Family business that keeps on cooking a quarter century later

Fine-dining restaurant that went on and off the market is continuing its traditions

Oct. 14, 2026

By Steele Hays

Tim Hikade, chef and manager of Arborvine, prepares dinner. Photo by Steele Hays.

BLUE HILL — According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly half of restaurants fail within their first five years. Arborvine, a staple fine dining restaurant in Blue Hill, recently celebrated its 26th year in business and is now in the hands of a second generation of the Hikade family. 

Unlike many high-end restaurants, Arborvine was able to weather the COVID-19 pandemic storm, which Arborvine chef and manager Tim Hikade said was “an extremely stressful time.” 

A year after emerging from the pandemic period, Hikade and his parents, John and Beth Hikade, decided to put Arborvine up for sale. Business had bounced back strongly after the pandemic, as consumers were eager to drink and eat out again. The family had “a few tire kickers” and several more serious offers, “but nothing seemed to line up the way we wanted it to,” Hikade said in an interview with The Rising Tide while prepping beef short ribs in the restaurant’s kitchen. 

In 2023, they decided to take the business off the market and recommit to running the restaurant. Hikade reluctantly decided to shut down the adjoining brewpub, Deep Water Brewing, and focus exclusively on the restaurant. He also committed to striking a balance between the long hours that restaurant management required, and his role as a newly-divorced single father sharing custody of his two daughters. 

In recent years, three other local restaurants, Aragosta, The Ark, and Tinderhearth, have received national recognition: Aragosta with a James Beard Finalist nomination and being named one of the top 20 U.S. restaurants by Food & Wine magazine, The Ark (formerly the Pilgrim Inn) being named to the New York Times’ list of the Top 50 U.S. restaurant list, and Tinderhearth in Brooksville named to the same list in 2023. 

When asked if he felt that Arborvine was underappreciated or overlooked, Hikade said he did not. 

“I don’t care about awards,” he said. “But good for those guys. I think it’s great. It puts this peninsula more on the map and that’s good for everybody.”

Arborvine was converted from an 1820s house into the restaurant and opened in July 2000. Photo by Steele Hays.

“Arborvine has always been pretty solid in terms of the experience and the experience we’re delivering right now is as good as it’s ever been,” he said. “There’s a feeling you get when you come through the door. That’s what sets us apart from anyplace else.” 

Hikade has been working in the food business with his parents since he was 11 or 12 years old. In the 1970s, John and Beth Hikade owned and operated Firepond in the old Westcott Forge building, which is now Blaze Blue Hill. Firepond won a strong popular following and positive reviews for its food and service. Then from 1988 to 2000, the Hikades operated a catering company, A Moveable Feast.  Even at ages 11 and 12, Tim and his brother Andrew helped, shucking oysters, serving and setting up. 

The Hikades still “had a vision” for a fine dining restaurant and in 1998, purchased the 1823 farmhouse on Tenney Hill that has become Arborvine. It opened in July 2000.

Tim runs the business now and is the lead chef. John Hikade comes in several days a week and manages the payroll process. Beth comes in daily to set up fresh flowers on every table. Tim’s daughters help him in the kitchen after school from time to time, snapping beans, making pasta and peeling shrimp. 

“There’s a long history of food in this family,” Hikade said. “I’m proud of what we have been able to accomplish as a family. It’s a hard business.” 

While Arborvine hasn’t won the same type of recognition as Aragosta or Tinderhearth, it has earned a top rating of 4.7 on a 5-point scale from TripAdvisor, based on customer comments submitted to the website. It is the top-rated of the 14 Blue Hill restaurants listed on TripAdvisor. 

One customer wrote this recently on TripAdvisor about Arborvine’s menu: “It is never trendy, but it is never outdated.”

Hikade said he keeps a number of items on the menu year after year because of strong customer demand, including tournedos a la bordelaise and crispy duck. 

“If I take those off the menu or even change the sauce, there’s an uproar,” he said.