After 24 Years, Framingham Restaurant Closes; Property For Lease

FRAMINGHAM – The coronavirus pandemic has forced the permanent closure of another restaurant in Framingham.

After 24 years, John Harvard’s Brewery & Ale House has closed.

The property is for lease with the owners of Shoppers World.

The website is not operational.

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Opened in 1996, in the corner of Shoppers World, John Harvard’s served pub classics and brewed its own craft beers on site. This season it would have been selling pints of its famous Autumn Spice brew. instead, it never re-opened after the pandemic closed the state this spring.

In April, the restaurant posted “We have made the incredibly difficult decision to remain closed until May 4th. While it hurts us to do so, we believe it is in the best interests of our staff and our guests. These are surely unprecedented times, and we will weather this storm together. We appreciate all of you who have come to see us and all who have supported us, and we look forward to seeing you the moment we can open our doors again. Stay well, stay safe, and we’ll see you on the other side for a beer.”

But the restaurant & brewery never re-opened.

Today, the owners of Shoppers World are marketing the 8,500 square property for lease.

It is located between the former AC Moore site, soon to re-open as a Michaels, and Marshals in the corner of the shopping plaza.

The original John Harvard’s Brewery & Ale House in Cambridge closed in spring 2019.

John Harvard’s Brewery & Ale House opened in 1992 in Cambridge.

The beermaking in Cambridge stopped in 2016, but continued in Framingham until the pandemic hit.

in July, SOURCE reported the Boston Beer Works Chain, including its site in Framingham, was a casualty of the Coronavirus pandemic.

After 7 years in Framingham, Beer Works will not re-open its location on Caldor Road in Framingham, Source reported. The chain closed all of its establishments in March, due to the pandemic, and never re-opened them.

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“The pandemic has had a catastrophic effect on business. The restaurant industry was already facing a myriad of challenges before the pandemic, but the pandemic made it impossible to move forward in Framingham,” said Paul Sporn, the attorney for the Beer Works chain, which has locations in Boston, Salem, & Hingham.

“The company truly enjoyed serving the patrons in Framingham. We will miss Framingham,” said Sporn. “The circumstances were too difficult to overcome.” Oak Realty has the 345 Cochituate Road/Caldor Road property on the market for more than $4 million.

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