A Neo-Goth Taproom Opens in Brighton
Widowmaker Brewing’s second location tries to keep Boston’s punk-rock spirit alive with stoner-metal vibes and an in-house restaurant by Bone and Bread.
Widowmaker Brewing in Brighton. / Courtesy photo
The Widowmaker Brewing team has been haunting a Brighton address for nearly a year, transforming 190 North Beacon St. into a second taproom for the South Shore beermaker and a permanent kitchen for food-truck favorite Bone and Bread. Cloaked in black paint with “intergalactic, spacey, stoner rock vibes,” as founder Ryan Lavery previously described the vision for the space, Widowmaker Brighton officially debuts on Friday, October 28, just in time for Halloween.
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Despite a permitting process that delayed opening months longer than anticipated in the former Brato brewpub location, the seasonal timing is eerily apt. Dark hues and moody lighting set the tone of the slick new taproom—a “goth ski lodge”-inspired space decorated with silver-framed mirrors, warmly lit wall sconces, and ephemera evoking death metal music, classic sci-fi, and the supernatural. Deb Lawson of In the Weeds Studio led the design, which also includes a cozy lounge-seating area with a faux fireplace and animal skulls.
Widowmaker Brewing in Brighton. / Courtesy photo
It’s a deliberate aesthetic effort to go against—or perhaps, work within—the tide of change in Allston-Brighton, which is transforming from a gritty neighborhood teeming with basement-rock shows and dive bars into a biotech and sports-business hub. “Hopefully we’ll still be there as a little punk-rock brewery when all that’s done,” Lavery says of the forthcoming life-sciences development going in across North Beacon Street.
Widowmaker Brewing in Brighton. / Courtesy photo
A living moss wall by Restless Spirit Floral Co. ties the new space to the original Braintree taproom, which also has an installation from the South Shore-based plant studio. (The Restless Spirit founder is Erica Partmand, wife of longtime Widowmaker employee and director of brewing operations Chris Hogan.) Framed concert posters reflect the Allston-Brighton area’s legacy and feature musical projects of brewery employees. The décor “nods to things we’ve built for the last six years” since launching Widowmaker, Lavery says, “and places we want to go in the future.”
Widowmaker Brewing in Brighton. / Courtesy photo
Keith Piesco, formerly of Trillium Brewing Company, is at the helm of the new taproom as general manager. Widowmaker fans who frequent the Braintree taproom will be familiar with Brighton kitchen operator Bone and Bread. Chef-owner John Brennan developed his business plan while bartending at the Braintree taproom and then regularly parked his food truck there. (Brennan plans to continue doing offsite events with the food truck in addition to being open regular hours in Brighton.) The menu includes Bone and Bread favorites like the brewery burger and the all-beef Korean street corn dog, along with a selection of salads and nontraditional noodle bowls, such as grilled cheese and tomato soup ramen. Customers will order food via QR codes on taproom tables. (Check out the opening food menu below.)
Widowmaker Brewing in Brighton. / Courtesy photo
The bar has 12 draft lines pouring a selection of beers brewed on-site as well as a rotating flavor of Widowmaker’s Grave Roller hard seltzer. The taproom also offers a non-alcoholic beer, as well as soft drinks.
Widowmaker Brewing in Brighton. / Courtesy photo
Widowmaker Brighton opens at noon Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday, staying open until midnight on nights that nearby music venue Roadrunner has shows. Otherwise, it closes at 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 8 p.m. Sunday. A spacious outdoor patio with a colorful new mural by artist Johnny Garlin will undergo more upgrades before being unveiled in March.
Widowmaker Brewing in Brighton. / Courtesy photo
For now, Lavery and his partners, who include cofounder and CFO Colin Foley and Kenny Semcken, are “psyched” for Boston to experience their newest taproom — and to contribute in their own ways to keep the neighborhood rock ’n’ rolling.
190 N. Beacon St., Brighton, Boston, widowmakerbrewing.com.
