The Last Mudslide?: NIR Pushing Out Gazebo Owner After 34 Years

Luke Tedeschi has put his adult life into serving mudslides and running one of the most iconic businesses on the island – the Tavern & Gazebo. It is a place he has called home since he was 26 years old – starting out as the manager in 1993 before becoming one of three stakeholders, and eventually the sole owner in 2022. But this summer will be the last year that the Gazebo will exist as the island has come to know it after Steve Karp's Nantucket Island Resorts declined to offer Tedeschi an extension of his lease after 34 years, or even give him an opportunity to match any offers from other bidders.

"This will be the last year of the Gazebo's mudslide as we know it and the reason is because after this being the 34th season, I'll be moving on because I did not get a lease renewal or even a lease renewal offer from the company that owns the real estate that I currently have a lease with, Nantucket Island Resorts (NIR)," Tedeschi said. "You know, that's the way that term leases are, but after all these years, I brought the mudslide to the Gazebo back in 1993, and this will be the last year of my formula and my mudslide as we've all got to know it, to enjoy it, and it's become iconic."

Tedeschi said he was informed by NIR representatives in mid-March that they were going to start showing the property to interested parties after months of silence following an inquiry by Tedeschi for an early lease renewal so he could get the ball rolling on a new kitchen renovation, which would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The request was met with silence before the message in mid-March.

"It doesn't take much writing on the wall to understand that, okay, they're at least interested in entertaining a new lessee," Tedeschi said. "And since that time, they have been very active with the prospective new tenant. Everything from engineers, architects, management crews that have been assessing the building and whatnot. I've heard nothing further from NIR. So it is beyond assumption that the lease is going to this next person who I will let NIR confirm or deny who that may be. All I know is there was no renewal offer presented and therefore, it's the last season for me, as I know it, here at the Tavern & The Gazebo."

The Current reached out to NIR representatives including Henry Wyner, the director of retail, as well as Douglass Karp, the son of Steve Karp and the President of New England Development, seeking comment and an interview about the decision not to offer Tedeschi a new lease or an opportunity to match. Douglass Karp did reply but referred to Wyner, who provided the Current with the following statement.

“While we cannot comment on the specifics of any lease agreements, we are always thoughtful about cultivating a mix of restaurants and retailers that best serves the local community and its visitors," Wyner stated in an email to the Current. "We recognize the important role longstanding and newer establishments alike play in the character of the island, and our priority is to support an experience that feels authentic and reflective of the community.”

One of the groups looking to take over the lease of the Tavern & Gazebo - and the suspected frontrunner to do so - is led by restaurateur Steve Silverstein, who runs the Brotherhood of Thieves in downtown Nantucket as well as Cisco Brewers’ New Bedford location, and founded the Not Your Average Joe’s restaurant chain. We reached out to Silverstein requesting comment on Saturday, but have not yet received a reply.

Tedeschi acknowledged how rigorous the industry is and how much the expenses add up each year. He admitted there have been times when he has felt like moving on, but always found himself coming back for another year. Tedeschi was hopeful to get one more five-year lease, which would have taken him into his mid-60s and allowed him to create a five-year plan for himself.

“There are times where I say, 'Geez, I've had enough,' but every year I come back with a great new attitude and staff, and we get it done again,” Tedeschi said. “I just felt that I was rather taken aback when I learned of this. I envisioned myself getting at least another term, and that would have brought me into my mid-60s. I wanted to have a five-year plan for myself, but that was shortended rather abruptly. The fact of the matter is, if I'd gotten five more years and I ran it myself, that was what I would have liked to have seen. I always thought about how then I could bring on a partner or partnerships or at least have something of value to head into retirement for but again, as life is, things get often abruptly announced, and you don't have a say in where tomorrow's going to bring us.

“Personally, it stings a little bit,” Tedeschi continued. “But I'm not going to sulk and try to get a story out there that is all, I can't talk and put my heart on my sleeve. This is life. This is business, and that's how I have to approach it. I'm not taking any resentment or anger towards it, because that's just not a healthy approach.”

