Nantucket's Town-Owned Beach Concession Facilities Up For Select Board Review

What is next for the town of Nantucket’s beachside concessions? That’s the topic of discussion for the Select Board this Wednesday, with the board set to review a presentation on possible paths forward for concessions facilities at Surfside Beach, Children’s Beach, and Jetties Beach.

The recommendation for Children’s Beach detailed in the Select Board’s agenda packet, which would involve demolishing the existing concessions building and replacing it with a concrete slab, is particularly notable.

The Select Board’s discussion may also become yet another installment in the board’s debate over how to approach coastal resilience: a presentation included in the Select Board’s agenda packet recommends $6 million in coastal resilience spending at Surfside.

Of the three locations, it is Children’s Beach that has posed the most difficulties for the town. The presentation included in the Select Board’s agenda packet details a troubled history going back to 2011, when a lease for the space was awarded to a business named ACK Shack, and then immediately terminated the following year because the operator left the island. The town was then unable to find anyone willing to operate in the space, and it remained closed in 2013.

According to the presentation, the town did award a lease for the space the following year, but the town canceled multiple promised renovation projects during the lease term, and the business ultimately refused to submit its final payment, citing poor conditions. Once again, the town lost money.

The town lowered the rent for the building and awarded a new lease to Hungry Minnow, and then immediately waived the first lease payment because of how poor the conditions at the facility were. The lease payment was then waived again in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the final payment in 2021 was disputed after yet another business operating out of the Children’s Beach concession space closed early.

Since 2022, the space has seen more stability under the management of The Surf (the same people who run the Surfside Beach concession), which operates the Children's Beach concession as Gyp Sea, but that lease expires at the end of the year, and several issues persist. The presentation notes concerns including the building’s limited size, poor condition, low electrical capacity, and high operational responsibilities. It also notes that foot traffic to the area is low.

Renovations intended to address these concerns would be relatively cheap, by municipal project standards, potentially costing under $500,000. But they would also need to be extensive, which would force the building to come into compliance with coastal resilience guidelines. That task is much more expensive, costing between $2.1 million and $4.6 million. Once those costs are considered, it would take somewhere between 45 and 66 years of rental income just to break even on the cost of the renovations.

As a result, the town is ready to throw in the towel. The presentation recommends demolishing the concessions building and replacing it with a simple concrete slab topped with picnic tables. The slab could be serviced by a mobile restroom trailer and a food truck.

The upside of a concrete slab? It doesn’t matter if it floods. And it’s cheap: the town estimates the cost at $150,000 to $250,000.

Coastal resilience is also a significant concern at Jetties Beach, where the presentation included in the Select Board’s agenda packet recommends raising the existing building to mitigate flooding risk. This could cost $6 million, a number some Select Board members keen to cut spending may balk at.

Select Board member Bob DeCosta, who has strongly objected to nearly every coastal resilience proposal to come before the board in the last few months, repeatedly clashing with town staff and pushing for the town to slash spending on coastal resilience measures, will be the member of the board to watch when the question of coastal resilience comes into play Wednesday.

The Sandbar was recently awarded a new five-year lease for the space at Jetties Beach, where it has operated a successful seasonal restaurant business. The presentation notes that the location needs some bathroom upgrades and exterior work, as well as improvements to the parking area.

Jetties Beach also hosts a second town concessions space at the nearby tennis courts. The presentation indicates that some bathroom improvements and remodelling are planned for the tennis concessions building.

The Surfside location is currently under contract through 2029 and is considered safe from sea-level rise and erosion, though the presentation says that upgrades to the bathrooms, building exteriors, and parking lot are needed. The presentation also raises the possibility of reworking the programming on site, potentially moving toward a food truck model and repurposing the existing kitchen for bathrooms.