It has been an up-and-down last few years for A-Brew’s Tap & Grill. Owners Sonia and Jim Abreu have considered selling the restaurant/bar several times but haven’t been able to pull the trigger on a deal.
But things are looking up for A-Brew’s as we usher in 2025.
A-Brew’s is Sonia’s baby. She and Jim opened the establishment at Bridgewood Plaza, 1794 Bridge Street, Suite 1A, nearly a decade ago after TW’s Pub closed. They added a stage for local bands to play, and they added outdoor patio seating -- all centered around a classic-car theme. They also own the unit next door at Suite 2A after a Chinese restaurant closed, as well as Suites 1B and 2B upstairs.
Like other food-service businesses, A-Brew’s was hit hard by Covid, and Sonia found it hard to keep good chefs and front-of-house managers.
She and Jim decided to throw in the towel last spring and put the space on the market.
But then Adam Jump and Kyle Altman walked in with a plan.
“They saw this place was for sale, and they proposed an idea,” Sonia said.
The idea was for Adam, a popular local chef, and Kyle, who has been working in the restaurant business his entire professional career, to take over A-Brew’s operations while Sonia continued to be the face of the restaurant.
A-Brew’s Tap & Grill is Dracut Economic Development’s Business of the week for January 2025, which is appropriate because a new year brings a new lease on life for A-Brew’s.
The proposal by Adam and Kyle appealed to Sonia because the day-to-day running of the business was starting to raise her stress levels to the point that selling A-Brew’s seemed the only viable option.
“I’m still going to be present but I’ll phase out,” Sonia said, adding, “I might actually get to bartend.”
Both Adam and Kyle cut their culinary teeth working for the Andover-based Burton’s Grill group, which owns restaurants in eight states along the East Coast, including in Westford, Burlington and Nashua. They also have worked for 110 Grill, which has 40 locations across New England and New York.
The duo actually approached the Abreus over a year ago with their idea, but Adam had just started his own business, JumpTown’s Test Kitchen, out of Nabnasset Lake Country Club in Westford, where he is the executive chef. Once that was up and running, though, he decided it was time to revisit the A-Brew’s idea.
“The wheels started spinning,” Adam said. “I’m looking to grow as a business because I am extremely confident about what I can do as a chef.”
He and Kyle decided to up their game – and A-Brew’s game.
The one thing they promised Sonia – and the one thing A-Brew’s has lacked for the last few years – is the consistency of the food.
“Consistency is the thing that can make or break a business,” Adam said.
“It’s the hardest thing to achieve and the only way to measure success,” Kyle added.
“If any customer of A-Brew’s had a problem with the consistency in the past,” Adam said, “they won’t anymore.”
“We’ve got some unique things coming,” Kyle said. “Just because you’re consistent doesn’t mean you’re boring.”
A-Brew’s was attractive to Adam and Kyle because of the customer base it has built up and because it has all the ingredients to bring it back to its former self, including the patio seating, the stage for local talent, a space downstairs for private events, and a space where people can get takeout without having to enter a busy bar. That’s what the former Chinese restaurant will become.
“All the Uber Eats and those guys can use it for their pickup spot so they’re not having to bother a busy bartender,” Adam said.
“Third-party delivery apps are going to be key,” Kyle added.
Adam is looking to beef up the offerings at A-Brew’s – literally. He’ll introduce his North Shore Beef Sandwich on Thursday nights starting in January. It’s what roast-beef aficionados call a three-way – a heaping stack of roast beef with BBQ sauce, mayonnaise and a slice of cheese. He is confident it will be “one of the best beefs in the area.”
“My philosophy is always going to be to keep the quality high and do whatever you’ve got to do to be the best of the best,” he said.
Another item to look forward to is Adam’s smashburger. He says there are a lot of people who think they’re making smashburgers who aren’t doing it correctly.
“It, legit, should be really thin, really crispy and overhang the bun,” he said. “A lot of people think they know, but they’re not doing it right.”
Bottom line: Keep your eyes open – and your stomach empty – for the North Shore Beef and the smashburger at A-Brew’s.
Meanwhile, Adam and Kyle are looking to continue the classic-car motif at A-Brew’s, an aesthetic that Sonia, a lover of classic cars herself, has worked hard to foster. License plates adorn the interior, many donated by regular customers, and A-Brew’s hosts a popular classic-car night on Tuesdays in the good weather.
It’s something that jumped out at Kyle – who was raised in Detroit before realizing the Boston area was the place to be for jobs in the food industry – the first time he stepped into A-Brew’s.
In Michigan, he said, it’s not uncommon to walk into a car-themed bar, but it wasn’t what he was expecting in Dracut.
“I was born in the Motor City, and I haven’t felt as at home as I do here in a long time,” he said.
“The license plates tell a story,” Adam said.
“One thing I like about A-Brew’s,” he added, “is that it’s everyday, blue-collar workers, teachers, plumbers -- it’s everything community encompasses. You can tell this is where they feel comfortable. We have the same passion, love and compassion for our customers. Those are principles we share.”
Another part of A-Brew’s that Adam and Kyle love and hope to grow is live music. Local bands grace the stage fairly regularly on weekend nights, and A-Brew’s often hosts fundraisers featuring local musical acts. On most Saturdays, from 1-5 p.m., the stage at A-Brew’s is taken over by the Riverside Blues Band.
Adam sees a golden opportunity to enhance the experience.
“Barbecue is something I’m bringing in,” he said. “A half rack of ribs or pulled pork. Blues on Saturday -- this place should be filled. But what’s the blues without barbecue? It’s just music.”
Adam and Kyle also have plans for the underutilized space downstairs. Think tailgating at a football game, only in your living room.
“We can use the room downstairs for catering and private events, or we can have food for you to pick up and bring home,” Adam said. “You can pick up a sausage, pepper and onion tray or a baked ziti and bring it home to the boys for the football game.”
In the end, the goal of all involved is to bring A-Brew’s back to its heyday, and that’s going to take consistency in the food prep and making customers feel as though it’s their home away from home.
Though they’ve been hinting at changes to come on social media, January 10 is the day when it will all come together.
“The launch of the redux is January 10,” Kyle said. “There will be little treats and peeks behind the curtain in the meantime. We want to get feedback from the community. The local community will let us know.”
And for Sonia, she’s happy that finally someone else will be in charge. The middle-of-the-night phone calls have gotten old, and though she and Jim have tried to sell the business in the past, she has a hard time letting go even though owning the business can cause sleep deprivation.
“We’ll be set to walk away on our terms,” Sonia said. “The stress, anxiety and pressure – they’re all gone. We’ve got two guys under 40 who are hungry and want to make this work. If they have confidence in me, I have confidence in them.”
For more information on A-Brew’s Tap & Grill, call 978-458-0555, email info@abrews.com, or visit www.abrews.com.
CAPTIONS:
1: From left, Kyle Altman, Sonia Abreu and Adam Jump. (DRACUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PHOTO)
ALL FOOD PHOTOS COURTESY A-BREW’S TAP & GRILL