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Next Draft
THE NEXT DRAFT
Beer news includes Wormtown’s ‘Worcester’s Finest’ release and Tree House’s new spot
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Matthew Tota
Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
Once again, cleaning up a beer fridge full of news
The most stressful time of year for managing my beer fridge arrives as summer winds down and the NFL season begins.
Sometime around the start of August, like a squirrel madly stashing nuts ahead of winter, I go into a beer buying frenzy to stock the fridge for football.
By week 1, my fridge looks fat and happy – loaded with fresh beer – but only after the hard work of reaching to the very back of the shelves to reveal the forgotten brews: several will be poured out and forgotten; among them, though, there are gems to be found.
This year, I procrastinated. It’s already autumn, and still I have not addressed the unruly mess of a beer fridge in my basement. So once again – and before Brady returns to Foxborough – I must clean it out and bring you the news that I missed.
A beer for Worcester’s finest
In November, Wormtown Brewery will release, “Worcester’s Finest,” a Mexican-style lager brewed in honor of fallen Worcester Police Officer Enmanuel “Manny” Familia.
The beer, according to Familia’s cousin and fellow officer, Alex Maracallo, will be one that Manny would have loved to drink, amber-hued, balanced and, above all else, smooth.
“It’s going to be smooth, just the way he was – just smooth,” Maracallo told Telegram & Gazette photojournalist Rick CinHouse’s hours and parking restrictions, as well as banning outdoor music and limiting the number of beers people can buy at the taproom to three during the summer.
Over the summer, Tree House operated the Cape site strictly for to-go sales.
Tree House Brewing Co. can look forward to welcoming guests to its Cape Cod taproom after settling a dispute with a group of neighbors. MERRILY CASSIDY/CAPE COD TIMES FILE
clair on the brew day earlier this month.
Marcallo and several other officers helped brew Worcester’s Finest, which Wormtown will release in its Shrewsbury Street taproom at noon Nov. 4. The brewery will donate 100% of the proceeds from the beer and merchandise sold that day – expected to total some $20,000 – toward supporting Familia’s family and the Manny 267 Foundation, which provides swimming lessons for children and teens, and water safety equipment for first responders.
In the past, Wormtown has brewed beers in tribute of local firefighters who died in the line of duty, including last year’s “Worcester’s Bravest,” for Lt. Jason Menard.
Tree House’s Cape Cod home close to offering pours
Tree House Brewing Co. can look forward to welcoming guests to its Cape Cod taproom after settling a dispute with a group of neighbors who tried to stymie the brewer’s plans.
The four families who live in Sandwich near Tree House’s 98 Town Neck Road taproom had mainly raised concerns about the level of traffic that would descend on their sleepy beachside street. Through their attorney, they initially sought to have the town revoke Tree House’s building permit.
But according to The Enterprise, a Sandwich newspaper, the two sides reached an agreement earlier this month, one that includes limits to Tree
Rapscallion’s Spencer brewery now open
Rapscallion Brewery has opened its new brewery and taproom in Spencer.
The 8 Meadow Road taproom will be open Thursdays and Fridays from 3 to 9 p.m., Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m.
Rapscallion moved out of its longtime brewery-taproom at Hyland Orchard in Sturbridge last year. In addition to the brewery in Spencer, Rapscallion operates a pub in Sturbridge on 3 Arnold Road and restaurants in Acton and Concord.
Worcester Police Officer Alex Maracallo adds hops to a special beer that will be dedicated to his cousin, fallen Worcester Police Officer Enmanuel Familia, at Wormtown Brewery Friday.
RICK CINCLAIR/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
Power Beer Festival rescheduled
Sadly, we will have to wait until next year for the muchanticipated return of the Mass Brewers Guild’s epic Power Beer Fest.
Originally scheduled to take place this weekend, the guild’s largest beer festival and fundraiser has been postponed until May 2022 due to Boston’s mask mandate.
The festival will be held at the Cyclorama Boston on Saturday, May 14. A $55 ticket buys you unlimited beer samples from 40 breweries. Ticket sales support the guild’s efforts to promote the interests of craft brewers across the state.
For more information about the festival and to buy a ticket, head to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/power-beerfest-2022tickets-157689773357.
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say he could put you through the ringer a little, but the experience you got was invaluable. He worked beside you. As an owner, he wasn’t in the business just to make money.”
Fecteau said a memorable time for him was when he worked alongside Nicas on a Mother’s Day. “Heads down, five hours, we killed it and never skipped a beat. The guy’s like in his 80s, covered in sweat and cooking for 150 people. At the end, Stanley turns to me, looks me in the eyes and says, ‘Yeah, we just kicked some ass.’”
Fecteau said he always felt like part of the Nicas family when he worked at the restaurant. “At the end of a shift on some nights we would all sit at the bar and Jim would open a bottle of wine and educate us about the wine we were drinking. It wasn’t about slugging back a drink. We learned about wine, expensive wine. “it was a lot of fun. Time spent at the Castle definitely played an important role in my career path.”
