No fans in the seats of Fenway Park at this summer’s Red Sox games means fewer, if any, customers at the adjacent businesses that live off of the nation’s pastime each summer.
To try to make up the difference, they’re getting creative.
The Lion’s Group announced last week they were opening a new pop-up restaurant on Lansdowne Street called ‘Under the Green Monster.’ Working with the City, Vice President of Operations Ryan Jones said they plan to put up large LED TVs so people can see the game from the new restaurant and it will become a pedestrian zone similar to what exists now in the North End.
Under the Green Monster has 90 seats in a patio setting with Sam Adams as a partner with a beer truck. The hours will be on gamedays and weekends from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Jones said they are trying to do something to get people as close to the game as possible to enjoy a little bit of summer baseball, even if they can’t have the traditional fan experience.
“It’s the first major professional sport to start, so we’re excited about that,” he said. “As a business, it’s huge for us. We’re continuing to work with the City about what we can do for radio and other solutions too…For Lansdowne Street, it’s critical. Our bars and restaurants totally depend on Fenway events, Red Sox games and tourists. That’s not going on this year. You have to think out of the box…This is the closest you’ll get to going inside the Park this year.”
He said salvaging something of the summer at Under the Monster, the existing Bullpen Bar (which is the only place on can actually see the live game through a window) and the Lansdowne Pub and Rita’s Last Call down the street are essential. They were closed down March 16, and that meant they lost St. Patrick’s Day, March Madness business and the opening of baseball season.
“The timing couldn’t be worse for us,” he said.
Nearby, The House of Blues has created The Deck on Lansdowne out of what was the top floor of a parking garage. With the Green Monster in the background, tables and picnic benches have been set up socially distant to allow people to enjoy a game as close to the game as possible.