The purchase of Worcester’s oldest brewery will soon come to close.
Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers announced Friday it has agreed to buy Wormtown Brewery, with the sale expected to officially close early this summer, according to the Framingham-based brewery in a post on Facebook.
The announcement of the acquisition comes as Jack’s Abby also announced it will rename itself as Hendler Family Brewing Co., “one of the largest 100% family-owned brewing companies in the country,” the Facebook post read.
With the purchase, the Wormtown taprooms will remain in Worcester and Foxborough, “now with additional resources and support from Jack’s Abby,” according to the statement.
“We are committed to upholding the quality and consistency of Wormtown’s products and maintaining its core lineup of fan favorites, including Be Hoppy IPA, Be Smooth NEIPA Double IPA and Don’t Worry NEIPA,” the statement read.
Along with only serving all Wormtown products at Wormtown locations, Jack’s Abby said it will retain most of the “non-ownership staff and [is] “eagerly expanding our team.”
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“We’re going to be investing a whole lot of money into the taproom and the people and providing resources that weren’t available to Wormtown on its own,” Jack’s Abby CEO and co-founder Sam Hendler told the Telegram & Gazette on Thursday .
Among those who will not stay at Wormtown are President and General Manager Kimberly Golinski and CEO David Fields, who will leave their roles when the sale closes, the Telegram reported. Those in charge of the brewery’s brewing, packaging and marketing will keep their jobs, Hendler told the Telegram.
“The key is having the right people at the helm,” Hendler told the newspaper. “We’re taking the vast majority of the sales and marketing team and keeping them in place to oversee the Wormtown brand separately from the Jack’s brand.”
Special attention will be directed toward Wormtown’s Shrewsbury Street taproom, which will undergo a “significant expansion,” Hendler told the Telegram.
“Our No. 1 priority is making the Worcester taproom experience the best taproom experience in Central Massachusetts,” he told the Telegram. “The lifeblood of the brand is in those walls. And we’re looking at opportunities to make those walls a little bigger. “We want to really make that the crown jewel of the brand.”
Wormtown debuted its new taproom in February 2024, three years after announcing a new location and new leadership.
