The Scoop on New Kate's Owners

The iconic Brewster clam shack is changing hands at the end of this season.

Who’s buying Kate’s Seafood and Ice Cream?

A new couple is preparing to take the reins at Kate’s after 39 years of cones, clams and community at the Brewster staple. 

Current owners and operators John and Kate Ohman bought the restaurant nearly four decades ago and had dreamt of owning it for even longer, John said.

“I moved here 47 years ago with the first food truck on Cape Cod,” he said. “Every time I would drive my food truck by this business, I would go, ‘If that ever goes on sale, I want to buy it.’”

Now, the Ohmans are passing the torch to Izabelle and Rob Crisanti, Pennsylvania-based chefs with coastal cooking roots: the pair met cooking in Easthampton six years ago. After placing an offer on Kate’s this spring and negotiating back and forth for several months, the Crisantis and the Ohmans came to an agreement and will close on the restaurant this September.

This summer, both couples are on staff at the clam shack as the Crisantis learn the ropes before taking over next year.

“It operates like a machine, and that they’ve been putting out a consistent product for 38 years is really impressive,” Izabelle said. “We’re trying to learn everything we can.”

What will change at Kate’s?

The Crisantis said many customers have told them they cannot get rid of the onion rings — a vestige of Liam’s on Nauset Beach, also owned by the Ohmans and destroyed in a 2018 storm — or the hot fudge. 

“We’re only looking to improve,” Izabelle said. “There’s nothing we want to get rid of.”

To “bring a new flavor to Cape Cod,” Rob said, some of their ideas include more scratch cooking and fresh fish, beer and wine service, a beer garden, live entertainment. The couple is also considering adding an oven, which Kate’s currently lacks, to make baked goods from scratch for the ice cream products. Chefs by trade with experience cooking all over the country, including for 3-Michelin-Star restaurant Eleven Madison Park, the Crisantis’ priority is creating a chef-friendly kitchen and bringing in a “Rob and Izabelle touch.”

What’s next for John and Kate Ohman?

In their lives post-Kate’s, Kate and John will focus on FORWARD, their nonprofit which builds housing for autistic adults, and John will maintain his position as the Dennis Delegate for the Cape Cod Assembly of Delegates. They also hope to travel, Kate said.

After 38 years of running Kate’s, the Ohmans said they will miss the community but are confident the restaurant is in good hands.

“We really think we both made the right choice,” John said. “This was the right fit.”