05/01/2025
9 Ryder will not be opening for the 2025 season. After being contacted by multiple patrons, I want to share this news as the 9 Ryder community has expanded far beyond the restaurant’s bright yellow walls, past Long Point, and off across the water. This news is not easy to share, not because it is surprising, but because it feels like the end of more than a restaurant and like an end to a chapter in Provincetown’s long and continuing story.
9 Ryder was opened by Freddy Hemley and Francis Iacono in 2012 and enjoyed 12 amazing seasons at the Provincetown Marina. Across these seasons, Francis and Freddy were joined every summer by their children, by spouses, by siblings, and by coworkers (more like a seasonal extended family) from around the world. Freddy passed away in the summer of 2022 and Francis passed just this past winter of 2025. Continuing a restaurant run by these two powerhouses of Provincetown food, history and art would be a hard-fought battle, so it is time to end this story.
That being said, I want to keep this page up for the remaining future and offer a few more thoughts as 9 Ryder winds down and the 2025 season ramps up. As you may have heard, the building that housed 9 Ryder will be knocked down for new stores. While construction and change in town often evokes strong emotions, this is yet another signal of Provincetown’s ability to shift through time and stay such a central and emotional hub for the people that pass through it. 9 Ryder is a part of that legacy – not because of the food, the people work worked there, the local art, or the building itself, but all of those components combined.
My father and Francis were Provincetown treasures, although I know neither would have touted themselves as such. They never put their names on the restaurants, galleries, and other town contributions that they provided over the years, but their mark was distinct. They were influenced and taught in the town’s history and lore by the people who molded its presence in the 20th century – Sal Del Deo, Ciro Cozzi, and Flyer Santos just to name a few. This was evident in everything from the art they created themselves, to their personal style, to their cooking. Their love, respect and admiration for everything Provincetown has to offer was reflected in 9 Ryder.
When I think of the loss of this restaurant, this building, these people, I am so grateful to my father and to Francis for providing this legacy and gift. When I am home, I know my father is always with me as he is the reason I know so much about the town, about what buildings were before their current and future ownership, about why my family and families like Francis’s have settled down on this sand dune across generations. 9 Ryder is a point in time, and time is endlessly changing around us like sand brought in and out by the tides. What a wonderful gift they gave us, to experience these merging places in time with 9 Ryder in Provincetown
- Helen Hemley
