Planning Board Members Lament Subdivision Plan For Faregrounds Restaurant

Planning Board member Nat Lowell, whose father helped build what is now Faregrounds Restaurant in 1987, said he was nearly speechless as the board began its review on Monday of a proposed subdivision plan that would replace the beloved establishment with an eight-lot housing subdivision. But, of course, Lowell rarely stays speechless for too long. 

"We’re all supposed to pretend this is no big deal and it's all set?" Lowell asked his fellow board members. "This is different. This is where everybody goes for whatever they’re doing."

Lowell and several other members of the Planning Board reacted with dismay to the plan that would combine the Faregrounds Restaurant property at 27 Fairgrounds Road, owned by Bill and Kim Puder, with an undeveloped lot at 25 Fairgrounds Road owned by Suzanne Davis, to create an eight-lot subdivision on a new cul-de-sac running through the development. The restaurant and bar that has been a local favorite for decades and the site of countless community events would be demolished.

The plan was submitted to the town on behalf of the property owners by Fairgrounds LLC, an entity which has an agreement in place to purchase the properties from the Puders and Davis. The company is registered to Brad Cartwright, of The Granite Street Realty Corp., who owns and operates several funeral homes in Braintree, Mass. Cartwright also owns a home on the island on Upper Tawpawshaw Road.

During Monday's Planning Board meeting, Paul Santos, of Nantucket Surveyors, represented Cartwright and said the eight house lots would be developed and sold at market rates, and there was no affordability component to the development.

"I don’t want to sound like an activist, but I can’t even believe this can’t work out the way we hoped it would with those three lots," Lowell said. "That was a great plan. But, it (the new eight-lot subdivision plan) is legal. That’s the catch."

Lowell was referring to the Puders' previous rear-lot subdivision plan filed in 2022 and approved by the Planning Board that would have kept the restaurant intact while subdividing the back parking lot into three properties for housing. That plan was filed to help the Puders facilitate a sale, but it never came to fruition.

"This is, to steal a line, where everyone knows your name," said Planning Board vice chair Joseph Topham. "I think Bill and Kim have really done an amazing job reaching out to the community and given back in so many ways. I do want to say that we hear what everyone is saying and we get it. This is not an easy decision, but at the same time, Kim and Bill have done everything for the last three years trying to have someone be able to do it, but it just didn't work out."

The application, which was submitted on February 24th, shows seven buildable lots, each approximately 10,000 square feet, and an eighth lot just over 11,500 square feet, across 2.05 acres of land. The ninth lot would be a 20-foot-wide roadway with a cul-de-sac at the end to provide access to each lot.

While the Puders did not speak at the Planning Board meeting and have so far declined to discuss the plans submitted for the property, their real estate broker, Graeden Ambrose, offered a statement to the Current on their behalf:

"After exploring every avenue, the only way to keep Faregrounds and Pudley's Pub operational was if Kim and Bill remained involved," Ambrose said. "That was not their dream. I am genuinely happy for them.

"The preliminary Planning Board meeting marks the first step in the process, which has been amicable for all parties involved," Ambrose continued. "While the timeline moving forward remains uncertain, the transition is bittersweet. The Faregrounds Restaurant and Pudley’s Pub have long been a beloved part of Nantucket. Rather than mourning the end of an era, hopefully the community will celebrate the joy that Kim and Bill Puder have fostered over the years. Their journey is truly a success story as they embark on their next chapter together. In tribute to the decades of cherished memories at this location, the name Pudley’s Court has been proposed."

The Planning Board on Monday voted unanimously to endorse the preliminary plans for the property, but Cartwright must return with a formal subdivision plan that will be reviewed by the board.

"This is a tough pill to swallow, it really is," Planning Board member Barry Rector said. "We've grown very used to the restaurant being there and the superb job that Bill and Kim did with making it a real community environment. My god, did they work hard at doing it. But like everything too, all good things eventually come to an end. And here it is. It could be a whole bunch of other things too. They could be looking at other potentials here. So I get it. It could always be worse than what they're proposing right now. And I think there'll be opportunities for the board to try to work with the applicant, to maybe do some things that would make it more palatable to the community, shall we say. But again, you know, people who are buying this property also have rights that we need to honor as well too within the process."