It feels like yesterday — it’s been nearly two years — when we were enjoying Lord Hobo Brewing‘s expanded taproom and swanky new patio at its home base in Woodburn, Mass. The brand continues to stay on our collective radar with a new destination in downtown Boston in March. Founded in 2015, Lord Hobo has helped popularize the New England IPA category with its great beers, cool branding, big distribution and cool locales. How has the brand fared in our COVID economy?
“Like many of our peers in the industry, we have seen a shift in volume over the last two years due to the pandemic,” explained Aubree Karls, marketing manager at Lord Hobo, via e-mail. “We have been obtaining those barrels back through on-premise revitalization and maximizing off-premise opportunities. We are incredibly proud of the team we have in place and continue to work together to grow our distribution. We have built strong relationships with our 15 wholesaler partners in the 12 states we distribute in and will continue to build upon them with plans of expanding our footprint in the years to come. Our talented new Brewmaster, Keith Gabbett, who came to us with over 15 years experience in the industry, is spearheading our innovation pipeline and recently extended our 617 brand with a crisp, golden Lager that diversifies our hop-centric core portfolio. 2022 will be a big year for us, and we’re looking forward to sharing it with everyone.”
A good place to keep tabs on Lord Hobo’s continued coolness is at its newest Seaport satellite location — which opened its doors March 17 — a fairly popular beer drinking day. It’s situated in the heart of Boston, at 2 Dry Dock Ave. The restaurant and taproom sprawl into a 3,500-sq-ft space, accommodating up to 160 patrons. As you can see from all these photos, this Seaport spot has that same refined vibe of Lord Hubo’s other locales and its brand in general. From the press release:
“We are incredibly excited to open to the Boston community,” said Daniel Cassamajor, Seaport executive general manager. “Some people might say having their grand opening on Saint Patrick’s Day in downtown Boston was a little crazy, but we couldn’t think of a better way to enter the city.”
Of course, any good brewpub operating during a never-ending pandemic must have a patio. Lord Hobo Seaport is hoping to open its alfresco operations in early April, which will expand the location to safely accommodate another 380 customers. The outdoor space will have 52 tables, so patrons can spread out and enjoy Lord Hobo eats and drinks with distance in downtown Boston. The entire space was designed by Embarc Design and built by Cafco Construction; there are some photos below of the construction. The new location, of course, faced the usual pandemic hurdles.
“We want to thank all of our partners for bringing this beauty to life. It was a long three years of planning with some unprecedented times, but it truly was worth the wait,” stated Cassamajor.
What about the booze? The draft lines consists of 16 rotating Lord Hobo beers including taproom exclusives, the core favorites and guest taps from neighboring breweries. Additionally, Lord Hobo included a craft cocktail station with specialties, such as Boss Man, which is a play on its classic Negroni and the owner’s favorite cocktail.
What about the food? The food menu has a refined twist on true New England fare that was crafted by Chef Scott McCarthy, a renowned chef known for his work from Grill 23 Bar & Grill and Post 360. His creations span from a mouth-watering, fresh-shucked Maine lobster roll to a classic chicken sandwich breaded with Freebird Golden Ale.
What about the hours? Weekday hours are 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. and weekend hours are 12 p.m. to 2 a.m., every day serving up food until 1 a.m. for the late-night crowd.
What about some more photos?
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