New Steakhouse "Billie's On Broad" Receives Licenses For Former Dune Restaurant Spot

"Billie's On Broad," the new steakhouse planned for the former Dune restaurant location on Broad Street, was granted several licenses by the Select Board on Monday as it undergoes a complete interior renovation ahead of its opening slated for the summer of 2025.

Last October, Dune owner Michael Getter sold his dining establishment to Florida restauranteur Lee Lyons, the owner of Kiki On The River, a Greek restaurant in Miami, whose family has connections to Nantucket going back decades.

“We want it to be available to everyone – for the summer crowd and for locals - to feel comfortable while giving it new life,” Lyon told the Current back in October after he inked the deal with Getter. “There will be a Miami flare, the music will be turned up a little, and we want it to be a fun atmosphere, a new type of dining experience.”

Lyons has hired Anna Worgess-Smith, who has worked in the island restaurant industry for years at Proprietors and Black-Eyed Susan's, to be the general manager of Billie's On Broad. Steve Rhee, formerly of Kiki's On The River, will be the restaurant's chef and co-owner.

Billie's On Broad requested that the town transfer Dune's annual restaurant and liquor licenses, and stated in its application to the town that it intends to be open for dinner year-round, with lunch offered seasonally from late May through mid-October. It will also operate the existing patio and sidewalk seating areas off Broad Street.

"The menu will feature raw bar, as well as traditional steakhouse options, including USDA prime meats and à la carte sides," Worgess wrote to the Select Board. "The wine and bar program will focus on highlighting artisanal, small-batch producers."

During Monday's hearing Worgess stated that the interior of the building had been gutted to allow for a reconfiguration that will result in additional seating. When the renovation is complete, the first-floor bar will be relocated, along with the second-floor fireplace, allowing for the addition of approximately 30 seats, bringing the restaurant's total to 149.

While the Select Board voted unanimously to grant the transfer of the restaurant and liquor licenses from Dune to the Billie's On Broad team, it turned down the new establishment's request for a live entertainment license. For now, it will retain the same entertainment license Dune operated under, which allowed for prerecorded background music.

The new restaurant had hoped to obtain a live entertainment license for private events on the second floor that would allow a DJ, musicians, and vocalists to perform, but Select Board member Matt Fee raised concerns about the possibility of it turning into a "nightclub."

"I get a little worried about a separate area," Fee said of the upstairs floor of the new restaurant. "If every restaurant downtown could run a DJ and music until 1 a.m. and everyone out at 1:30 a.m., I think they all would. Taking small buildings and taking the interiors out to make them go from 114 to 160 and then having a restaurant downstairs and potentially a nightclub upstairs, this is what happened in Aspen, Colorado. We have to be careful."

Worgess emphasized that the intention of seeking the live entertainment license was to have that option for private events on the second floor, such as wedding receptions, and that there were no plans to have a nightly DJ or to run the establishment like a nightclub.

Fee also asked Worgess about whether Billie's On Broad would offer bottle service, membership fees, or minimums.

"I worked at Dune 20 years ago - it’s kind of like a coming home - and we want to focus on creating a great restaurant and be opened to the public," Worgess said. "We don’t have any intentions of membership fees, or minimums or bottle service even."

The Select Board voted down the live entertainment license and stated it would take a "see how it goes" approach with the restaurant, allowing it to seek one-day permits for special events over the next year before reconsidering the request in the future.

For Lyon, the move to buy Dune late last year was a full-circle moment. His family previously owned the building at 20 Broad Street from 1988 to 2000 before selling it to the current owner, Tracy Root. For now, the ownership of the building will remain with Root, he said.

“Billie’s On Broad” is named after Lyon’s daughter.

His family had previously attempted to open a food market at the former Grand Union supermarket downtown when it closed in 2012, but ultimately got boxed out by Stop & Shop, which secured a long-term lease for the building.