Railers and Off the Rails LLC Announce New Restaurant and Live Music Venue in Worcester, MA

Off the Rails to further define downtown Worcester as an entertainment destination.

Executive Chef Rick Araujo

Executive Chef Rick Araujo sits on the two-person stage in the dining room of Off the Rails at 90 Commercial St. in Worcester, MA. Araujo will offer southern influenced cuisine to compliment the live music. (Photo by Michael Ivins/Off the Rails)

July 23, 2021

Off the Rails LLC recently announced the name of a new restaurant and live-music venue being developed at 90 Commercial Street at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Commercial Street: Off the Rails. The restaurant opened on Saturday, July 17th featuring a performance by country singer, songwriter, recording artist, and Massachusetts native, Timmy Brown.

Off the Rails is a one-of-a-kind restaurant, music hall, and beer garden that offers southern influenced cuisine and intimate access to local and nationally acclaimed musical performers. “The music broadly revolves around the genre of country,” said Off the Rails Managing Partner, Chris Besaw. “It is influenced by genres including rock, pop, bluegrass, folk and Americana.” Patrons of the restaurant will be treated to live music seven days a week from a two-person stage visible from outdoor seating accommodations along Commercial Street. “Our goal is to bring a little Nashville to Worcester,” said Besaw.

For larger shows, Off the Rails boasts two options. The music hall will play host to concerts and events accommodating up to 500 patrons, while a beer garden will further enhance outdoor concert space along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The beer garden will run jointly with the Worcester Palladium and will accommodate up to 10,000 patrons. “Our big-picture goal is to further define the downtown corridor as an entertainment destination,” said Off the Rails and Worcester HC owner, Cliff Rucker. “We want to capitalize on a unique opportunity to attract visitors into the market and, ultimately, have a positive economic and cultural impact on the city of Worcester.”

The restaurant is led by Executive Chef Rick Araujo. Araujo, recently of Civic Food and Drink in Westborough, won the coveted “Golden Cleaver” Award at Chopped! / Worcester 2019. He brings a farm-to-table mentality that he hopes to share with customers. “Patrons appreciate knowing the origins of the food on their plate,” said Araujo. “Our goal is to highlight local products and find exciting ways to pair them with ingredients from around the country and world.” To complement the food, the establishment will include 20 tap lines and heavily feature local craft brews.

Construction activities on the music venue began mid-June. The project is targeted for completion by December 2021. The restaurant is currently open 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and open for lunch and dinner beginning at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.