Acton Grand Re-Opening!

As many of you know, our Acton Table & Tap restaurant closed on March 20, 2023 for some much-needed renovations. First, we are installing a brand new septic (hey, it’s not glamorous, but it is important and a VERY big project!). We are also completely renovating our kitchen with a larger hood and all brand new equipment. While we are at it, we are installing all new flooring, painting the walls and trim, and revamping the bar. Phew! So there is a lot going on and we are very excited to share it with you. Which leads us to…

Our grand RE-opening is scheduled for April 3! We have a BRAND NEW menu to go with our updated venue. WE will also have our world famous (ok maybe not the world, but definitely central Massachusetts famous!) homemade root beer on tap for the first time in Acton. This amazing non-alcoholic concoction is made with pure local maple syrup and local wildflower honey. We will also have our brand new hard seltzer on tap!

So there are lots and lots of changes, but one thing won’t change: the same warm, friendly, inviting Rapscallion service and hospitality you have come to know and love. So be sure to pop down and visit us for dinner and a drink or just a beer or two to see the new digs and to welcome in the next era of Rapscallion Table & Tap!

 

Easter in Acton

Acton will be open Easter Sunday for brunch and dinner, 10am-9pm. Reservations recommended!

In addition to the specials below, we will also be serving our full menu, see here.

Brunch Menu

Corned Beef and Eggs | 18
Corned beef has with fried eggs and English muffin

Raps French Toast | 16
Topped with berries with cream syrup on the side

Easter Quiche | 24
Lobster, goat cheese, and chive quiche served with side of ham

Dinner Special

Spiral Ham Dinner | 26
Choice of fingerling potato or Yukon gold mashed potato, tricolored baby carrots, and broccolini

Our full menu will also be available, see here

Bloody Mary Bar

House bloody mix with choice of spirit: Prairie vodka, Prairie gin, Cabritos tequila | 14

Classic and not-so-classic additions:
Celery, olives, lemon and lime, and extra spicy on us

Add-ons:
Thick cut bacon | 2
Shrimp | 4
Vinegar peppers | 1
Bleu cheese stuffed olives | 2
Hard-boiled Easter egg | 3

Bellinis and Mimosas

Classic orange mimosa | 14

Bellini | 14
Choose peach, passion fruit, raspberry, or blueberry

Cocktail Specials

Hollow Bunny (only not disappointing) | 14
Iced Coffee, Vanilla Infused Vodka, Chocolate liqueur, Fresh whipped cream, fresh grated cinnamon and chocolate.

Hop Into It | 14
Mezcal, Aperol, Campari, Orange and Blood Orange

Root Beer Float | 8
Made with Raps homemade root beer
Add vanilla vodka | 8

Hunt is over | 14
Bourbon, fernet branca, chartreuse, crème de cacao, cream

Rapscallion’s Parachute Tables Have a Rich History

Painting of a parachute factory during World War II

Originally manufactured by US factories including Wrights Mill in West Warren, MA, parachute tables were constructed of solid steel and wood specifically for sewing parachutes during World War II, a job typically held by women. Understanding that the parachutes they manufactured would eventually save the lives of the men they loved, female parachute workers worked with extremes of both gravity for the task at hand and pride for their contribution to the war effort. Parachute women were well-respected and appreciated by enlisted people as well as the general public.

The women who sewed and manufactured parachutes maintained a bit of celebrity during WWII

To manufacture the parachutes, sewing machines were bolted through holes in the tabletop, while the smooth, steel surface prevented tears or pulls in the parachute’s silk material, allowing it to be easily and safely manipulated during construction.

Shown are the same type of tables now at Rapscallion being used for parachute manufacture during WWII

Today, these parachute tables are used at our Acton and Sturbridge venues, although the bolt holes have been covered and the original surfaces etched with the Rapscallion R. Otherwise, they are intact. We are proud that these historically significant tables are a permanent part of our decor.

