New Night Shift Beer Garden Comes To Kendall Square

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Night Shift Brewing has finally brought one of its beloved beer gardens to Cambridge with Thursday's soft opening of the Owl's Nest at Canal District Kendall.

The Kendall Square beer garden is the result of a partnership between Night Shift and BioMed Realty, which owns multiple buildings in the area.

BioMed primarily operates life sciences buildings in the U.S. and the U.K., with 30 properties in the Boston area alone. But Laura Tower, BioMed's regional director of East Coast property management, said she's been focusing this year on building up the Cambridge community.

"A lot of people talk about the separation between these big, huge pharma, biotech companies in this area and then down the street ... it's divided," Tower told Boston Patch at the Owl's Nest opening. "So that's what we're trying to change. The city's looking at the landlords, and we want to be part of that change."

Walking around Canal District Kendall, you get a sense of its community-centered cohesiveness, even though a few areas are still under construction. Around every turn, you'll find artwork by local creators — even the massive exhaust shafts for a nearby underground garage are decorated.

Across the street from the beer garden, the ground floor of 650 East Kendall Street is home to a Community Arts Council art gallery and a dance studio, both of which rent their spaces free of charge.

"We're not about making money off ground floor retail," Tower told Boston Patch.

No food is served onsite at the Owl's Nest in an effort to keep the beer garden from directly competing with restaurants in the area. Instead, if you're hungry, you can scan the QR on each table to order online from an eatery nearby and bring it back to enjoy outside.

From Aceituna to Tatte Bakery and Cafe, before Tower knew it, every small business on the block had offered their support for the company's vision to transform the gravel pit at Kendall and Athenaeum Streets into what is now the beer garden.

But the opening of the Owl's Nest is just the beginning. By 2024, a new 300-seat theater will be ready to host performances right down the street, Tower told Boston Patch. The arts and cultural programming will be managed by 585 Arts, a non-profit launched in 2021 by BioMed and Global Arts Live centered around BIPOC leadership, experience and culture.

The Cambridge City Council unanimously approved the 10-acre rezoning plan in December 2020.

In the mean time, though, Canal District Kendall won't be without live music. Throughout the summer, garden-goers can enjoy weekly Friday night concerts from 5 to 8:30 p.m., and local residents and office workers can catch the Lunchtime Concert Series every Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 1:30 p.m.

The Owl's Nest Beer Garden at Canal District Kendall is open from 4 to 9 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, noon to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays.