Worcester's Year In Food: 2021's Biggest Local Dining Stories
WORCESTER, MA — Crack a Funk Daddy sour ale and order yourself a Pepe's pizza because it's time to look back at some of the biggest food stories in 2021. We're looking back at openings, closings and other big food shifts in Worcester and beyond.
Emergency over?
No surprise, the biggest story in food this year was linked to the pandemic.
After more than a year under the yoke of the coronavirus pandemic, many restaurateurs saw hope when Gov. Charlie Baker ended the state of emergency in May. That ended the mask order and capacity restrictions statewide.
Warm summer weather and vaccines brought a bit of a return to normal, although the delta variant kept case levels relatively high. The year is ending with a flood of new cases thanks to omicron, and some communities — including Worcester and Sudbury — have returned to indoor mask mandates.
Big openings
Worcester's restaurant scene added some pounds in 2021: the country music venue and restaurant Off The Rails; The Shack along Park Avenue; Torito Mexican opened at Lincoln Plaza; Meraki Coffee Dessert Bar and All Systems Go Esports Bar along Shrewsbury Street; Canal District Wines inside the Worcester Public Market; the Free Play arcade, bar and restaurant; and the ax-throwing venue Far Shot opened in October.
Perhaps one of the biggest restaurant success stories of 2021 was the expansion of The Farmer's Daughter in Sudbury. The brunch spot has drawn long lines after opening in March after more than a year in the works. The restaurant may soon get a new neighbor: a boutique ice cream shop.
Not to be outdone, Framingham's The Buckley Kitchen & Bar opened over the summer in the downtown area and has had consistently good reviews. Sam Sushi Art & Music, meanwhile, replaced the former Sofa Café. A new acai spot also opened downtown. A new bubble tea (and Korean-style fried chicken) spot is set to open in the Trolley Square Plaza.
Nearby, the Natick Mall got a major boost when Level99 opened in June with an outpost of Everett's Night Shift Brewing. In Milford, a former Framingham pizza maker reopened Mozies Kitchen at the Turtle Tavern in November.
Marlborough got a new ramen spot, Kinzen. Although, the first Raising Cane's location in the area is still in the works due to a Land Court appeal filed by a McDonald's next door.
And Wayland finally got its Bagel Table. The owners first revealed plans for the store in January 2020, but the Natick location opened ahead of Wayland in autumn 2020.
Goodbyes
Worcester saw a slew of closings, including 75-year-old Maury's Deli, the Sahara Restaurant, Ken Chin's and Fairway Beef (also 75-years-old). In Marlborough, the Halfway Café closed its 20-year Boston Post Road location in May.
In Framingham, the Aegean Greek restaurant was sold at auction in the spring. The closed Shoppers World location of TGI Friday's is set to be demolished. The Little Lola's eatery in South Natick closed in March, but the owners are planning a new location.
Rounding out the year, Natick's Dolphin Seafood is closing at the end of December. But the owners plan to return with a new restaurant concept this spring.
The year in beer
In Worcester, Wormtown Brewery ended 2020 with an expansion. But the brewery was also rocked by harassment allegations, causing several original founders to step back from leadership roles. The brewery then hired former Tree House Brewing manager Kimberly Golinski as the new general manager. The city also got a new beer spot: Double Down Brewing at Peppercorn's, the same restaurant where Wormtown got its start. Greater Good Imperial Brewing, meanwhile, won a silver medal at the Great American Beer Fest for its sour ale, Funk Daddy.
Framingham's two breweries celebrated big anniversaries in 2021. Jack's Abby celebrated 10 years in July — a decade when the brewer grew to be one of the largest in the state. Exhibit 'A' celebrated its fifth anniversary in September, making a comfortable home in the Morton Street space once occupied by Jack's.
In Marlborough, the city's three brewers — Lost Shoe, Tackle Box (which reopened at the end of 2020) and Flying Dreams — held their first Oktoberfest since 2019.
Farther away, Sterling Street Brewery opened in Clinton, and Thirsty Robot Brewing opened in Fitchburg. And in early summer, Tree House in Charlton reopened its flagship brewery for in-person service after going can-only for more than a year.
The Kells Beer Company, downtown Natick's sole craft brewer, closed at the end of June. After reopening its taproom at the end of 2020, 3cross Fermentation Cooperative moved back to selling beer to-go only. The brewery wasn't selling beer at all as of this week. Redemption Rock Brewing in Worcester rolled out a new line of coffee drinks.
New beginnings
A community movement in Worcester to feed everyone had a big year. The number of Worcester Community Fridges increased to four in 2021 with a new site in the Greendale area.
Worcester's Pepe's Italian Restaurant moved just a little north from Franklin Street to a new home along Shrewsbury Street. After more than a year of being closed following the pandemic, Armsby Abbey reopened in Worcester, just in time for downtown street closures due to filming for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."
And if you're in Wayland this winter, call in a reservation for an igloo. The Dudley Chateau has reopened its outdoor dining structures just in time for snow and freezing temperatures.
It's been a long year. If we overlooked your restaurant opening or local other food news, please email neal.mcnamara@patch.com.
This article originally appeared on the Worcester Patch
