The dispute between billionaire Charles Johnson, 90, and the owner of a Nantucket clam shack right next to his 1,200-square-foot oceanfront cabin has been resolved amicably.
Johnson tried to block the Straight Wharf fish market from opening in the summer of 2023 next to his property in Nantucket.
The San Francisco Giants owner’s simple cabin was just 18 inches from the restaurant, prompting him and a group of neighbors to complain that the planned 62-seat restaurant would create too much noise and congestion in the historic Old North Wharf neighborhood.
Last May it filed a lawsuit in Nantucket Superior Court seeking to invalidate the licenses Straight Wharf Fish Market had received from the relevant authorities.
The former mutual fund executive’s tough legal strategy cost restaurant owner Gabriel Frasca an entire year of business since the clam shack was supposed to open last July.
But now, thanks to a quick call between Johnson and clam shack owner Steve Karp, the dust has settled.
Johnson’s attorney says his property would be just 18 inches from the clam shack. Although the cabin is modestly sized at just 1,200 square feet, it is valued at nearly $6.5 million.
Former mutual fund executive and current majority owner of the San Francisco Giants, Charles Johnson, and his wife Ann were strongly opposed to the opening of the clam shack, but changed their minds.
Karp recently said The Boston Globe that he called Johnson to sort things out and see if they could remedy the problems he had been willing to go to court over.
“I called him out of the clear blue sky,” Karp told the Globe. “I said, let’s just walk around and see what your problems are.”
Johnson accepted the offer, so the two men toured the clam shack.
Karp even acknowledged that, looking around, Johnson actually had some legitimate grievances.
“The problems were there,” Karp said. “They were good points.”
To address noise problems, Karp agreed to move the HVAC units to the other side of the building, farther from Johnson’s $6.5 million cottage.
As an added measure, he also agreed to place a thick tarp between the terraces shared by the cabin and the restaurant.
During this entire impromptu negotiating session, there was no mention of lawyers or how much things would cost, Karp said.
And best of all for the upcoming clam shack, Johnson’s lawsuit from last year was dropped.
The Boston Globe contacted Johnson by email, and the sports equipment mogul responded a day later.
‘We never opposed the opening. The acrimony was greatly exaggerated. “Our concerns were primarily about noise, schedules and odors and were resolved satisfactorily,” Johnson wrote, signing the email as “Charlie Johnson.”
The local community boards, who supported the development from the beginning, are no doubt happy, but the happiest of all is Frasca, who did not want to antagonize a billionaire.
However, perhaps the most shocking fact of this year-long saga is that Frasca gained the support of another billionaire in his fight to open his restaurant.
That was Charles Schwab, who has a much larger house right next to Johnson and the clam shack.
Another billionaire who also has property nearby, investment guru Charles Schwab, was in favor of the new food company.
Schwab paid $10 million in 2021 for neighboring cottages at Old North Wharf called Nautilus and Zenas Coffin.
Schwab was also initially opposed to the clam shack when they were initially told it would be “a nightclub with a bar, dancing and live music.”
But when Schwab’s legal team reviewed permits showing the clam shack would not host nightly raves, Schwab decided not to oppose the restaurant.
Even with their unexpected support, Frasca remembered the moments when he almost gave up.
“Opening a restaurant is an act of madness at the best of times,” Frasca told the Globe. ‘To go so deep into a legal battle, is it necessary? We need it? Really worth it?’
Frasca seems much more willing to talk clams than to exchange legal barbs.
His restaurant will open its doors for the first time this week, and Frasca said he hopes Johnson stops by to delight in any of the delicious dishes on the menu.
In addition to clams, his favorites include raw, tuna poke, a smashed burger, and “onion rings with caviar you didn’t know you needed.”
