It all started when Jeff Christensen and Marion Godin—siblings who grew up in Newbury—and Marion’s real-estate-developer husband Vincent Godin decided to buy a rundown old house on Plum Island, fix it up, and rent it out to visitors.
“Our operation really got started very organically,” Marion Godin says.
As that business was getting off the ground, the island’s only liquor store came up for sale, so they bought that too, transforming it in 2015 into The Cottage, a provisions shop where customers can buy a jug of milk, a bottle of wine, an ice cream cone, or a t-shirt, and perhaps rent a paddleboard for the afternoon. They chose the name in honor of the Plum Island cottage owned by Jeff and Marion’s grandparents, where the pair spent many happy childhood days.
The turning point for the growing business came when the young entrepreneurs were approached with an offer to buy a block of 17 houses as well as a former gas station property. It was a daunting prospect, but the trio decided to take the gamble, envisioning a casual spot for al fresco dining where the gas station once stood.
“Plum Island didn’t have any outdoor dining, and it’s just the most beautiful place in the world to be outside,” Marion Godin says.
It took six years but, as the world emerged from the COVID pandemic, the group partnered with the restaurateurs behind Newburyport’s popular Paddle Inn to open the Sunset Club, a casual eatery that makes the most of its outdoor space and sunset views. At the same time, the group is working its way through the 17 houses, fixing them up and readying them for sale.
Beyond the very busy business, Marion Godin makes time for a personal passion project, organizing free women’s surf sessions on Plum Island Beach to encourage women to enjoy a sport that has traditionally been male-dominated. Next summer, she expects to offer surfing lessons as well.
Whether it is a sunset cocktail or a chance to catch a wave, it’s all part of the group’s overall mission: “It’s always been our intention to make the island be the best version of itself,” Marion Godin says. “We’re just trying to add to and enhance the place we love so much.”