Worcester Beer Garden To Close Amid Coronavirus Surge

WORCESTER, MA — A popular Worcester beer and music respite amid the coronavirus health crisis this summer and fall will close on Nov. 1 due to rising numbers in the city and region.

The Grid Hospitality Group, which operates the Worcester Beer Garden & Pavilion along with the Franklin Street Fare, said it will close until sometime in 2021 to "keep our staff and community safe" as Worcester remains a high-risk city for community spread, according to state metrics.

"The Beer Garden will be shutting down on Nov. 1 until sometime next year," a Grid spokesman told Patch. "There is no firm date to reopen."

"We cannot ignore the reality of spiking COVID numbers. We want to keep our staff and our community safe," Grid Director of Operations Gary Benacquista said in a statement. "We are
seeing the same math as everyone else, and it does not make economic sense to remain open until the situation improves."

The beer garden is a combination of indoor and outdoor space that has hosted music, while offering draft beer and food, in recent months. With state guidelines against singing indoors, many venues that booked outdoor performers over the past four months are facing a question of what, if any, entertainment they can provide as it gets colder, and whether it is worth it to stay open as crowds move inside and coronavirus rates rise.

A message on the Beer Garden's Facebook page on Thursday announced performances for the final two weekends of October — including Beer Garden mainstays Amanda Cote and Mike Melendez — with the qualifier: "The last one of these posts for a while. Come enjoy the last two weeks of acoustic performances at The Beer Garden."

Worcester added 191 new coronavirus cases over the past week, which is the most in a single week dating back to the end of May. At this point in the pandemic, nearly 7,000 city residents have contracted the virus, and nearly 300 have died.

Worcester's big swing came on the same day the state Department of Public Health released its weekly report on coronavirus infections in communities across the state. There are now 77 cities and towns — including Worcester — on the high-risk list, a rise of 14 compared to last week.

Related Patch Content: Worcester Adds 191 New Coronavirus Cases, Biggest Swing Since May

MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus Stats: High-Risk List Keeps Growing