The long-awaited Suffolk Punch Brewing SouthPark opens Saturday, May 13. Photo: McKenzie Rankin/Axios
Suffolk Punch, the brewery that opened in 2017 and quickly became one of the most popular hangouts in South End, will open its SouthPark location on Saturday, May, 13, at 10am.
The new indoor-outdoor facility is in the West Plaza where California Pizza Kitchen used to be, near Dick’s.
What’s happening: The SouthPark brewery-restaurant-cafe aims to be a family-friendly spot, one where parents can sip on craft beer while watching their kids play on the playground and listening to live music, said Collin Ricks, co-founder and principal of the Durban Group, the developer/owner of Suffolk Punch.
- “Come here any given Saturday at 1’clock and you’re going to see a lot of families, a lot of dogs running around. This opportunity really threads the needle for us because it’s all those things,” Seth Stidham, co-owner and Chief Operating Officer of Suffolk Punch Brewing, told Axios in 2021.
Why it matters: Opening at SouthPark is a way for Suffolk to serve a new customer base, outside its longtime South End home.
- Those behind the new Suffolk see it as an attraction for SouthPark at a time when mall operators have been increasingly looking for new ways to drum up foot traffic.
What to expect: A sprawling indoor and outdoor space of more than 11,000 square feet. It includes a cafe, taproom and coffee bar, plus a stage for live music and a children’s play area.
- Durban took over about 1,500 square feet from the mall’s dining pavilion and transformed it into an attached coffee/espresso bar serving HEX coffee.
- Roll-up garage doors open up to a beer garden/enclosed patio filled with long tables and flat-screen TVs.
- There’s also room in the main dining area that customers can reserve as a private event space.
The SouthPark location will offer an aesthetic reminiscent of the brewery’s South End location — with spacious seating, an open kitchen, and eventually, hanging plants. Photo: McKenzie Rankin/Axios
The main bar alone will seat 30 people. Photo: McKenzie Rankin/Axios
The coffee bar will be accessible through the dining pavilion. Photo: McKenzie Rankin/Axios
The food: Expect a rotating menu of small plates, handhelds and entrees slightly more elevated than Suffolk Punch South End, said executive chef Michael Rayfield. He’s created the menu with executive sous chef Vince Giancarlo (formerly of Zeppelin in South End) to include highlights like Japanese BBQ tacos, truffled hand cut fries and a burrata flatbread.
- They’ll offer breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. Brunch will begin on May 20.
- Though the menu will change every five weeks, you can expect a few classics — including the chicken sammie, nachos and SPB burger — to stick around.
- Dishes will be about $2-3 more than the South End location.
- There’ll be a dedicated kids menu and pick-up area for takeout orders and packaged beer to-go.
The drinks: Expect three separate bars with nearly 60 taps, housing Suffolk’s craft beers, seltzers and hard kombucha.
- You’ll also find Suffolk’s popular craft cocktails — including coffee cocktails — and a curated wine list.
- The new Suffolk has built a custom wash house in an effort to use stainless steel cups in its outdoor spaces. “One of the things we wanted to do here is eliminate as much plastic waste as we could,” Stidham tells Axios.
The SPB burger will be on the restaurant’s debut menu. Photo: McKenzie Rankin/Axios
Suffolk’s tuna nachos (left) and skirt steak with whipped ricotta. Photo: McKenzie Rankin/Axios
Suffolk’s classic chicken sammie. Photo: McKenzie Rankin/Axios
Zoom out: SouthPark is one of Simon Property Group’s premier shopping centers, one of the most successful in terms of sales. Still, this redevelopment is an attempt to make the mall more of a destination.
- When California Pizza Kitchen filed for bankruptcy, Simon saw the restaurant’s SouthPark space as an opportunity to refresh its tenant mix, says Laura Schwartz, Simon’s regional VP of leasing.
- “We are trying to diversify our offerings and bring in entertainment, restaurant, nontraditional uses and make this not just a shopping destination but a work, live, play, stay opportunity,” she told Axios in 2021.
The West Plaza redevelopment, Schwartz adds, is part of Simon’s larger plans to make SouthPark more walkable.
- Ultimately, Simon aims to connect the overhauled area to Symphony Park, which is being redone into a “town square” for the neighborhood, as well as the 3.2-mile walking loop that’ll connect SouthPark’s main commercial centers.
- Suffolk Punch marks the SouthPark neighborhood’s second brewery. Legion opened on Carnegie Boulevard in 2018.
Details: Suffolk Punch SouthPark will be open Monday-Thursday from 8am-10pm, Friday 8am-11pm, Saturday 10am-11pm and Sunday 10am-9pm.
Editor’s note: We first published this story in December 2021 and updated it in May 2023.
