Chefs, Along With An Online Petition, Back Original Nantucket Wine Festival In Takeover Feud

Facing an almost identical competitor scheduled for exactly the same dates, The Nantucket Wine and Food Festival has received what owner Nancy Bean described as an “outpouring of support” as local chefs and island residents rallied behind the festival. But as the fight brews between Bean and Gordon’s Fine Wines & Liquor, a Boston-based distributor and retailer that is the driving force behind the new Nantucket Food and Wine Experience, some old grievances with the festival have also begun to surface.

After filing a federal lawsuit in June over the attempted takeover, Bean has just launched a petition on change.org to support the festival, which has now gone over 1,000 signatures at time of publication. She has also received statements of support from various restauranteurs including prominent Boston chef Lydia Shire, and chef E.J. Harvey, owner of The Seagrille.

“Mostly it started with a lot of outreach from the community to me,” Bean said. “It feels wonderful. It's happening really quickly.”

Many of Bean’s supporters have framed the struggle as a contest between a local business and an off-island corporation looking to commodify a Nantucket tradition.

“Any attempt to push Nancy out or rebrand this festival was blatant carpetbagging. Nantucket doesn't need "bigger" or "better" - we're already world-class,” Harvey wrote in a letter to the editor published in the Current. “What we need is to support local brands and local women in business. We need to honor the festival's roots - started by a local, stayed local, and it should always be local. To those who might see Nantucket as just another feather in their corporate cap, I say this: Our island is not a commodity to be capitalized upon. It's a vibrant, living community with its own unique culture and traditions.”

The festival’s status as a woman-owned business has also been the subject of discussion.

“Nancy, a true Nantucketer, has dedicated herself to this festival, making it a beacon of inclusivity and empowerment in our industry. Her commitment to supporting women – from chefs to winemakers, artisans to business owners – has been unwavering,” Shire wrote in a letter jointly signed by seven other chefs. “The Nantucket Wine & Food Festival is more than an event – it's a testament to Nancy's life's work and our island's spirit. We stand united in our support for Nancy and this incredible festival she has nurtured for so many years.”

It will be difficult for both events to succeed on the small island at the same time, but Bean has reason to believe her support will keep the festival alive.

“I want to continue my legacy and continue producing this festival that I love and cherish. It's what I do,” she said. “We're still inundated. We've received lots of outreach from people who want to be a part of it.”

But not everyone is on Bean’s side. As her lawsuit, accusing Gordon’s and former festival host the White Elephant of false and misleading advertising, unfair and deceptive trade practices, trademark dilution, breach of contract, tortious interference, and conspiracy slowly winds its way through the courts, another lawsuit involving the Nantucket Food and Wine Festival has resurfaced.

In 2022, eight former workers sued the festival, claiming they were not adequately compensated for their labor and that Bean illegally classified them as independent contractors. Accusing Bean and the festival of wage theft, the workers claimed that in some instances, they worked over 100 hours a week, with days in excess of 18 hours, and were not paid any overtime. The case was ultimately dismissed by joint agreement in June of 2023 after the parties reached a settlement out of court. Bean declined to comment on the case or the nature of the settlement.

The Nantucket Wine Festival was founded in 1996 by Denis Toner, a longtime Nantucket seasonal resident. Bean began her tenure with event in 2007 when she was hired by Toner to become the director of operations. Then in 2012, Toner sold the festival to Bean and her then-business partner, Mark Goldweitz. Since then, Bean has become the sole owner of the festival and rebranded it as the Nantucket Wine and Food Festival due to her belief that food is a necessary component to enjoy wine to its fullest.