The Pearl Makes It Official: Reopening Will Wait Until 2023

Last month we reported that it appeared increasingly unlikely The Pearl and The Boarding House would reopen for the summer of 2022.

On Tuesday, Blue Flag's Terry Sanford, who is part of the new ownership group, confirmed it.

"Due to construction delays we have had to push back our opening date to next summer," Sanford told the Current. "We look forward to welcoming guests back into The Pearl for what is sure to be a season of renewal for this treasured property."

The Boarding House and The Pearl - two beloved island restaurants - were sold last October by longtime owners Seth and Angela Raynor to Blue Flag Partners. At the time, another Blue Flag partner, Brad Guidi, said he anticipated the establishments would reopen under the same names in 2022 after undergoing interior renovations. Blue Flag also indicated that it was committed to retaining the names of the restaurants and stewarding their decades-long legacies – even down to some of the recipes that have made them island favorites.

The $7.2 million sale, which closed in October, included both the real estate and the businesses.

“We’re acutely aware of how important these restaurants are to Nantucket and Nantucket culture, so we’re going to do our best to carry on this legacy and bring it into its next iteration while respecting the history and what everyone loves about The Pearl and The Boarding House,” Guidi said last September. “And we’re fully aware of that challenge, but also excited to thread that needle.”

Among the longest-running restaurants on Nantucket, The Boarding House had been owned and operated by the Raynors since 1991. They took over The Pearl in 1999. The two restaurants were operated as a single entity last summer due to the constraints and challenges of the pandemic, with no bar service and limited seating.