Shovel Town Beer Garden Gets Green Light In Foxborough

FOXBOROUGH, MA — A popular craft brewery will open a beer garden in Foxborough this spring, and if all goes well, it could be around for summer and the beginning of fall too.

The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday unanimously approved a trial run for Shovel Town Brewery, of Easton, to run the beer garden at a vacant lot behind the Chestnut Green Plaza. The beer garden will consist of a 20-foot by 30-foot tent with 28 picnic tables, on-site parking for 58 vehicles and food service available either from nearby restaurants, food trucks or a temporary food stand.

The trial run consist of a 30-day pouring license beginning May 27 and going into the beginning of July. During the trial, Shovel Town will be open from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays, from noon to 10 p.m., Saturdays and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

If all goes well, the board can extend the beer garden for two more 30-day licenses this season and run until the end of October. Board members said they prefer this wait-and-see approach because the town has never done something like this before, and neighbors have criticized the beer garden over concerns of noise and potential safety issues.

Police Chief Michael Grace said he's confident there won't be any safety issues with parking and said Shovel Town has no alcohol-related infractions at its Easton location.

"I don't have a concern with cars coming in and out of that lot," Grace said. "The town has multiple options to ensure the scene is safe."

Brewery co-owner Frank Alteri said he's grateful the selectmen supported the proposal, but he wanted assurances the town officials will be open to extending the license after the trial run.

"This isn't profitable in 30 days," Alteri said. It doesn’t even come close. "We'll be lucky to get profitability in 60 days."

Though the board wouldn't commit past the first 30 days, board members said only major problems would force the denial of a future license.

"As long as everything is going good, we've never pulled a license from anyone," Selectman Chris Mitchell said.