It may or may not be called the Brotherhood of Thieves, but a restaurant and bar that would look similar to the iconic establishment appears likely to return this year at 23 Broad Street, where the Brotherhood became an island favorite for burgers, fries and beer over four decades before closing in early 2021.
And what ends up going into that spot for the 2022 season on Nantucket certainly won’t look like the mini-Cisco Brewers that was originally envisioned by the property’s new ownership group led by Henry Helgeson and Cisco Brewers CEO Jay Harman. At least not yet.
Those larger plans for expansion and a significant outdoor patio operation with live music, which came under fire from neighbors and other groups, are stalled at the Planning Board, with the next hearing recently punted to February. Attorneys for the new ownership group acknowledged Wednesday evening that the mini-Cisco concept was unlikely to happen in 2022, and instead proposed reopening the restaurant under the same permitting that existed when it was last operating as the Brotherhood in 2020.
“The applicant has heard the concerns of the neighbors loud and clear,” said attorney Sarah Alger, who represents the ownership group that purchased the former Brotherhood property last June for $7.9 million. “The goal of the moment is to get the Brotherhood back open just the way it was, under the licenses it had at the end of 2020.”
It would be a year of the former Brotherhood operating “status quo,” Alger said, while the bigger questions surrounding its proposed expansion get hashed out.
The Select Board on Wednesday night agreed to give that proposal a chance, unanimously approving new liquor and entertainment licenses for the former Brotherhood location. Over the objections of a group of neighbors who own homes around Broad Street, the licenses were granted to a company run by New Bedford restauranteur Steve Silverstein.
Silverstein, who runs Cisco Brewers’ massive new waterfront bar and entertainment complex in New Bedford, has also been tapped by Helgeson and Harman to operate the former Brotherhood restaurant. On Wednesday night, Silverstein told the Select Board he intends to keep the Brotherhood’s doors open for lunch and dinner on a year-round basis in essentially the same manner as it operated in the recent past.
“We intend to reopen the property exactly as it was permitted before, entertainment and otherwise,” Silverstein said. “Even if the Planning Board approves something, those plans will not be implemented this summer. No change doesn’t mean we would never seek a modification from Planning or the HDC (Historic District Commission)…But any changes will need to come before you.”
The founder of the original Brotherhood of Thieves, Eliot Krause, joined Wednesday’s meeting to emphasize that he retained ownership rights of the restaurant’s famous name and logo, and that he continues to negotiate with the new ownership group over their use. He bristled at the fact that the “Brotherhood” name was being used on many of the permitting applications and other documents related to the expansion plans.
“We are in negotiations with the gentleman who bought 23 Broad Street concerning the name, but at this time we don’t have any agreement in place as of now,” Krause said. “I’m not appreciative of the use of the name the Brotherhood of Thieves on all these applications.”
Later on during the hearing, Silverstein expressed optimism that the new ownership group would reach an agreement with Krause on the use of the restaurant’s name.
“We are in discussions with Mr. Krause and we’ve put a lot of effort into it, I think we’ve been very honorable, and we’re hopeful that will be resolved in the very near timeframe and the Brotherhood will continue to operate as the Brotherhood,” Silverstein said.
While the expansion plans for a “mini-Cisco” that were floated last October were not up for debate at the Select Board’s public hearings on Wednesday, which were focused on the licenses, neighbors of the former Brotherhood property renewed their concerns over the concept nonetheless, and urged the board to postpone a vote until the Planning Board process had played out.
“This is putting the cart before the horse,” said attorney Arthur Reade, who is representing abutting property owners.
Ash Street residents James and Elizabeth Frates have been sharply critical of the expansion plans put forward by the new ownership group of the former Brotherhood, expressing their concern that it would create a late-night party or club scene on Broad Street.
“People come to Nantucket for Broad Street, not Bourbon Street,” James Frates wrote to the Planning Board last fall.
On Wednesday night, Frates called Cisco “a chain,” citing its locations beyond Nantucket, including those in Boston, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New Bedford.
Along with other neighbors, the Frates requested the Select Board to delay any action until the Planning Board weighs in. But the board agreed to act on the requests for the liquor and entertainment licenses, while making it clear that any action by the Planning Board would mean the 23 Broad Street owners would have to come back to request a modification of those licenses.
“It’s very slippery,” Elizabeth Frates said. “It makes us realize it feels like we’re getting the wool pulled over us. We’re anxious about it.”
In addition to a common victualler, all-alcohol beverages restaurant license, the Select Board also granted Sliverstein’s management company, Servedwell Brotherhood LLC, an entertainment license for the former Brotherhood property that specifies music can be played in the interior premises only, with no outdoor speakers, no dance floor, no stages or platforms, and that the restaurant’s doors and windows must be closed when music is playing. It also specifies that amplified music can only be played from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Last February, the restaurant was shuttered after the four partners who had operated The Brotherhood since 2004 – Ted Burnham, EJ Harvey, Edward Sanford and Larry Whelden – were unable to come to terms on a new lease with the Krause family. The Brotherhood sign came down off the door, and the restaurant announced a “fire sale” of all its equipment and other items.
“Sadly, COVID changed everything,” Sanford said in early 2021. “In order for our group to continue to operate we needed to negotiate a new lease that recognized the significant risks COVID added to an already difficult business model. We were unable to reach an agreement with the other owners of the building and made the very difficult decision to end our management of the restaurant. Without COVID we would have been there for at least 5 more years.”