 

Fun History: Harvard Brewery’s Prohibition Seizure

Harvard Brewing Company in the early 1900s

In 1893, Consumers’ Brewing Company set up shop in Lowell, Massachusetts. In 1898, the decision was made to change the name to Harvard Brewing Company, and this newly branded business successfully expanded its product line, production capabilities, and market reach over the next two decades.

Harvard Brewing Company circa 1900

Prohibition went into effect in 1920 and the brewery’s plans to succeed by selling colas, ginger ale, and near-beer (<0.5% alcohol beer) weren’t working. With failure looming, Harvard executives added the beer back into their near-beer . Profits came back, and so did federal agents, culminating in August of 1925 when a truck filled with 100 barrels of illegal Harvard beer was hijacked in Lowell. As the hijackers were transferring the kegs to their cars, their movements were noticed by the neighborhood. And everyone wanted some of that!

Lowell Sun newspaper front page on August 19, 1925

As reported by the Lowell Courier-Citizen, “As soon as it became known in the locality what was going on, hundreds appeared and surrounded the truck. They all clamored for a chance to secure a barrel of the beer. Men came to blows and bedlam reigned. Besides the men involved, it is known that several women even procured barrels and rolled them along the sidewalks or in the streets to homes thereabouts.”

Due to the ruckus, police showed up to the scene and the mob scattered in all directions. When the liquor squad inspected the back of the truck, they discovered only two dozen kegs still remaining. Tracing the truck to Harvard Brewing, the police called in federal agents from Boston.

In the meantime, police picked one of the hijacker’s cars and chased it almost into neighboring Chelmsford before it crashed in a ditch. Its occupants leapt out and escaped on foot, leaving their precious cargo of two kegs of Harvard beer behind. The car had been stolen that morning by the rum-runners, who were not caught.

Harvard Brewing Company flag icon now incorporated into Rapscallion’s Harvard Lager can

Knowing agents were coming, brewery workers scrambled to ditch the beer, going so far as to dump barrels into the River Meadow Brook, which still runs along the Lowell Connector today. Arriving agents were initially refused entrance to the Brewery for lack of a search warrant. However, upon hearing workers smashing barrels inside, the officers forced the door open and five inches of beer cascaded out over the steps and onto the agents struggling to climb into the building — a veritable river of beer. The workers escaped. Nearly 500 barrels of beer didn’t. The agents had hit the motherload.

The raid was the largest in New England’s prohibition history with over 100,000
gallons of full strength brew confiscated by the government.

Circa 1916 advertisement for Harvard’s Green Label Export Beer, the 1898 recipe that is now Rapscallion’s Harvard Lager

Mug Members Win 2nd Place in Parade of Lights

Our Spencer Mug Club Members took it upon themselves to enter a Rapscallion float into the Spencer Parade of Lights. Spearheaded by Creative Director Chris Lindquist, the team of Mug Members created a “Christmas Vacation” themed float complete with camper, green-tinted smoke machine for Randy Quaid’s famous Cousin Eddie scene, and recliner for Uncle Lewis. Their talents and efforts won them Second Place overall (out of over 100 entries!).

The crew gathered at Raps Spencer after the parade and packed the house. Special thanks and shout out to our Raps family for making such an amazing creation.

Acton Welcomes New Sous Chef

We are thrilled to welcome new Sous Chef Kali Bettencourt to the Raps Acton team. Chef Kali brings extensive culinary experience to Rapscallion. Starting her cooking experience as a line cook at Burton’s Grill, she was quickly promoted to Sous Chef due to her skill and dedication. After Burton’s, she served as Sous Chef at Orzo Trattoria in North Andover and Kitchen Manager at the Chateau Restaurant, where she honed her managerial skills. Immediately prior to joining Rapscallion, she served as Executive Chef at The Friendly Toast in Danvers. She received her degree in Applied Science at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Boston.

Come Join Our Team!

