Watch City done?

Aron posted a grisly photo on FB of a severe scalding on his leg - is being treated for 3rd degree burns. Did he get that in the brewhouse? I wonder if he is out of commission temporarily, not the brewpub?

 

Looks closed to me

http://www.opentable.com/watch-city...s-waltham?rid=139561&restref=139561&ref=10792

 

That's too bad. It wasn't really the spot that I liked in the past anymore anyhow. At least I can toss out the mini growler.

 

Just walked by. Sign says closed for repairs

 

Not a shock if they are having business issues. Always seems dead in there recently. The Gaff down the street probably picks up most of the craft beer/gastropub demographic trade, and rightfully so. The younger/party hard crowd are more likely to go to Joe Sent Me, Margaritas, or Skellig. Not to mention the vast assortment of utter shit hole dives in Waltham.

That said I'm always pulling for brewpubs and I love the Moody St vibe so I hope their renovation goes great and injects some life into the joint.

 

I really hope they aren't going out of business. I've been going there literally since the day they opened. They have been my go-to whenever looking for a place to eat/drink in my hometown. That being said, $20+ for a growler fill? That's silly. I understand there's an economics behind it, but it's not that good a beer. Haven't eaten there in a bit, but I always loved the fish and chips. They had one chef who specialized in seafood and he came up with some great dishes, in addition to the FnC.

 

Have some great memories of WC in the late 90s/early 00's when I first moved to the area & lived in Waltham. Was a mug club member & spent lots of time & $$ there. Even after my first child was born, they had a great family night on Sundays too. Remember countless days drinking hoppy (for the time) Hops Explosion IPAs & stumbling home with a Titan growler.

But really everything started to go south for that place in the mid-00's IMO. Capital improvements were ignored (those.damn.barstools!) , the kids night fell apart into glorified babysitting episodes for Weston's finest, the food was inconsistent, the beer hit & miss, air conditioning needed fixed....and those f'ing bar stools (again)!

Around '07 there was a rumor BeerWorks was going to buy the spot. In retrospect that would've been for the best. The Watch really went slowly downhill since. I'd go to Moody St & it wouldn't even cross my mind to visit. Many people I knew quit going too.

Alas, if this is indeed the end I'd rather remember my "good ol days" & wish the best for the employees that are affected.

 

The obit for Watch City may be premature. I just saw a facebook post detailing the issues going on, including the tax issue, HVAC problems, and a couple other things. The writer seemed hopeful that they will reopen sooner rather than later, but it will not happen until those issues are taken care of.
I didn't want to cut and paste the post into here, unless I get the go ahead?

 

As I understood it, Portico was using the Watch City facilities to brew their own beer. Have they moved on also?

 

I heard it's done from a reputable source. It was also mentioned Beerworks could be going in there. I hate to see brewpubs close but that place was way past its sell by date.

 

Owner says she's hoping to reopen, but there are some definite financial hurdles to overcome.
http://waltham.wickedlocal.com/article/20140702/NEWS/140708887/11436/NEWS

 

It sounds as if there's some making good beer hurdles to overcome as well.

 

Wishful thinking. Too many obstacles to overcome without a complete rehab.... brewery system w/new brewer, renovation of the location itself from top to bottom, air conditioning (really, they've needed a new system since 2000...now its a minor issue?). And tax issues just don't easily disappear....

Time to let the place go & let something else take its place.

 

From Twitter yesterday, someone snapped a photo of Watch City's assets up for auction. Final nail in the coffin for the 'Watch, sadly:

 

Here's hoping it doesn't actually turn into another beer works.

 

BeerWorks would be a huge improvement on what was passing for a brewpub in Waltham the past 7-8 years.

 

It would bring that building right up to being a mediocre brewpub with shitty food, instead of a shitty brewpub with shitty food. I agree it would be a huge improvement, but in all seriousness we don't need another Beer Works. A lot of non beer geeks think the place is amazing though so screw what I want.