Slumbrew/Somerville Brewing Company Is Opening American Fresh Taproom at Assembly Row in Somerville

The people behind an upcoming brewery in Somerville are also going to be opening a beer garden at a new development within the city.

A press release sent indicates that Somerville Brewing Company--which produces the Slumbrew line of beers--is planning to open American Fresh Taproom at Assembly Row, with the place being created with 20-foot shipping containers. The release says that the beer garden will feature Slumbrew beers along with locally-sourced foods that include sandwiches and charcuterie plates, with the food items changing on a regular basis. An article in Boston Magazine gives a bit more information, stating that American Fresh Taproom will have seating for 60 and will possibly soft-open on July 30-31 (official opening August 1), with the place remaining open until the end of October, thanks to the use of a heated tent. It looks like hours for the beer garden will be 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM Monday through Saturday and 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Sundays.

[July 31 update: Eater Boston mentions that American Fresh Taproom is not yet ready to open because the shipping containers needed to create the place will not arrive in Somerville until August 11, at which point the folks behind the place will have to bring in kitchen equipment and get approval from the city of Somerville to open. If all goes well, the beer garden could be open sometime later in August.]

[November 18 update: According to a Facebook post sent out this week, American Fresh Taproom is opening tomorrow at 4:00 PM, and it will have a heated tent which will allow it to remain open in the colder months.]

Somerville Brewing Company will also be opening a brewery and taproom on Ward Street (just southeast of Union Square); currently, they make their Slumbrew beers out of Mercury Brewing Company in Ipswich. The website for Slumbrew/Somerville Brewing Company can be found at http://www.slumbrew.com/

[Earlier Article]
Slumbrew to Open a Brewery and Taproom in Somerville

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Jimmy John's to Open in the Audubon Circle Area of Boston

An Illinois-based chain of gourmet sandwich shops continues its expansion plans into Boston, with a third location planned for the city.

Eater Boston is reporting (via a Licensing Board page within the City of Boston website) that Jimmy John's is looking to open on Park Drive in the Audubon Circle area of Boston, just east of the Brookline border and between Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue. This will either be the first, second, or third location to open in Boston--depending on the timing--with the other two being at the Flats on D apartment complex on D Street in South Boston and at the Charlesview property on Western Avenue in Allston-Brighton.

Jimmy John's opened its first shop in Charleston, IL, in 1983 and now has more than 1,900 locations across the country.

The address for this upcoming sandwich shop in the Audubon Circle area is: Jimmy John's, 512 Park Drive, Boston, MA, 02215. The website for the chain is at https://www.jimmyjohns.com/

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Sea Dog Brew Pub in Woburn Closes, Files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

A Boston-area brewpub that was connected to a brewery in Maine has closed its doors.

The Boston Business Journal is reporting that the Sea Dog Brew Pub in Woburn is no longer in operation, with the Mishawum Road spot filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy yesterday. The article says that the doors of the place are locked and phone calls have not been able to go through, and that diners have been complaining about its sudden closure on the pub's Facebook page. Based on its Chapter 7 filing, it appears that the Woburn location of the Sea Dog may be heading toward liquidation. (The Hull location of the Sea Dog Brew Pub--which is under different ownership--remains open for business, according to the BBJ.)

The Sea Dog Brew Pub first opened in Woburn in December of 2010, taking over the space where Nickel's Grille  and a location of T.G.I. Friday's had been. The pub had been affiliated (through a licensing agreement) with the Sea Dog Brewing Company, which is part of the Shipyard Brewing Company in Maine.

This is the second brewpub to close in the past several days, as the Watch City Brewing Co. in Waltham has also shut down (it has still not been confirmed whether this one is a permanent closure).

The address for the now-closed Sea Dog Brew Pub in Woburn was 244 Mishawum Road, Woburn, MA, 01801. The website for the Sea Dog Brewing Company is: http://www.seadogbrewing.com/

Thanks to @FoodserviceEast for bringing this to our attention.

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News Elsewhere: Travel Channel Pulls Adam Richman's New Show After Instagram Rant

The host of several TV food shows has had his latest show pulled (at least for now), possibly because of a social media tirade that he went on.

The Washington Post is reporting that Adam Richman of "Man v. Food" fame has had his new show "Man Finds Food" pulled by the Travel Channel, with the show no longer being seen on the network's schedule. The article indicates that the postponing of the show could be in response to an Instagram rant where Richman was called out for using the hashtag #thinspiration, which the XOJane site says is popular in pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia circles. When this was brought up to him, Richman responded with a number of expletive-filled posts on Instagram, at least some of which have since been deleted. The TV host subsequently delivered an apology to ABC's "Good Morning America," stating that "I'm incredibly sorry to everyone I've hurt."

At this point in time, it is not known if or when "Man Finds Food" will be shown the Travel Channel. (It was supposed to have had its debut on July 2.)

Thanks to Eater National for initially bringing this to our attention.

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The Skellig in Waltham to Be Replaced by Garcia Brogan's

A popular Irish pub west of Boston is closing its doors, and a Mexican-Irish restaurant and bar will be taking over its space.

A Twitter message from @brandnewwatch indicates that The Skellig in Waltham is shuttering, with Garcia Brogan's moving into its spot on Moody Street. According to a Twitter post from @DowntownWaltham, the new place that is moving in will be a second location of a dining and drinking spot with the same name in Lowell, and it will apparently have a Mexican cantina on one side and an Irish-themed bar on the other, with bands in the back and a DJ and dance floor likely in the front.

The address for The Skellig (and upcoming Garcia Brogan's) is 240 Moody Street, Waltham, MA, 02453. The website for the Lowell location of Garcia Brogan's can be found at http://www.garciabrogans.com/

[May 22, 2015 update: According to a new Twitter post from @brandnewwatch, Garcia Brogan's officially opened today at 5:00 PM. (Thanks to @patriottaxi for bringing this to our attention.)]

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Mario Batali Is Opening Babbo Pizzeria at Fan Pier in Boston

A year and a half ago, we reported that a New York-based celebrity chef, restaurateur, writer, and TV personality was looking to open a restaurant in the Fort Point section of Boston. Those plans ultimately ended up falling though last summer, but now we have learned that plans are back on to open the eatery at a nearby location.

The Boston Globe is reporting that Mario Batali is going to be opening Babbo Pizzeria at Fan Pier toward the western edge of the Seaport/Innovation District, with the 8,700-square-foot restaurant offering wood-fired pizza and pasta dishes and having separate bars for drinks, antipasti, and pizza, as well as an outdoor patio and private space for large groups. It had originally appeared that Babbo might open on Summer Street in the Fort Point neighborhood, but plans to open there never came to be, and by August of last year, it appeared that there were no plans in the works for Batali to open a place in Boston for the foreseeable future.

If all goes as planned, Babbo Pizzeria could be open at Fan Pier by the end of the year, according to the Globe.

[August 20 update: Universal Hub mentions that if the Boston Licensing Board approves of the plans for Babbo Pizzeria tomorrow, Mario Batali will pay $410,000 for the Castlebar's liquor license (the Castlebar was a Brighton bar that closed earlier this month). UH says that the mayor's office and several city councilors already support plans for Babbo.]

[April 14, 2015 update: The Boston Globe states that Babbo opens tomorrow evening at Fan Pier.]

[Earlier Articles]
Mario Batali Might Be Opening Babbo Pizzeria in Boston
Confirmed: Mario Batali's Babbo Pizzeria and Enoteca Will Not Be Coming to Boston's Fort Point

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