Located at 64 Water St. in Worcester, Maddi’s Cookery + TapHouse is a new hotspot serving up delicious food made from scratch with fresh ingredients sourced from local farms.

“We make creative pub food and really have put thought into all of it,” owner Adam Hicks said. “Everything is made in house as much as possible, including our sauces, dressings, and we cut our own meats and fish, etc.”

Having opened in June, Hicks and his team have already seen support from the community. “Everything is going really well. We’ve received a positive reception so far from a lot of people in the area. Everyone is welcoming, and we already have some repeat guests,” he said.

Although, that’s no surprise since this isn’t Hicks’s first rodeo – the restaurant business is all he’s known and loved. “This is the only thing I’ve ever done since the age of 14,” he said. “I started from the bottom doing dishes to where I am now.” At 14, Hicks attended Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School in Upton as a culinary student, then went on to earn a degree in culinary arts from Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island. After college, Hicks worked as an executive chef for Sodexo for nine years. In 2014, he opened the Depot Street Tavern in Milford.

Hicks knew he wanted to open another restaurant after his years of experience and the success of Depot Street Tavern. He soon set his sights on Worcester.

“I like the area down here in the Canal Distract – the family-run businesses, the young entrepreneurship, nightlife, etc., and I wanted to be part of that,” he said. “It’s a little bit bigger in this area, more people and a different vibe than Milford, which is what I like about it.”

When you walk into Maddi’s Cookery + TapHouse, you are immediately welcomed with a cool industrial and rustic feel

“There’s a lot of brick, a concrete bartop, an old phone booth, an industrial cage that holds walk-in for our beer cooler, hardwood floors, granite, industrial signs, etc.” Hicks said. “It’s funky and fun industrial salvage. All of our lighting is old and repurposed, and we have handmade tables that are all different.”

What about the food? Beyond daily specials that change on the menu, Maddi’s Cookery + TapHouse offers a variety of menu items. Starters include Buffalo Chicken Balls, Street Corn, wings, Tuna Crudo and the very popular Coconut Crispy Shrimp and Stick E. Bacon, which is applewood smoked bacon with sriracha and brown sugar! Starters range from $8-$12.

Salads include a Classic, Spinach & Berry, Beet & Basil and Kale & Quinoa. All range from $8-$10. As for handhelds, those include a Bacon Jam Burger, a Pretzel Pastrami, Twisted Cuban, Shrimp Tacos, Black Bean Falafel Burger and Banh Mi Bao Buns. All range from $11-$15.

Don’t forget the entrees! Those include Fried Chicken & Waffle, Pork Chop, Pretzel Salmon, Scallops & Spuds, a ribeye and rice bowls. All entrees range from $14-$26.

In addition to the delicious food, Maddi’s Cookery + TapHouse has a full bar with a rotating draft list of 20 different draft beers that change multiple times per day! Get ’em while they’re cold!

Even though Hicks and his team have already seen success with Maddi’s Cookery + TapHouse’s, they aren’t done yet. “We plan to run events in a private room that we have, introduce a late-night menu and introduce brunch in the coming months,” he said.

Rachel Shuster