Faces Brewing Co.
Restaurant · Malden ·
Brewpub serving craft beers, brunch, dinner, and gastropub fare
Brewpub serving craft beers, brunch, dinner, and gastropub fare
"Opened in June 2020 at 50 Pleasant St. in Malden, this spacious brewpub occupies a historic former bank (reportedly the site of the United States’ first armed bank robbery) and was launched by the Martignetti brothers with childhood friend and brewer Eddie Ducharme; executive chef Ezra Gold oversees a beer-friendly menu. The team pivoted early in the pandemic to to-go canned beer sales—offering Progression, a New England IPA, among other New England IPAs, a Mexican lager, a kettle stout, and more—and built an outdoor beer garden in anticipation of outdoor seating before adding limited indoor dining under COVID-19 restrictions. Menu highlights include a fried fish sandwich, grilled cheese, pretzels with beer cheese, pizza, fried dough bites, and a weekend brunch featuring shakshuka, chicken and waffles, and avocado toast, plus cocktails like coffee mudslides and a watermelon rosé sangria. Drawing on the family’s longtime ties to the region’s nightlife and beverage business (including Martignetti Liquors and the now-defunct Lanes and Games), the owners emphasize flexibility—adjusting hours, offerings, and staffing as needed—and rely on social media and can/merch sales to build awareness amid reduced commuting and limited word-of-mouth. Despite challenges around marketing, changed customer routines, and the difficulty of fostering hospitality in a distanced, masked environment, the brewpub has developed regulars, seen improving evening traffic with the return of sports, and reports strong customer compliance with safety rules." - Rachel Leah Blumenthal
"Opening as a spacious outdoor beer garden on June 10 at 50 Pleasant St., the Faces brewpub debuts with beers on draft (including a mango blackberry kettle sour, New England IPAs, and a blonde stout with coffee) and a beer-friendly food menu—hearty salads, flatbreads, pretzels with beer cheese and mustard, fried chicken sandwiches, bacon cheeseburgers, mini doughnuts—while the interior (inside an old bank with repurposed vaults) will open later." - Rachel Leah Blumenthal
"On the verge of opening in Malden, I learned Faces Brewing will function as a brewpub serving the local area." - Rachel Leah Blumenthal
"For craft beer and gastropub grub Malden is getting a roomy brewpub. Faces, which has ties to the now-defunct Lanes and Games (its closure will always be devastating), will open in April, serving its own beer — which will be brewed onsite and will include IPAs, stouts, sours, and more — as well as wine, liquor, and beer from other producers. The brewpub will also serve American-style gastropub fare. Faces is the brainchild of Bob Martignetti, his three brothers, and childhood friend Eddie Ducharme, who will serve as head brewer. The brewpub is named after a Cambridge nightclub the Martignettis’ father and uncles operated from the 1970s until 1990. The new Faces is situated inside an old bank, which was the site of the first armed bank robbery in the history of the United States. In a kitschy but fun move, the bank vaults will serve as private dining rooms. Mid-April 2020" - Terrence Doyle
"A large Malden brewpub project from the Martignetti family that will brew onsite and operate as a full kitchen gastropub with a wide range of beer styles, private dining in restored bank vaults, and seating for roughly 300, rooted in local family brewing and hospitality history." - Terrence Doyle