Fecteau later worked the restaurant and hotel scene in Boston and Central Massachusetts. In 2014, he and his wife, Avra Hoffman, opened BirchTree Bread on Green Street, considered one of the best bakeries and cafes in the city.
Josh Suprenant, Hospitality Director at Indian Ranch and Samuel Slater’s Restaurant in Webster, said he was kind of a wild child in his 20s when he got hired at the Castle in 2001. “I was at the right place at the right time,” he said. “On a whim, I walked through the door to inquire about a job. Helen was at the front desk and Stanley came around the corner, looked me up and down, asked me about my earring, told me to get rid of it, go home, clean up and come back to meet his son. The first question Jim asked when I met him was if I had black pants, a white shirt and a jacket. No to the jacket. Jim then disappears and returns with one of his black tux jackets. I’ve kept it all these years.”
Suprenant, who was a waiter at the Castle “on and off” for about 20 years, said his best moment at the restaurant was the night in 2003 when Jim Nicas told him he had a phone call. “The message was that my son Aiden had been born,” said Suprenant. “I’ll never forget it. The baby came earlier than expected, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I had to sit down, but I finished table service before I left.
“When I think about it, the Castle wasn’t just a workplace, rather it became part of our lives,” said Suprenant. “We were family, and the Nicases taught you the right way to do things, working right along with you in the trenches. Without a doubt, I will never forget their strong work ethic.”
Suprenant said Joyce Pijus, who worked at the Castle for more than 35 years, taught him and other servers fine dining etiquette. “We were a highly trained staff,” he said.
“I’m sure a lot of people tear up when they think about the Castle and the memories they’ve shared there,” added Suprenant. “Weddings, anniversaries, special occasions and weekend dinners. There were so many regular guests.
Julia Child and a guest share a toast at the dinner of Les Amis d'Escoffier Society of New England at the Castle Restaurant in 2001.
PAUL KAPTEYN/T&G STAFF
Stanley Nicas of the Castle Restaurant talks with Peter Cooper, proprietor of the Harvest Restaurant in Pomfret, Conn., in 2005. JIM COLLINS/T&G STAFF
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“I’m happy for Jim and Evangeline as they move on. I’m also reminded of how many chefs started out there. Rob Fecteau and executive chef Ryan Marcoux at Grill 23 & Bar in Boston among them.”
Add executive chef Jason Rollman of Anya restaurant in Thompson, Conn., to the list. He started his career at the Castle in 2016, working for two years as sous chef. “After inquiring several times for a potential chef opening, Chef (Jim) Nicas took me under his wings and gave me the opportunity to work there,” said Rollman.
He said his fondest moments include working side by side with Nicas, learning French techniques, fine dining, wine pairing and tastings, as well has having been inducted by him into the Escoffier Society. “Nicas is a great chef and sommelier,” he said.
Rollman also is another chef “honored to have worked for the Nicas family.” His experience at the Castle has benefited and helped his professional career as a chef of fine dining and French techniques, he said. Rollman became executive chef at Anya in 2020.
The Nicas family participated and donated to many local fundraisers. As members of the Greek St. Spyridon’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral, they helped prepare and serve food at the annual festival.
Gus Giannakis, owner of the Pickle Barrel Restaurant in Worcester, said he worked beside the Nicas family at many cathedral events. “They are a great family,” he said, adding that he serves one of Stanley Nicas’ recipes at his restaurant. “Our homemade corned beef hash is a Stanley original,” said Giannakis.
So many memories, so many stories. As a member of the Escoffier Society, I look forward to the chapter dinner in November and sharing more.
In a Meet the Chef column published in the Sunday Telegram in 2017, Jim Nicas said, “The Castle has been the benchmark for fine dining and global-classical cuisines of the world for some 68 years. The classics are where we all started, it is our base of operation.” He conceded, however, “that one must always look at the future and embrace the present.”
Sous chef Kevin Cape, left, and head chef John Nicas in the doorway of the Castle Restaurant in 1982. T&G FILE PHOTO
With Greek Festival postponed, St. Spyridon set for Gyro Fair
On October 2 and 3, St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 102 Russell St., Worcester will hold its first Gyro Fair, a cultural and food event replacing the cathedral’s annual Greek Festival, rescheduled for 2022 as a result of the pandemic.
The Gyro Fair is a bit smaller than the annual festival we’re all used to but when it comes to traditional Greek food and live music, fair-goers won’t be disappointed.
The event with free admission is scheduled from noon to 11 p.m. Oct. 2; noon to 8 p.m. Oct. 3. Gus Giannakis, George Gourousis, Father Christopher Stamas, presiding priest at St. Spyridon, and dedicated volunteers helped organize the fundraiser. Giannakis credits “George (Gourousis) as the “guy in charge.”
Food will be prepared and served in a large outdoor tent, according to Giannakis, who said the gyros will be made to order. The Greek gyro recipe will combine lamb and beef with tzatziki sauce and slices of tomato and onion wrapped in traditional pita. Other ingredients can be added, upon request. The ultimate side dish is Greek fries sprinkled with sea salt and seasoned with dried oregano. Greek pastries also will be sold, in addition to fried dough, hamburgers and hot dogs, etc.
