

Joining Baker in the new venture will be Michael Ferreri of ACK Roasters Coffee and Tea, forming a team Baker describes as “core Nantucket.”

According to Remain, the vision for the next phase of The Corner Table and the Nantucket Culinary Center "is to compound Broad Street’s role as a culinary and cultural anchor downtown, offering high-quality food and drink, a central gathering place and year-round employment opportunities."

“The Corner Table and the Nantucket Culinary Center have long been beloved gathering spaces for food, learning and community,” said Cecil Barron Jensen, executive director of Remain. “We’re grateful to the team at Un Altro for their careful stewardship of the building these last three years and look forward to introducing the community to the next chapter.”

Reached by the Current over the weekend, Solimeo declined to comment on his lease with Remain of the 22 Federal Street property, which extends through the end of 2025. Remain stated that all classes and events at the Culinary Center will continue as scheduled.

Schmidt's ReMain Ventures (an offshoot of ReMain) purchased the three-story building at 22 Federal Street from the town of Nantucket in 2014 for $2.25 million. It was formerly known as "the Mooney building" and was used as municipal office space. After extensive interior renovations, the building was reopened by ReMain as a cafe and culinary center run by Greg and Joy Margolis, who managed them for seven years. The property now includes a courtyard patio with a solar installation, along with expansive upper floors that contain additional cafe seating and room for private events and cooking classes.

Remain has amassed a large portfolio of real estate around the island that it has filled with local businesses, including the Born and Bread bakery on Centre Street, Pip & Anchor on Amelia Drive, Mitchell’s Book Corner on Main Street, as well as the Nantucket Community Music Center and the Nantucket Community School at 56 Centre Street. Most recently, ReMain Ventures acquired 5 Amelia Drive, the former Keepers Restaurant space, which it converted into a shared-use commercial kitchen facility and food business incubator now called The Hive.