What to eat, drink, and do at The Great American Beer Hall in Medford (2024)

Restaurants

The entire space isn't done yet, but the Great American Beer Hall opened Aug. 31 to hundreds of guests.

By Katelyn Umholtz

September 6, 2024

There’s certainly a lot you can do with 17,000 square feet of space, which is why there’s a lot going on inside (and outside) The Great American Beer Hall in Medford.

On one side of the first floor, a bar with taps and bottles line an entire wall of the space. On the other side, there’s a kitchen serving up pizza and bar bites. There’s a stage for live music inside, a space for a fire pit centering the outdoor patio, and a few cornhole boards throughout the hall. And we can’t forget the two giant screens ready to display a Sunday Patriots game this fall.

And that’s just the first floor.

“We sort of view the space as a multi-purpose, jack-of-all-trades type space — like an adult playground, you could call it,” said Mark Zarthar, one of the six part owners.

His brother, Brian, is also a part owner, and they have ties to Medford, specifically Mystic Avenue, where The Great American Beer Hall is located. Their family has invested in real estate and owned businesses along the street south of Medford Square.

The Zarthars and the other owners saw an opportunity in bringing an entertainment option to this residential suburb of Boston that many younger families have flocked to in search of cheaper housing. And it’s true that nothing like it exists in Medford, particularly on the heavily industrial street of Mystic Avenue.

“I think the street… is going through a revitalization,” Brian said. “Long term, I think this is going to be so helpful for the City of Medford.”

The Great American Beer Hall opened Aug. 31 — reaching its huge capacity and nearly running out of beer despite it being a holiday weekend. The outdoor patio and first floor seating area and bars are open to guests and can seat just about 600 people.

But that’s just phase one to this opening: When the second floor and its roof deck open up, that’ll invite around 400 more guests to this mammoth space. They’re hoping to get the second floor, and a roof deck with a Boston skyline view, open in several weeks.

Even though beer is in the name, diners have more options when it comes to their libation of choice. If one of the 30 beers on tap — predominantly local craft brews like Bissell Brothers Brewing, Trillium Brewing Company, and Fox Farm Brewery — don’t interest guests, there are also domestic beers, as well as wine and seltzers. The full bar can also accommodate co*cktail orders.

There’s one restaurant on the property, called The Lantern, mostly serving up pizza. There are the classics like pepperoni, which Brian said was of course a popular choice on opening weekend. But he also wanted to bring in a kitchen team that could build a menu of food you can’t get anywhere else.

Chef Nick Dowling did just that, with pizza topped with pea puree and blue crab, or rock shrimp and french onion sauce. There’s also the lollipop chicken wings covered in a choice of sauce, and a house caesar.

But even more than what there is to eat and drink, both Brian and Mark couldn’t speak enough about the advantages of so much space.

For starters, the owners really want this to be the place people come gather during game days — and as one employee pointed out, they don’t have to go all the way into Boston and pay some $25 cover charge just to watch football with friends and beer.

It’s also family-friendly, and the patio is dog-friendly. They plan to bring even more lawn games to the space, and they have ideas for events like Oktoberfest in the works.

Oh, and one more thing: There’s parking. Maybe not enough spaces for each of the hundreds of visitors to park, but it’s more ample than anything one will find in Boston, Cambridge, or Somerville.

“There’s definitely a void in the market for entertainment in Medford, where a lot of residents in Medford would have to go to Somerville, Everett, or Boston,” Brian said. “People are excited they get to stay in Medford now.”

Hours: Noon to 11 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday; Noon to 1 a.m. Thursday to Saturday. Address: 142 Mystic Ave., Medford