We are hiring hiring hiring!

ACTON: Front of House and Back of House

We are looking for enthusiastic FOH servers/bartenders to provide an excellent guest eating and drinking experience, with ability to create classic and innovative drinks exceeding customers’ needs and expectations. Compensation includes base server rate and tips. We are also seeking line cooks either part-time or full-time to assist in our busy kitchen. Ability to work weekends a must.

STURBRIDGE: Bartenders, Servers, Food Runners

We are looking for enthusiastic bartenders, servers, and food runners to mix and serve cocktails and beer, deliver food to guests, bus tables and clean, and assist bar staff. Ability to work weekends a must.

SPENCER: Taproom Bartenders

We are looking for enthusiastic taproom bartenders to provide an excellent guest experience by serving our hand-brewed beer and other selections. This is not a cocktail position, no experience necessary — we will train! Compensation includes base server rate and tips. Ability to work weekends a must.

To apply, please email hello@visitrapscallion.com, or stop into our Acton, Sturbridge, or Spencer locations. We look forward to meeting you!

 

Honey Ale Brew Biscuits for Doggos!

Rapscallion is a proud partner of Brew Biscuits, a local micro-business that works with local breweries to up-cycle spent grains into dog biscuits. Brew Biscuits are made with simple ingredients: peanut butter, eggs, flour, and the spent grains from one of our flagship beers, Honey Ale. Born out of a love of dogs, beer, and baking, these dog-tested and lab-approved treats are lovingly hand-baked in a fully licensed residential kitchen out of Holden, MA. They are 100% safe for dogs and tested by an external lab — and that is a laboratory, not Labrador, although they approve, too!

Learn more at www.brew-biscuits.com, and don’t forget to tag them and us on social media in a picture of your pup enjoying a treat. Available at any Raps location. Thank you for shopping local!

Acton Parking Update — We Still Need You!

Thank you so much to our valued patrons and friends for your unprecedented support for our parking situation in Acton. We wanted to provide you with an update, as so many of you have kindly asked for one. If you have not seen or signed the petition, you may do so here.

This week, we are applying to the Zoning Board to grant us a variance to allow us to use the existing gravel lot for additional parking spaces. Once they have processed the application (within 65 days), they will notify us of a time and date for a public hearing, which we will then share with you all. This hearing will be online via Zoom, so will be more convenient to attend. We would very much appreciate your support at this hearing if you are so inclined!

We will also be sending out this information via our monthly newsletter, so if you don’t want to miss it, feel free to sign up for our e-newsletter here – and don’t worry, we aren’t spammy – we only email once per month.

Again, thank you so much for your incredible support. We are so grateful to you all!

Local Shout Out: AccesSport America

Rapscallion is proud to name AccesSportAmerica as the charity beneficiary of our inaugural Running Into Summer 5K held in Acton, MA on May 22, 2022. Raps fully supports the mission and work of AccesSportAmerica and is looking forward to this incredible event.

The mission of AccesSportAmerica is to inspire higher function and fitness for children and adults living with challenges and disabilities through high-challenge sports and training.

Innovative and effective, AccesSport’s year-round sports and training programs are designed to promote each person’s highest physical and athletic potential while cultivating cognitive, social, and emotional well-being.

AccesSport seeks to:

  • Adapt sports that the most agile athletes find challenging.
  • Foster a positive change in attitude, esteem, and expectation for a life lived with disability.
  • Build a community of relationships that lasts a lifetime — a community where differences are diminished, blurred, and often erased.
  • Strengthen endurance and decision-making skills while building confidence and self-assurance.
  • Expand opportunities by modeling the process of seeking and achieving hard-to-reach accomplishments.
  • Experience a sense of unparalleled accomplishment through mastery of balance, coordination, and fear.
  • Improve health and fitness, reducing the prevalence of obesity and associated health-related conditions and costs.

Learn more about AccesSportAmerica on their website at goaccess.org.