Will the Jordon Hudson-Bill Belichick News Boost Nantucket Stores and Traffic?

Yahoo

24-05-2025

As former New England Patriots' coach Bill Belichick's relationship with Jordon Hudson continues to be dissected in media reports, their connection to Nantucket has filtered into some of that coverage.
The University of North Carolina's head football coach first bought property on the Massachusetts island in 1979 and continues to own a home there, as does his ex-girlfriend Linda Holliday. The 24-year-old Hudson has been seen on Nantucket, too, this spring, and she shared with her 109,000 Instagram followers about her trips to Christmas Stroll in December and Daffodil Weekend in April, two annual events that are geared toward boosting business in the sleepier months of the year.
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In recent days, Nantucket has been tied to reports about a December confrontation that involved Holliday and her bestselling author friend Elin Hilderbrand challenging Hudson and her pal, 'Miss Massachusetts' Melissa Sapini, for attending a party that Holliday's influencer daughters Ash and Kat Hess, who are known as 'The Hess Twins,' were DJing at.
Belichick's renaming of his boat to 'I + VIII Rings' fueled speculation that the 73-year-old and his girlfriend may be engaged. Memorial Day Weekend and the annual Figawi sailing race signals the start of summer business for many, with seasonal stores reopening and bars and restaurants welcoming back summer residents and new visitors.
Concurrent with what has become a daily churn of Belichick-Hudson media coverage and Nantucket references, a casting director, Jake Kelley, is reaching out to select Islanders about 'a docu-series about a group of friends living a fun summer on Nantucket,' according to one summer resident, who was approached. Kelley is working on behalf of Ain't That Entertainment, which has worked on Bravo's 'Below Deck' and the 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' and the 'Real Housewives of Orange County.' Media requests to Ain't That Entertainment were unreturned Thursday and Friday.
Noel, who runs the Vanessa Noel Shoe Museum in town in the summer, said, 'Any press that highlights somewhere will always make people curious and look it up. Nantucket is so desired and so much on fire, and always has been. Will it make more people go there? Possibly, but it will make people investigate it. And if they don't go this year, maybe they will go next year.'
Planning to open her shoe museum, which has some retail items, in early July, Noel aims to have 1,000 to 1,500 more visitors than last summer's total of 3,000. It is housed in the historic Captain Pollard House, a federal-style shingled home.
Vanessa Diserio, whose late mother Erica opened the Erica Wilson store on Main Street 59 years ago, noted how Belichick has been coming to Nantucket since 1979. 'We have so many people that are known in the outside world that come here. I don't know if this will increase people coming here, but all of the news that gets out about Nantucket does increase the hype out here for sure,' she said.
Describing Hudson as 'lovely,' Diserio said, 'She's a wonderful woman. She comes into our shop to shop. She's very supportive of community and small businesses. She definitely understands the complexity of Nantucket and contributing to helping local businesses here.'
Based on strong sales over Daffodil Weekend, Diserio is forecasting an upswing this summer with annual sales heading for a 5 to 10 percent gain, 'despite all of the tariffs.' As for the local chatter about Belichick's relationship with Hudson, she said, 'We try not to get caught up in it. Jordan has been very supportive of us, of Nantucket and local businesses. Firsthand all I can say is that she's been great.'
Hudson bought an Italian-made custom cashmere sweater that she has worn and tagged Erica Wilson on social media. 'That was very appreciated as a small business. That was going into our slow season but we definitely had activity after she did that,' Diserio said.
Nantucket Clothing Company co-owner Lisa Rance Mckechnie said, 'I'm not a big Instagram person. My guess would be if people are seeing pictures of a beautiful island that is 30 miles out to sea, that might pique their interest in a positive way. People, who may not have heard of Nantucket, may be curious to see what the island really looks like. We're just a packed island regardless.'
The summer crowd includes homeowners like Google ex-chief executive officer Eric Schmidt, designers Veronica Beard and Vanessa Noel, Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman, Fenway Sports Group's John Henry, Barstool Sports Dave Portnoy and commentator Chris Matthews, among others. And property values keep going skyward. The average sale price of a house on Nantucket has hiked up from $3.3 million in 2020 to $4.86 million in 2024. And the median sale price increased from $2.5 million to $3.78 million during that same time period.
Mckechnie, a former Vogue staffer, said. 'We own a store that has been around for 40 years. We're like the Chanel [version of a] sweatshirt shop so our business is fantastic. We do special designs. It's all embroidered and felted. Business has been incredible, because people love Nantucket. Even in the off-season, it was busy here. We had the best Daffodil Weekend that we have ever had. That is the opening of our summer season.' (The island's population typically swells beyond 80,000 in the summer.)
Despite stormy weather during what was the 49th Nantucket Daffodil Festival, Nantucket Clothing Company had lines to get into its store. Mckechnie, who founded the company with her husband Eric, now can't wait for next month's 50-year anniversary of the release of 'Jaws.' The film's director Stephen Spielberg's documentary about the making of the film, 'Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story,' will premiere at the Nantucket Film Festival on June 24 to coincide with the feature film's release day.
A $85 felt hoodie with a shark motif and 'Nantucket' is a current bestseller, as is an $80 'USA' crewneck with 'ACK' detailed in an American flag. Accustomed to playing the 1975 film's theme music in the store 'all day long,' Mckechnie said, 'I'm 'Jaws' crazy. I'm a maniac about it. We have giant blow-up shark costumes. We are going to be all about sharks…we are probably going to have a better year than last year, which was our best year in 40 years.'
Connor Soverino, general manager at Murray's Toggery Shop, said he doesn't expect the coverage to affect the foot traffic on the island. All in all, he is looking ahead to 'a great season,' due to a strong start with growth coming from women's, men's and children's offerings across the board. In its 80th year in business, the family-owned operation has 'pretty traditional styles' that sell year-in and year-out, according to Soverino.
Paula Maloney, a realtor at William Ravels on Main Street, said the Belichick-Hudson coverage 'absolutely will not affect rentals, sales or an uptick in visitors. Vacationing folks are not preoccupied with Belichick's love life to be honest.'
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