THE WATER IS WIDE The son of a seafood legend, Jesse Sandole followed a coastal path from Nantucket to Charleston to chart his own course. Today, his two 167 Raw outposts combine new-school versions of briny classics with effortless hospitality and a solid sense of his seaside homes.
fresh catch from two
N A N T U C K E T, CHARLESTON,
PORTS OF CALL
MASSACHUSETTS SOUTH
CAROLINA
THE WATER IS WIDE The son of a seafood legend, Jesse Sandole followed a coastal path from Nantucket to Charleston to chart his own course. Today, his two 167 Raw outposts combine new-school versions of briny classics with effortless hospitality and a solid sense of his seaside homes.
fresh catch from two
N A N T U C K E T, CHARLESTON,
PORTS OF CALL
MASSACHUSETTS SOUTH
CAROLINA
During the summer in Nantucket, 167 Raw is home to a fish market, a raw bar and a food truck.
Located thirty miles off the coast of Massachusetts,
Nantucket seems far-removed from the cobblestone
father. As a result, nearly every Nantucket landmark that
streets of Charleston, South Carolina. And yet the coastal
holds significance for Jesse is related to the water and
cousins share more similarities than one might think. Both
those experiences—from Great Point Lighthouse, where
are high-traffic tourist destinations whose sometimes luxe
Bill first started scalloping, to the waters off Madaket
reputations are anchored by strong local communities
Beach, where Bill famously caught the haul of striped bass
characterized by a salty-sweet outlook that comes from
that set his wholesale business in motion.
life beside the sea. Both have long, rich histories filled
with tragedy and triumph and revival. Another thing they
grow and evolve to suit the changing times. When he was
fresh catch, known as 167 Raw.
growing up, and later during college breaks, he performed
Born and raised in Nantucket, Jesse found his way to
a variety of roles: he washed dishes, worked on boats, cut
Charleston during college. It was love at first sight. “I had
fish and prepped ceviche, bluefish patê and other fresh-
a week off from school, so some friends and I drove down
made grocery items to be sold in the market.
and ended up staying the entire week,” he says. “I remem-
ber popping a bottle of champagne on Folly Beach and it
Eventually, Jesse began to consider those moments
as more than just a side gig on the path toward adulthood.
was 75 degrees on Easter Sunday, and I’m thinking, ‘I need
What if, he wondered, he could take the lessons he
more of this.’ I transferred to the College of Charleston the
learned from dad and make a go of selling seafood full-
next semester and the rest is pretty much history.”
Jesse was also a regular fixture around his dad’s
shop, then called 167 Seafood, and witnessed the business
have in common? Jesse Sandole and his two temples to
Jesse was raised in the waterman tradition of his
time? There was a lot he knew he could do to build onto
When he arrived, there was a ready-made crew of
his dad’s Nantucket market. And, he believed, Charleston
familiar faces to receive him. Many of them were either
was primed for the same kind of thing.
friends from home who had ventured South first, or part of
an older generation of Nantucket emigreés and summer
His dad wasn’t so sure at first. Turning your passion
into a profession isn’t always an easy endeavor—or a
regulars who paved the trail between the two cities in
financially stable one—especially when it comes to the
the late 1970s. “Whether it was my friends’ parents, older
business of selling seafood. But Jesse forged ahead and
kids I knew growing up or people from Charleston, like
opened 167 Raw in a tiny storefront on East Bay Street in
[restaurateur] Hank Holliday, who used to paint houses
Charleston in 2014. He took the reins of his dad’s shop in
up in Nantucket and now has a house up there, I knew a lot
Nantucket shortly thereafter.
of people,” he says. “There’s always been this connection
between Nantucket and Charleston.” And, of course, nearly all of them knew Jesse’s dad.
Bill Sandole is a Nantucket institution. He started out
“PEOPLE WHO ARE PART OF OUR
selling seafood wholesale toward the end of the 1970s. Over the ensuing years, he grew frustrated with the instability
TEAM WILL OFTEN BE IN NEW
by seasonal tourism, but the demand for his speciality
ENGLAND FOR SUMMER AND
of the business as Nantucket became increasingly driven
seafood never wavered and the people who had tasted it
THEN MOVE DOWN SOUTH TO
had so many back-door retail customers, people who were
WORK IN THE WINTER. IT’S NOT
elsewhere began asking to buy from him directly. “He
clamoring for whatever he would sell them,” Jesse says.
VACATION, BUT IT’S DEFINITELY A
in the early 1990s, he already had a backlog of people lined
FUN NEW OUTLET.”
