Restaurants & Bars
Series Of Worcester Restaurant Closures Continues With Maddi's Cookery
The Water Street restaurant is the second in the Canal District this week to announce a closure, but follows other nearby spots.
WORCESTER, MA — Another Canal District restaurant is closing.
The owners of Maddi's Cookery & TapHouse Sunday announced that the restaurant will close this weekend after more than four years along Water Street.
"It’s with a heavy heart that due to circumstances beyond our control, we will be ceasing operations as of next weekend. It’s been a great 4-plus years, and we can thank our guest and staff enough! Our plan is to be open one final weekend, Friday, Nov. 18 and Saturday, Nov. 19. Please come join us for one last party! More details on next weekend and future plans in the coming days! Thank you for everything!" a Facebook message posted Sunday said.
The Maddi's closure follows news last week that Smokestack Urban BBQ along Green Street will close Nov. 19. Preceding Maddi's and Smokestack, Hangover Pub, Broth, Buck's Whiskey and Burger Bar and PreGamers Sports Bar and Grill — all located along Green Street — announced closures.
A new restaurant will move into the former Hangover Pub site, and the owner of Buck's has said new owners will take over in 2023.
The closures have raised questions about the economic viability of the Canal District following the opening of Polar Park in spring 2020, which added headaches for business owners whose parking spots were swallowed up by people attending baseball games.
Canal District Alliance board member Alex Martin told Spectrum1 that the closures are due to a combination of factors, including food prices and the pandemic.
"We love that the ballpark is here, but a lot of times people don't want to have to come down and go out for dinner and then pay for the parking because of the ball games," she told Spectrum1.
Maddi's opened in June 2018, operated by Adam Hicks, owner of the Depot Street Tavern in Milford. Hicks took over the former Perfect Game space in a building owned by Baystate Investment Fund, whose manager is Edward Murphy, president of 7 Hills Property Management — one of the largest property owners in the region.