Two bars will be set up in the food tent, where beer and wine will be available. Giannakis said there will be seating inside the cathedral and live music in an outdoor tent both days of the fair. Father Stamas is scheduled to lead daily cathedral tours. Check for time postings.
Despite the pandemic, St. Spyridon continues to provide philanthropic programs in support of the cathedral and the Worcester community. The Gyro Fair not only is a terrific fundraising idea, it’s also a family-friendly event.
Enjoy!
If you have a tidbit for the column, call (508) 868-5282. Send email to bhoulefood@gmail.com.
LISTEN UP
Harding’s ‘Can You Hear’ takes listener on emotional journey
Victor D. Infante
Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
With “Can You Hear These Walls Did Speak,” singer-songwriter Torbin Harding of the Worcester-based LoZRecords has set forth a lovely examination of alienation and the frustration of being unable to help someone. It’s a dreamy bit of power pop, melodic and wellcrafted, and if it sometimes rolls too gingerly by its subjects, Harding still manages to take thinly sketched portraits and bare-bones lyrics and transform them into something genuinely affecting.
The album begins with “Will You,” a delicate song built on Harding’s haunting, clear falsetto, which shifts to a lower range for the chorus: “Living in a dirty room/you don’t have to give up too soon./Will you get better someday?” That’s the question that permeates the album, a phantom whispering from behind each song. When the tempo picks up on the second song, “What Is Going On” — driven by a jangle of guitar that’s arresting against the song’s cloudy soundscape — the question still lingers. “Everybody wants you gone,” sings Harding, in a refrain, but it’s unclear whether his persona is among the “everybody.” Maybe it’s more complicated than that. It usually is with addicts, and by the third song, “West Coast,” there’s a definite sense that’s what’s happening.
“I heard from the West Coast today,” sings Harding. “It’s good to know that you’re OK/Living in a house by the bay/Even though you’re lost you know you’re way.” Here, it’s clear the persona wants the subject of the song to come home, but there’s something unsettling underneath the song. Something in the tone, conveying a sense that a return isn’t in the cards. The last time the chorus repeats, “Living in a house by the bay” becomes “living in a shelter by the bay,” which has a different connotation, and is somewhat more concerning. As the album moves on to “Dream,” a sweetness pervades the music — “I ride the bus to New York City/I sat next to someone cool” — but as much as it feels like the persona is trying to move on with their life, he confesses that he still dreams of the person who has “disappeared,” even though he “still feels that you’re alright.”
Most are ephemeral wisps of smoke, going by quickly and
The cover to “Can You Hear These Walls Did Speak,” by Torbin Harding
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CONNELL SANDERS
Halloween Outlet heir has found new ways to stoke holiday terror
Sarah Connell Sanders
Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
The heir to Halloween Outlet is not done striking fear into the heart of the Commonwealth.
“You were a kids’ entrance person?” Mark Arvanigian asked me.
“Yup,” I admitted.
“Me too,” he said, although I couldn’t tell if he was just trying to make me feel better about my aversion to horror.
Arvanigian’s masks certainly don’t look like the creations of a ‘fraidy cat. Just the opposite. The Worcester designer has a licensing agreement with Grammy Award-winning metal band Slipknot, who famously perform in jumpsuits and attention grabbing facemasks. On top of that, a few of Arvanigian’s original designs, like the UFO Alien Encounter mask, have grown in popularity to become top products of the Halloween industry. He even produces a line of novelty wine labels with spooky faux titles like, “Embalming Fluid.” Arvanigian seems like the kind of guy who doesn’t shy away from a fright.
The kids entrance Arvanigian referred to during our chat was that of his old family business, Halloween Outlet. According to Arvanigian, what began as a basic party store in 1986 became a national touchpoint for Halloween fanatics during the ‘90s. “My parents realized they could make a year’s salary by focusing on Halloween for three months versus operating a party goods store full time,” he recalled. “We rode the Halloween wave.”
I vividly remember my one and only attempt at braving the adult entrance. I burst into tears at the sight of a hyperrealistic electric chair victim and that was that. The only way my mother ever convinced me to go back was to meet Butch Patrick who played Eddie on my favorite Nick at Night show, “The Munsters.” I was relieved to find Patrick was not in fact a werewolf, but rather a friendly forty-something gentleman with nary a widow’s peak. The Arvanigians had even rigged up their own Munster Koach for the occasion.
Halloween Outlet’s legacy was built on family and joy. “My dad has always been a fun guy and he loves to do things that make people laugh and smile,” said Arvanigian. “People would visit from all over the country to see celebrity guests like paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren.”
Unlike many bygone retailers, online shopping was always a part of the Halloween Outlet’s early business models. “We were shipping over a thousand ecommerce orders per day from our warehouse so far
Mark Arvanigian’s family business, Halloween Outlet, has closed for good, but he continues to design original masks available for purchase on the popular ecommerce Halloween site, Deja Boo.
Original masks by Mark Arvanigian. PHOTOS PROVIDED BY MITCHELL GAMACHE
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