Feathered Friend Brewing Co. coming to Concord
Tucker Jadczak’s family ties to brewing trace back multiple generations — his great-grandfather, Daniel Reardon, founded the D.J. Reardon Co. in 1933 and, according to Jadczak, became the first licensed distributor of Budweiser products in Massachusetts after the repeal of Prohibition.
Reardon’s son — Jadczak’s grandfather — would later take over the reins of the family business. Visiting the warehouse as a kid growing up made a lasting impression on him.
“It was this massive building that was like a whole refrigerator, with all these kegs and beer racks and other things all stacked up, and I remember going down there with my grandfather and being like, ‘This is really cool. This is what I want to do for a living,’” said Jadczak, who grew up in Warner and now lives in Concord. “I was probably like 8 or 9 years old at the time.”
Through high school and college, Jadczak’s interests led him down other paths, from political science to the music industry, until a chance encounter in 2018 led him to pick up bartending shifts at Concord Craft Brewing Co. There he would advance to the roles of assistant brewer and marketing coordinator, also becoming friends with fellow brewer Ryan Connor along the way.
“I kind of started wearing a lot of different hats,” Jadczak said. “I found that I was really enjoying it, and I kind of just got that love back from what I saw going to the warehouse as a kid. … I loved talking to people about the beer, and taking pride in the work that we were doing.”
That passion is now coming full circle with the launch of Jadczak’s own craft brewery. Feathered Friend Brewing Co., on track to open in the former Taylor Rental space in Concord’s South End in the coming weeks, is more than a year in the making. Jadczak has recruited Connor to serve as his head brewer — Connor will oversee a seven-barrel electric brewhouse and a total of 24 taplines.
According to Jadczak, the brewery’s name stems from his love and appreciation of birds. He’s working on several unique bird-themed names for some of his beer releases.
Out of the gate, he expects Feathered Friend Brewing Co. to be pouring a red ale, a stout, a sour, and a double dry-hopped IPA with Galaxy and Citra hops called Second Sun. A lager will soon follow, and Jadczak and Connor also hope to start brewing barrel-aged beers.
Ultimately, they’ll be exploring the opportunities to distribute cans and kegs to stores and restaurants. But for the time being, Jadczak said, the plan is to pour their beers in house.
Including bartop seats, Feathered Friend Brewing Co. has an indoor capacity of about 70. An adjoining space next door to the brewery will soon be the new home of Smokeshow Barbeque Co., and while Jadczak and owner Matt Gfroerer aren’t business partners, he said both hope to find ways to make it as easy as possible to streamline access for visitors between each.
Gfroerer will nearly triple the seating capacity he currently has over on Fort Eddy Road once he moves into the new South Main Street space. His menu will include all of the same Texas-style barbecue favorites, along with a few different options and a bigger beer selection.
A covered outdoor seating area will likely be added in the rear of the building by the spring or summer months. Jadczak is also planning to offer video games, trivia nights and various other activities for the space, and said he hopes to host charitable events and initiatives.
“Concord is a really great area, and being in the South End is awesome, so whatever we can do to be part of the community, we’d like to,” he said.
Feathered Friend Brewing Co.
An opening date is expected in the coming weeks. Visit their website or follow them on social media for updates.
Where: 231 S. Main St., Concord
Hours: TBA
More info: Visit featheredfriendbrewing.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram @featheredfriendbrewing or call 715-2347.
Featured photo: Head brewer Ryan Connor (left) and owner Tucker Jadczak. Photo by Matt Ingersoll.
