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Happy As A Clam
The Clam Shack finally opens on-island.
FOOD & DRINK
story by Jonathan Soroff and Bruce A. Percelay
Photography by Kit Noble
Few stories on Nantucket last summer garnered more attention than the battle of The Clam Shack. National media found the conflict between two Nantucket billionaires, San Francisco Giants owner Charles Johnson and New England Development owner Steve Karp, to be too delicious not to broadcast across the country. A Boston Globe headline read “Nantucket Billionaires Battle Proposed Clam Shack”, while CBS News, Forbes, Bloomberg and The Daily Mail chimed in, creating a truly national story.
The person at the heart of the controversy was Chef/ restaurateur Gabriel Frasca whose restaurant property was a mere 18 inches away from Johnson’s home with an exhaust fan overlooking Johnson’s property. When Johnson began to object to the possibility of fried clam exhaust wafting through his home, the dispute morphed into a battle of David and Goliath with Johnson being the billionaire and Frasca being the fledgling entrepreneur. But as the
story evolved it became the battle between Johnson and Karp, two of many of Nantucket’s uber-rich. Given that there had always been a clam shack and ice cream stand in the same spot for decades, Johnson was painted as the billionaire bully who was holding up Frasca’s piece of the American dream.
As time went on, and the press became increasingly fascinated with the story, which was not flattering toward either Johnson or Karp, both parties were pulled together one afternoon at Old North Wharf to find a resolution. During that meeting, Karp saw the proximity of the vent fan to Johnson’s house for the first time and was genuinely surprised by its location. Both he and Johnson walked over to the site and Karp, recognizing the potential for disruption from both the sound and smell of the exhaust system, agreed to relocate the equipment, which ultimately led to a resolution of the dispute.
Fast forward to today, and Nantucket is anxiously awaiting the opening of the now legendary clam shack. Little in Frasca’s culinary background hints at fast-casual dining. Born and raised on Boston’s North Shore, he left college to pursue a career in cooking, first in Boston, and then during stints at Michelin-starred restaurants in France, Spain and Italy. Upon returning to the U.S., he worked in Boston, before accepting a summer job in 2003 as a
chef at Straight Wharf, which had been in business since 1976 under the ownership of Nantucket icon Jock Gifford and the kitchen expertise of Marian Morash (who worked with Julia Child).
“I had an amazing time,” Frasca recalls, “and afterward, I told Jock I’d love to come back.” Three years later, he and Gifford hammered out an agreement, and the rest is Nantucket dining history. “There’s not a lot of places like Straight Wharf,” says Frasca proudly. “It’s an open-air restaurant, exposed to the harbor. It’s fine dining, but not at all stuffy.” Not surprisingly, it’s a favorite among the cognoscenti, and its reservation list has included the likes of Martha Stewart, John Kerry,
Jennifer Lawrence and Greta Gerwig.
As for the reimagined Straight Wharf Fish, it will look like nothing
else on Nantucket, Frasca promises. To design it, he turned to the award-winning architecture firm of Workshop APD and its co-founder Andrew Kotchen, himself a Nantucketer. The aim was to create an interior that feels like it’s been there forever. A brick floor and a communal table suspended from a cathedral ceiling give it a spare Scandinavian aesthetic that displays the stylistic link between Copenhagen and the Quakers.
The bill of fare will include fried clams, onion rings, and hot and cold takes on the traditional lobster roll. Frasca and partner Kevin Burleson hope to add ice cream back intomthe mix at some point, as well. There’ll be no reservations and no bar, although beer, wine and aperitifs will be served. Takeout will be available, and the simple yet elegant decor—with seating for 60 at larger tables and high tops—will feature an awning for shade and unbeatable vistas. “The view is fantastic,” Frasca says, “I’m
pretty confident that the neighbors are going to love it.” In addition, The Clam Shack will sell fresh local catch. “I’m so excited to have local purveyors and provide people with fish caught by the Nantucket fleet,” Frasca adds, “or to get Ipswich clams every day, so that I can fry 'em and put ’em on a bun.”
“The island deserves to have a low-key, first-come, first-served place, with good food and a view of the water,” he concludes. As for all the controversy initially surrounding it? Like most of last
season’s chatter, no one will remember it after their first bite
of the signature lobster roll.
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