NANTUCKET — Maybe I’m just getting swept up in the glow of a plate of fried clams, but I’m starting to wonder if a soon-to-be-opened clam shack on this wealthy redoubt might actually show the way toward ending some of the world’s deepest divisions. You may remember this story. Charles Johnson , the reclusive 91-year-old owner of the San Francisco Giants, took his billions of dollars and went on a Nantucket shopping spree, buying a portfolio of houses ranging from a sprawling $25 million waterfront estate to a 1,200-square-foot cottage amid the commercial bustle of downtown that came with parking and a boat slip.
Advertisement You may also remember that Johnson didn’t take it so well when a pair of popular local restaurateurs got approvals to open a clam shack in the longtime commercial space next door to the downtown cottage. The clam shack was replacing what had been a fish market and ice cream shop. He never actually sleeps in that cottage.
Why would you when you have a 13,000-square-foot home nearby? But he launched a whisper campaign among his rich neighbors about the “nightclub” opening in their midst. He sent emissaries to harangue town boards. When none of that worked, he filled court dockets with eye-glazing legal tripe .
He successfully stopped the project in its tracks , earning negative media attention from around the world. When was the last time Town & Country, the Daily Mail, and Sports Illustrated were on the same story? Johnson didn’t seem to c.