Sick of the hotdogs at Fenway? Check out the Yard House!

Yard House, which features 180 beer taps, makes itself at home near Fenway

Tired of the ballpark hotdogs and peanuts? This season, Boston Red Sox fans have a new dining option — one with 150 menu items, 180 tap handles, and seating for 500. The Yard House, a goliath beer-selling restaurant chain based in California, has landed a spot in the backyard of historic Fenway Park.
The Yard House’s Brookline Avenue location, which opened in March, is the newest of the chain’s 35 mega-restaurants around the country. In addition to Sox fans, it aims to attract college students, business professionals and families, with food, drink and entertainment. The restaurant is filled with flat-screen televisions, tables and booths, and an open patio with views of Fenway Park.
“Really, it’s the environment,” said Jane Hannah, the Yard House manager. “We’re all about your experience — everything about the music, energy and vibe.”
The restaurant has a large staff — 12 to 18 managers on a typical weekend night, rather than the usual two or three of a smaller eatery.
“I have worked at a few other restaurants before, and we have a lot more managers than I’m used to,” said Travis Eilerson, a server at the Yard House. “If you’ve been here on a Friday or Saturday night, it’s packed and crazy, so it’s really necessary.”
Hannah has been with the Yard House company for six years and has opened three other locations, prior to Fenway—in Miami, Hawaii and Dedham, Ma.. A native of Milton, she said she was excited to be able to open a restaurant close to home.
Fenway “is a phenomenal location,” she said. “Most of our locations are in malls, so for us having the opportunity to open something [here], that’s great, especially in the Boston community. That’s one thing we love — to be a part of the community.” The restaurant does fundraising for a number of charities, she said.
According to Hannah, the beer menu is a big draw. With 180 tap handles, the Yard House boasts one of the largest selections of beer on tap in the country.
Even though the Red Sox opened the season with an away game, “our restaurant was full of people” that day, she said.
Alison Karr had dined with her family at Yard House restaurants in Florida before coming to the Fenway location. She said the new restaurant — the biggest one she has been to — was a welcome addition to Boston.
“We’ve liked everything we’ve had — and I know my husband likes the beer selection,” she said.
By Daniella Iervolino, Globe Correspondent, Re-posted from Boston.com
Tags: 100th Anniversary, beer, Boston, Fenway, Fenway Park, Red Sox, restaurants, sports, The Yard House,