Feud between San Francisco Giants owner Charles Johnson, 90, and clam shack that moved in next door is resolved amicably after a friendly phone call saw lawsuit dropped
The feud between 90-year-old billionaire Charles Johnson and the owner of a Nantucket clam shack right next to his 1,200-square-foot waterfront cottage has been amicably resolved.
Johnson tried to prevent the Straight Wharf Fish Market from opening next to his property in Nantucket in the summer of 2023.
The San Francisco Giants owner’s modest cottage was just 18 inches from the restaurant, prompting him and a group of his neighbors to complain that the planned 62-seat eatery would create too much noise and congestion in the historic Old North Wharf district.
He filed suit last May in Nantucket Superior Court seeking to invalidate the licenses the Straight Wharf Fish Market had received from the relevant authorities.
The former investment fund director’s heavy-handed legal strategy cost the restaurant’s owner, Gabriel Frasca, an entire year of work, as the mussel shack was set to open last July.
But now, thanks to a quick phone call between Johnson and the clam shack’s landlord, 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 modest in size at just 1,200 square feet, it is valued at almost $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 opening the clam shack, but have changed their minds
Karp recently told me The Boston Sphere that he called Johnson to set the record straight and see if they could fix the problems he was willing to go to court for.
“I called him out of the clear blue sky,” Karp told the Globe. “I said, let’s walk around and see what your problems are.”
Johnson accepted the offer, so the two men toured the clam shack.
Karp even acknowledged that Johnson, when he looked around, did indeed have some legitimate grievances.
“The problems were there,” Karp said. “They were good points.”
To address the noise problems, Karp agreed to move the HVAC units to the other side of the building, further away from Johnson’s $6.5 million cottage.
As an added measure, he also agreed to hang a thick canvas tarp between the decks the cottage and restaurant share.
During this impromptu deal-making 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 suit from last year was revoked.
The Boston Globe contacted Johnson via email and the sports team magnate responded a day later.
‘We have never been against the opening. The bitterness was greatly exaggerated. Our concerns were primarily about noise, hours and odors and these were resolved to our satisfaction,” Johnson wrote, signing the email “Charlie Johnson.”
The local community authorities who have supported the development from the start are undoubtedly happy, but Frasca is the happiest of them all, who did not want to enter into a feud with a billionaire.
But perhaps the most shocking tidbit from this years-long saga is that Frasca had 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 a building nearby – investment guru Charles Schwab – backs the new food company
Schwab paid $10 million in 2021 for adjacent cottages in the Old North Wharf called Nautilus and Zenas Coffin.
Initially, Schwab was also against 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 that showed the clam shack wouldn’t host raves every night, Schwab decided not to oppose the restaurant.
Despite his unexpected support, Frasca reminisced about the times when he was close to giving up.
“Opening a restaurant is an act of madness at the best of times,” Frasca told the Globe. ‘Is it necessary to get this deeply involved in a legal battle? Do we need it? Is this really worth it?’
Frasca seems much more willing to talk about mussels than trade legal barbs.
His restaurant will open its doors for the first time this week, and Frasca said he hopes Johnson will stop by to enjoy one of the delicious menu items.
Besides the mussels, his favorites include crudo, tuna poke, a smash burger and “the onion rings with caviar you never knew you needed.”