Grand Opening of Tullycross As John Harvard's Moves Out

John Harvard’s Brew House is moving out, and Tullycross Tavern and Microbrewery is moving in at 1487 Pleasant Valley Rd. in Manchester

To celebrate the name change, Tullycross will hold a grand opening and St. Patrick’s Day celebration this Wednesday, March 16, beginning at 6 p.m. The festivities will include Irish whiskey shot specials, $3 pints of Irish red and Irish stout, as well as Irish dinner specials and entertainment from the Holyoke Caledonian Pipe and Drum Players.

“We’re kicking off your St. Patty’s day season with our kick off as well as saying, ‘This is our official name, this is our official moniker,”’ said Frank Fermino, head brewer and manager at Harvard’s/Tullycross for the last three years. “We’re going to have bag pipes, and of course, your traditional St. Patty’s day kinds of things—Irish stout, Irish red, Irish stew.”

The tavern has remained open in recent weeks while transitioning to its new identity, which came about as a result of a change in ownership. Despite the new name and owner, Tullycross wants customers of Harvard’s to know they can still get delicious food and quality beer that is brewed on the premises.

And unlike Harvard’s—which still has locations in Rhode Island, New York and Massachusetts—Tullycross is an independent establishment. “Now we’ll be our own, independent, stand-alone brew pub—not associated with those guys anymore,” said Fermino.

The previous parent company of Harvard’s, Boston Culinary Group, recently merged with Centerplate, a Stamford-based food service company. According to Tullycross owner Sean Wansor, the Harvard’s Manchester location didn’t fit the new ownership’s “strategic plan.”

Wansor purchased the location last September. “It was a terrific location, the staff was great, the customers are loyal and I thought it was a great opportunity to jump in,” he observed.

Wansor, who lives in the New York City area, is no stranger to the restaurant business. “I’ve been involved in the restaurant/brewery sector for the past eight to 10 years in the periphery with consulting operations from a real estate, finance and strategic consulting perspective,” he explained.

The name Tullycross derives from the fact that some of Wansor’s ancestors came from a small village by the same name in the County of Galway, Ireland. In addition, Wansor’s father, who passed away a few years back, was named Tully.

“I was business partners with my father for 14 years,” explained Wansor. “It was one of our goals to have a restaurant brewery together so I’m completing that goal.”

Wansor stressed Tullycross will provide a cozy atmosphere. “We’re not fake—we’re sincere,” he explained.

Fermino stressed a “tavern” is more than just a place to eat and get your drink on. “You come to a restaurant to eat and you come to a tavern to be cozy,” said Fermino. “You can eat but you can also drink and you can socialize and it has a different feel.”

And, of course, the new name will include “microbrewery” because Tullycross will make its own beer. “It’s what brings the people in the door; it’s what keeps them coming in,” said Fermino.

Like Harvard’s, Tullycross will have the capacity to brew seven beers – but Fermino won’t have any corporate direction about what beers he needs to have on tap. “They had a couple of main brands I always had to have one – the John Harvard’s Pale Ale or something light,” explained Fermino.  “I won’t have those restrictions now, but at the same time, the pale is one of our best selling beers so I have to come up with my own pale. That’s going to be the TCT pale ale.”

There will also always be a light beer selection for those who aren’t big beer drinkers or prefer a lighter offering, said Fermino. In addition, an India Pale Ale will always be on tap. “IPAs are extremely popular so we’ll always have an IPA on,” noted Fermino. “I haven’t nailed that one IPA that I can be like, ‘Okay, that’s the one I’ll have all the time.’ But, honestly, IPA drinkers don’t want that. They’re always looking for the new great thing.”

And because the tavern has an Irish flare, there will always be some type of stout offered as well, said Fermino. “So we will always have a pale ale, light, IPA, stout—and then whatever those other three are going to be. So we will have some type of seasonal or whatever I feel like doing—a Belgian or something like that-- and maybe something to make the beer geeks happy,” he said.

As far as the food goes, the menu will experience change, though Wansor emphasized customer favorites will remain. “We don’t want to put the old establishment customers into shock by completely changing the menu,” said Wansor.

As a result, he noted that “classic items,” such as the meatloaf and pot pie, will still be on the new menu. “A good portion of the old menu will still survive with the new menu but we’ll add more items such as tavern mussels, more steak items, pasta items and more specials on a regular basis,” said Wansor.

Tullycross will also do three to four menu changes a year. “The menu will be fresh … Harvard’s menu hadn’t changed for a few years. It was a tired menu,” said Wansor. “People's tastes change.”

Fermino noted the tavern’s pizza style will also experience a facelift. “The pizza is actually going to change. We currently do like a flatbread style of pizza; from what I understand, we’re going to go to more like a New York-style pizza,” he noted.

The name change – as well as everything that comes along with it – has been gradual, and got underway last week after a “Goodbye to John Harvard’s Party” was held on Feb. 27

“We actually took all of our leftover Harvard’s merchandise—t-shirts, posters, hats—and  we had a huge raffle and we had a DJ,” said Fermino.

The new menus started rolling out right after the going away party, and employees answering the phone at the tavern/brewery this week identified the establishment as Tullycross. “It’s gradual but by March 16 it will [officially] be Tullycross. The only thing following that will be permanent signage on the building,” said Wansor.

As of this week, John Harvard’s signs still adorned the building, but that will change by Wednesday as well, Wansor said.

“March 16 we’ll be changing the road sign to Tullycross and there’ll be banners on the building. Three to five weeks later permanent signage will be put up. We first have to get approvals from the town,” explained Wansor.

On the night of the going away party, Wansor said he talked with many customers and heard many stories about what Harvard’s, which occupied the location for over 10 years, had meant to their lives. “I got to meet with a lot of the guests and couldn’t believe all of the positive stories I heard – people met their spouses there…'I worked here'... all those good stories,” he recalled.

Frequent patrons will miss Harvard’s but say they are looking forward to the Tullycross experience.  Manchester resident Mike Thompson said he's been going to John Harvard's for several years, and was sorry to see it leave.

"I loved John Harvard's," Thompson said. "It was a great place to relax with some friends. Their food was great, and they had a nice selection of high-quality beers. It was cool to have a place like that so close to home."

But, Thompson added, he was glad it was being replaced by another brew pub, and was looking forward to visiting Tullycross.

"It's nice that it's still going to be a microbrewery," he said, "and it sounds like it'll have a local flavor to it, which is also pretty cool. I'm anxious to try it and see what it's like."

Despite describing Tullycross as an “anti-chain,” Wansor said he hopes to open more locations. “I would love to do another within 30 minutes of Manchester; I would look at anything from Manchester down to New York,” said Wansor.

“It’s really about how the staff and the experience treats the customers,” added Wansor. “When we have a couple more locations those will fit that particular neighborhood [in which they are located].”

For more information about the new brew pub, please call Tullycross at 860-644-2739 or visit www.tullycrosstavern.com.