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Double Down Brewing Co. to open at Peppercorn’s in Worcester

Matthew Tota

Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

WORCESTER – Once the smell of mashed grain and boiling wort supplanted the sweet aroma of ice cream in the back of Peppercorn’s Grille & Tavern, there was no looking back.

In a decade, two breweries have made their mark inside the tiny backroom, briefly home to the restaurant’s ice cream shop.

Wormtown Brewery, there from 2010 to 2015, established itself as one the state’s fastestgrowing brewers before leaving for Shrewsbury Street. Flying Dreams Brewing Co. arrived next and began racking up industry awards. It needed more space to serve guests, moving to a taproom in Marlboro.

When Flying Dreams left last fall — and with the uncertainty of the pandemic — I worried it marked the end of Peppercorn’s long run as Worcester’s brewery incubator. Thankfully, I was wrong.

Next month, the city’s newest brewery will open in the fabled Park Avenue brewing space, helmed by two people who know the industry well.

Christian McMahan, former president of Wachusett Brewing Co., and Tom Oliveri, owner of Peppercorn’s and co-founder of Wormtown, teamed up to create Double Down Brewing Co. — a nod to their doubling down on a 20-year friendship. They hope to open at 455 Park Ave. sometime mid-September.

McMahan, who spent three and a half years at Wachusett before leaving in November, envisions Double Down as a direct-to-consumer brewery, meaning it will likely never distribute its brews; you can only buy the beer at its brewery, which he hopes will join the ranks of Central Massachusetts’ other stellar destination breweries.

“There are some destination breweries around, but no one has really done that in an urban environment,” he said.

Also appealing to McMahan, taproom breweries usually don’t worry about shelling the extra penny for ingredients on a new beer that may not sell in distribution.

“In some ways, direct to consumer frees us from limitations. We can do anything with ingredients and absorb the cost because we’re not looking to hit a price point on the shelves,” McMahan said. “We just want to make a great beer. That’s pretty freeing.”

The Double Down Brewing Co. team includes, from left, co-founder Christian McMahan, brewer Brian Wells and co-founder Tom Oliveri. The new brewery, located in space at Peppercorn’s last occupied by Flying Dreams, is set to open in September.

CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Hoppin’

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day through Thursday: 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; noon to 9 p.m. Sunday. Takeout is available. It offers five TVS, Keno and an ATM. Telephone (774) 321-6075 or (774) 321-6076. Connect on Facebook. The plaza has parking in front and back of the restaurant.

Casual dining space accommodates 75 at tables and hightops. The sushi chef prepares his specialties at the 16- seat bar.

On the menu: Chefs’ special rolls, vegetable rolls, sushi entrees, appetizers (for sushi bar), salad (five choices), entrees, Japanese lunch special (served until 3 p.m., except on Sunday and holidays), Sushi Party Trays, etc.

Chinese cuisine includes appetizers, mini platters, soups, fried rice, covered rice, lo mein, chow mein, poultry, beef, seafood and vegetarian dishes, luncheon special (Monday through Friday until 3 p.m.) and “Chef ’s Suggestions.”

Bar One Roll already is a favorite of the chef ’s 24 “special rolls,” according to owners. Zheng pointed to Green Giant Roll, King Cobra Roll, 2015 Roll, Lobster Lover Roll and Yama Roll as some of his and guests’ other favorites. The specialties range from $11.95 to $15.95.

Mai Tai is so far the most popular drink at the restaurant, according to Cheah, who said the bar is a busy spot where people reacquaint with old friends and meet new ones. The owners have made longtime friendships through work in the food industry, he said, and many of their friends stop by.

Restaurants have fought to survive the pandemic and Bar One’s owners hope the Delta variant doesn’t mean closings again. They have filled jobs and consider themselves fortunate to have enough labor (kitchen and waitstaff ) to support the business.

Two years in the making of their first business, the owners said their initial plan was to one day open a Bar Two. For now, the personable trio is grateful to have had a successful launch of Bar One.

Participating in the 2021 Taste of Shrewsbury Street are Alex Mazin, founder and CEO of Bud’s Goods and Provisions, which is a sponsor; Jamie Chapman, hospitality manager at Wormtown Brewery; and Rony Zoghby, owner of Beirut Bite.

RICK CINCLAIR/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Taste of Shrewsbury Street returns

Food tastings and live music highlight the return of Taste of Shrewsbury Street “post-COVID-19.” Billed as one of the Worcester’s biggest food events, Taste will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Aug. 24 along the city’s Restaurant Row.

Cost is $25 per person, with admission buttons sold at participating restaurants and at tasteshrewsburystreet.com. Proceeds benefit the beautification of the street and local charities supported by the Shrewsbury Street Area Merchants Association.

John Piccolo, president of the Shrewsbury Street Area Merchants Association, calls Taste an important event in the city, explaining the need “to get back to normal and start having fun again.”

Piccolo emphasized that extra COVID protocols will be in place in order for everyone to enjoy a safe event.

Presenting sponsor is Bud’s Goods & Provisions, a cannabis dispensary located on West Boylston Street in Worcester. Founder and CEO Alex Mazin said he wanted to be involved because “Taste is an awesome event in the city of Worcester. It’s fun, it brings the community together, and we really wanted to be part of that. I’m proud to have Bud’s Goods sponsor Taste of Shrewsbury Street.”

Event participants: Terra Brasilis Restaurant; Little Caesar’s Pizza; Salgabom Snacks; Woo Bar & Grill; Vintage Grille; Redemption Rock Brewing Co.; Funky Murphys; Basil n’ Spice; Flying Rhino Café; Meraki Café; Kenichi Asian Bistro; 4th and 1 Club (Muskeego Street, off Shrewsbury Street); All Systems Go (Esports Bar); Mexicali Cantina Grill; La Scala Restaurant; Subway; Meze Estiatorio; Beirut Bite; Valentinos; Parkway Restaurant; Piccolo’s Restaurant; Boulevard Diner; Pampas; Miranda Bread; Nuovo Restaurant; Volturno; Wormtown Brewery; Victory Bar & Cigar; The Pint; Leo’s Ristorante; Ralph’s Tavern; Wonder Bar; 111 Chop House; VIA Italian Table.

Additional sponsors include Atlas Distributing; Discover Central Massachusetts; Pepsi; Fidelity Bank; DCU Credit Union; Deep Eddy Vodka; Worcester City Councilor Candy Mero- Carlson.

Julio’s expansion planned

Ryan Maloney, owner of Julio’s Liquors in Westboro, has plans to take over the space that Starbucks occupied next door to his business before relocating to the new Burger King building on Route 9.

Maloney said the “expansion” project will begin later this year.

Big plans, stay tuned!

If you have a tidbit for the column, call (508) 868-5282. Send email to bhoulefood@gmail.com.