“By the time he finally gave in and opened a retail store, up, thrilled to go in the front door.”
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Jesse Sandole at the Nantucket spot that started it all.
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A corner pocket fronts a painstakingly preserved interior brick wall at 167 Raw in Charleston.
The back courtyard just off of lower King Street.
“I’ve been here fourteen years now, and I’ve always
space to grow the business set in not long after Jesse
Nantucket,” Jesse says. “The seafood comparables are
The hunt for the perfect spot took two years. And once
been struck by the parallels between Charleston and
opened the doors on East Bay, and he began searching.
different though. We’re used to big industry in New
he finally settled on the new location, a landmark building
England, with tons of fishing boats and multiple ports—
on lower King Street that had previously housed a beloved
down here, it’s a bit different and you have to work a little
Italian restaurant, it took another two years to complete
bit harder to get really great product.”
construction and restoration on the building.
Jesse’s original idea to create a take-away market
in Charleston similar to the Nantucket business met
establishment, growing his team and strengthening the
with challenges from the beginning. “We were learning
connections between both locations. “People who are part
what worked and didn’t as we went along,” Jesse says.
of our team will often be in New England for summer and
“Ultimately, the problems were mostly good ones—people
then move down South to work in the winter,” Jesse says.
loved coming in and just wanted to stay and eat rather
“It’s not vacation, but it’s definitely a fun new outlet.”
than pick up items and take them home.” He was nimble,
quickly adjusting the offerings and transforming the space
When the dust finally settled on the new King Street
location in early 2020 and Jesse welcomed guests to the
into a restaurant to suit his customers. “I just refused to
new and improved 167 Raw Charleston, the results were
give up,” he says. His head-down determination, confident
clearly worth the wait. Throngs of eager diners filled the
leadership and willingness to pitch in when staff was
tables, bar stools and outdoor courtyard to sip a newly
short—all buoyed by an enthusiastic and infinitely patient
introduced slate of craft cocktails and feast on crudo,
crowd of repeat patrons—kept the ship afloat.
In the interim, he kept working on the Nantucket
crispy oysters, pastrami’d swordfish and Baha-inspired
The sense that he would have to move to a larger
specialities like the house pork carnitas.
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The 167 Raw food truck is a familiar sight around Nantucket.
Fresh selects at the ready in Charleston.
The design is as enticing as the menu. Interior
designer Kathleen Hay, a family friend with whom Jesse
had worked on his Nantucket house, helped define the
aesthetic that brought Jesse’s vision to life. And no detail was too small for their attention. They removed wooden
walls to expose antique bricking, only to have the bricks
“WHEN PEOPLE FROM
removed and restacked by hand to ensure structural
support, something Jesse shows off with pride. They
NANTUCKET COME IN TO 167
nautical-meets-downtown vibe throughout the indoor and
RAW IN CHARLESTON I LOVE
commissioned multiple Urban Electric designs to create a outdoor spaces. Old medicine bottles excavated during
SEEING THEIR REACTION. THEY
the building’s earliest use as a pharmacy. Wooden beams
ARE SURPRISED AND ALSO NOT—
the build-out are on display in the dining room, signalling
pulled from the ceiling during an effort to raise them higher
SOMEHOW IT SEEMS FAMILIAR TO
style walls. A rear Dutch door leading from the kitchen
THEM, EVEN THOUGH IT'S THEIR
were repurposed to refinish floors and create shiplapto the outdoor bar calls to mind boats and beach houses
FIRST TIME HERE.”
in equal measure, and custom azure tiles surrounding the massive oven in the open kitchen pay homage to the
water that inspired it all. And, of course, Jesse brought the long wooden bench that served as overflow seating at the
East Bay location to line the courtyard wall. The overall effect is an organic blending of old and new, Nantucket and Charleston, in a way that feels fresh and nostalgic and totally relevant.
“When people from Nantucket come in, I love seeing
their reaction,” Jesse says. “They are surprised and also not—somehow it seems familiar to them, even though it’s their first time here.”
Transformation and evolution are in the Sandole
DNA, but beneath the surface Jesse remains rooted in the
same values and sense of purpose that drove his father to devote his life to sharing fresh seafood with friends decades ago. “My dad’s always doing something,” Jesse says. “His new thing is baking. In addition to his signature clam sauce that we have him make, he brings us banana bread every morning in the summer.”
That’s how it is at 167 Raw, regardless of location. At
the end of the day, the business is personal and everyone— from the chefs to the customers to the fishermen stocking the coolers—is part of the family.
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Snapshots from the family business.