{"id":5388,"date":"2026-07-20T23:36:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T23:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5388"},"modified":"2026-07-20T23:36:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T23:36:51","slug":"former-owner-of-kinsale-and-asgard-reaches-million-dollar-settlement-with-harvard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5388","title":{"rendered":"Former owner of Kinsale and Asgard reaches million-dollar settlement with Harvard"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The saga is finally over for restaurateur Skip Sack, now that he has reached a $1.1 million settlement with Harvard University that wraps up a nearly decade-long legal battle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Mintz\u2019s Elissa Flynn-Poppey led the court fight against rent control<\/a><\/p>\n

Sack and his company, Classic Restaurant Concepts, were best known for their pubs, Kinsale in Boston, and Asgard in Cambridge. But it was the fate of a short-lived third restaurant, En Boca, that kept Classic and Harvard battling in court for years. <\/span><\/p>\n

Classic sued Harvard in 2017, right around the time En Boca closed down. Classic claimed Harvard duped it by prompting the company to sign a lease in 2015 to open En Boca at 8 Holyoke St. in Cambridge, just outside Harvard Square, knowing the street would be shut down for two years for construction. The landlord, Classic claimed, did not provide adequate warning about the massive project next door at what\u2019s known as the Smith Campus Center, other than to downplay it as a relatively minor job.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe motto at Harvard is \u2018Veritas,\u2019\u201d Sack said. \u201cThey were anything but truthful. … They never told us they were going to close the street but negotiated the lease full well knowing they were going to close the street.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Had Sack and Classic known about the construction, they say they never would have invested more than $2.6 million in the space to open the Mediterranean-style restaurant in 2016. Among other things, Classic argued that Harvard didn\u2019t live up to its lease terms because the construction work infringed on Classic\u2019s ability to reap the lease\u2019s benefits. Harvard officials, meanwhile, fought back, saying lease terms didn\u2019t allow Classic to close without making its remaining payments. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sack estimated that Classic lost $700,000 on operations during its nine months in business. At the time, he had never heard of such a loss in his 55 years in the business.<\/span><\/p>\n

His tally for the total damage is much higher. He estimates today that collective losses reach $4.3 million, after backing out the $1.125 million settlement amount. (That number includes legal and consulting costs, as well as interest on a loan he took out to buy out the assets and lease of the previous occupant in the Holyoke Street space.)<\/span><\/p>\n

After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Sack said Classic didn\u2019t have enough money to keep the Kinsale and Asgard going at such a slow time because of the losses associated with En Boca, and those restaurants were forced to close as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more R.I. judge questions complaint accusing former House speaker Shekarchi of violating \u2018revolving door\u2019 provision<\/a><\/p>\n

A Superior Court judge ruled against Sack\u2019s company, and for Harvard, so he appealed. The state Appeals Court primarily sided with Sack in 2024, and sent the case back to Superior Court for further review. On the eve of a trial this past spring, Sack decided to settle; he said he was worried after the judge narrowed the case to Harvard\u2019s benefit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sack signed the settlement agreement on May 28. Harvard asked Sack to sign a non-disparagement clause, he said, but Sack declined to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Smith Campus Center ended up opening in 2018, and chef Andy Husbands opened one of his Smoke Shop restaurants at 8 Holyoke St. in 2020. Harvard declined to comment about its settlement with Classic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is Sack relieved it\u2019s all over? He still sounds frustrated that the saga ended this way.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had no leverage,\u201d Sack added. \u201cThey had all the leverage. … It\u2019s a lesson in injustice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston\u2019s business scene.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more A wave of student loan borrowers have entered default since pandemic-era protections lapsed<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Restaurateur Skip Sack battled his landlord over the fate of the short-lived En Boca in Harvard Square for nearly a decade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer owner of Kinsale and Asgard reaches million-dollar settlement with Harvard - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5388\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former owner of Kinsale and Asgard reaches million-dollar settlement with Harvard - 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