Tedeschi got his start with the Tavern & Gazebo when the former owner, the late Larry Whelden, offered him a job as manager in 1993. At that time, the business was known as The Bandstand before being rebranded into the Gazebo. Tedeschi eventually went on to buy out former stakeholder Bruce Miller and remained the operator of the business.

"Then the chef, David Caton and I, formed a partnership with Larry Whelden, God bless his soul, and we ran the show together all the way up until 2021," Tedeschi said. "So my trajectory was that for eight years, I ran the business as the manager and I became an owner. Then as time went on, I bought into more ownership, and by the time we got to our last lease together from 2016 to 2021, we had decided previously that we were going to end that partnership, mostly because the other guys were aging out, and I took over and formed my own company and became 100 percent owner with a new lease with NIR in 2022. So I'm finishing up my first term of that lease, and what is now the last term. So in all those years, yes, I've been the operator and the face of the Tavern & Gazebo and run my crew both front and the back of the house, which amounts to about 65 employees. We do a tremendous amount of volume here, and the Gazebo has become just a really fun, iconic place that I think, you know, many of us have enjoyed.”

Tedeschi said his mudslide formula was made "almost by mistake" in the 1980s while bartending on Cape Cod and making the drinks at college parties.

"Back in the 80s when I was bartending at several different places, and some very large ones, in fact, like the old Thompson's Clam Bar on Harwich Port, Cape Cod, we used to make a ton of those, and I always used to make them at home when I had college parties or whatnot," Tedeschi said. "And so when I put it on the menu and on the Gazebo board way back in '93, it was just a drink that I was making on my own for fun because everyone loved them. Then it evolved into, 'Wow, these are great.' It's like watching the billboard. It was at the bottom of the Gazebo sign and it made it to the top and now it is where it is now. That growth is kind of fun, but it was never anything that I imagined would go where it has launched to."

Once Tedeschi left his place behind the bar to manage the entire Tavern & Gazebo operation, it became part of his day-to-day routine to situate himself at the front stand of the Tavern, greeting guests and guiding them to their seats. A year-round resident for decades, Tedeschi has become a familiar face to a wide array of people, from those coming off the Hy-Line ferry to island residents roaming downtown.

"I'm definitely the first one here every day, involved with every aspect of the operation, although most people just see me as the 'guy out front' that is the puppeteer making the show look easy," Tedeschi said with a chuckle.

But his job goes far beyond greeting guests at the front and helping them get seated at tables. Tedeschi spends a large chunk of his time on building maintenance, securing housing for his 65 employees, and finding enough people to keep the operation going.

"There's a ton of things year-round that I do, whether it's maintenance on the building for upcoming seasons, but I spend a tremendous amount of time securing housing for employees because as we all know, without having housing, it's really difficult to be here," Tedeschi said. "I can do what I do because of my staff. This year I'm housing 40 employees, so I have seven other housing leases, and then getting the folks here, whether it's under the H-2B Visas, J1 Visas, American folks that you also need to bring in and take care of, and then I have about 20 folks or so that are Nantucketers year-round that make up my crew of 65.”

Tedeschi said he has no regrets with how he has managed the business, from property renovations to taking care of his employees. He said there has been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into the Gazebo over the years and is hoping people swing by this summer during its final ride with him at the helm.

"I am very committed and have been for all of my time here, but that is also something that is understood," Tedeschi said. "That when you are running a triple net lease that those are your responsibilities, and it does take a lot of investment to keep being able to keep in tune with the times and with equipment, and be able to function at a high functionality. Blood, sweat, and tears goes into any business and unfortunately, you can't take those back, but these blood, sweat, and tears were well worth the cause and happy times making this place what it's been for me and for the entire crew that I bring in every year.

"It's been a good, long ride and I just appreciate all of the support that I've gotten over the years, and even the support that I know is out there right now," Tedeschi concluded. "But everything's going to be alright. Thanks to the folks that have been interested in what the story is, and it's been a good ride. I'm glad we've made some memories, the mudslide and Gazebo memories, and the Tavern."