Nicholas Gillespie

Chef Nicholas Gillespie grew up on Cape Cod surrounded by fisherman, clam-diggers, marine-biologists and chefs. A New England Culinary Institute graduate, Nicholas worked in acclaimed Boston, Nantucket, and Portland, OR restaurants. In 2017, Nicholas moved to Providence and sought to pay homage to the fish shacks and seafood restaurants he’d known in his youth.

Channeling years of fine dining experience to create a sustainable, small-boat, fisheries-focused restaurant, Dune Brothers has now grown to multiple locations including a fish market and wholesale facility. Dune Brothers features scratch-made, chef-driven dishes using lesser-known seafood species like Scup and Dogfish. Nicholas is on a mission to improve accessibility, equity, and community connections around local seafood. Now in its 8th year, Dune Brothers has garnered a cult-following among locals and has become a destination for tourists visiting RI. In 2023, Nick was honored to receive Star Chef’s award for “Best Concept – Coastal New England.”