Odd By Worcester Brewery Opens In Growing Midtown Mall

WORCESTER, MA — The downtown Midtown Mall in Worcester added a new tenant this week when the 1990s-themed brewery Odd By Worcester officially opened Thursday.

The brewery — the first in downtown proper — joins a growing group of eclectic businesses inside the renovated mall, which has been coming back to life since Felico Lana bought it in 2019. The mall is home to businesses including Woo Juice, Doho Cafe & Doughnut Bar, the Que Rico clothing store and The Clock Beer & Wine store.

Odd By Worcester owner Jay Grey cut the ribbon on the brewery Thursday with help from Mayor Joseph Petty, state Sen. Michael Moore, District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson and City Manager Eric Batista.

Odd By Worcester is Grey's second brewery: he also operates Odd By Nature Brewing in York, Maine. Odd By Worcester is the second standalone brewery to open in the city since Courthouse Brew Co. opened over the summer along Brussels Street.

The Worcester brewery is decorated with plenty of 1990s nostalgia, including a Blockbuster Video-style sign, and paintings of pop culture icons like Mia Wallace from "Pulp Fiction," an early car phone and the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. The brewery has an array of nine beers ranging from New England IPAs and sours to the lager Parking Tickets brewed especially for Worcester.

(The 1990s theme, perhaps unintentionally, recalls a brewery that opened in downtown Worcester in 1996. When Main Street Brewing Company opened in March of that year, it became the first brewpub in all of Worcester County. Today, more than a dozen breweries can be found from Westborough to Hardwick.)

Odd By Worcester is open Thursday to Monday, noon to 10 p.m. and is located at 22 Front St.