Faces Of Nantucket: Rachel Estepa
Jason Graziadei •
Faces of Nantucket: Rachel Estepa
Years on the island: 5
Favorite things about Nantucket: the sense of community. It's so comforting, but also there's something new every day.
On a busy summer night at The Pearl on Federal Street, you never know where you might find Rachel Estepa.
"I'm usually always moving," she said with a laugh.
As the restaurant's assistant general manager and sommelier, Estepa moves through The Pearl like a flash, seating guests, running food, opening bottles of wine, and supporting her co-workers with anything they need in the moment. With 250 to 300 covers on a good night, that's a lot of moving.
"I'm five feet tall, but I have to have that bird's eye view as someone who is a point person, but I'm also in it with the whole team," she said.
Estepa has been in the restaurant industry for over 10 years, with the last five spent on Nantucket. During her first summer on the island, she joined the staff at The Pearl under Seth and Angela Raynor, in what would be their final season at the helm of the venerable downtown restaurant after three decades. She moved on to become part of the close-knit team at Dune on Broad Street until it closed last summer, and has since rejoined The Pearl under its new ownership and management.
"It's a really exciting and fun place to work with a bunch of really strong females, too," she said.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Estepa attended Trinity College in Connecticut, where she met Jillian Fraker, an island native who would become her first connection to Nantucket.
Fraker brought Estepa to Nantucket for the first time in 2008 and helped her land her first job at The Pearl.
"So it's kind of like a full circle moment for me," she said of being back at the restaurant. "And I'm excited now, having a little bit more experience on this island...
"You learn something new almost every day, and getting to know all these people who are in one building with a common goal, but with different backgrounds and different stories and a lot to contribute, it's great," she said.
