Artifact Cider Project will close its Cambridge spot

The Station in Central Square will close May 31.

The Station from Artifact Cider Project. Photo courtesy of Artifact Cider Project

May 25, 2023

A craft cider taproom dedicated to using local apples to make “authentic, eclectic, and forward-looking” drinks will be shutting down its location in Cambridge.

Artifact Cider Project announced on Instagram Thursday that The Station in Central Square will hold its final day of service on May 31.

Co-founder Soham Bhatt told Boston.com that the COVID-19 pandemic led to the decision. “Even though things were on the up and up… it just became untenable, from a financial point of view, after two years of the pandemic,” Bhatt said.

According to their post, “timing was not in [their] favor,” as construction for the spot was completed at the start of the pandemic in spring 2020, and opened several months later in October 2020.

“We did everything we could,” the post reads. “The team valiantly negotiated ever-changing regulations, social distancing, indoor/outdoor, their own health, an unprecedented population shift out of the neighborhood, and a total reevaluation of how we drink, connect, and entertain ourselves. Our world changed, and while things have built back into a new normal, our project on [Massachusetts] Ave. is heartbreaking collateral damage.”

Artifact still has a taproom in Florence and will continue to distribute and make cider, so that their beverages can be purchased in local shops and bars.

The business uses “thoughtful sourcing and the creative application of Northeast apples,” to make unique ciders, according to their website. Some of their drinks include the “Long Way Back,” which is crisp and aromatic, made 100% from McIntosh apples, and the “Feels Like Home,” which is both fruity and unfiltered, aged on rum-soaked oak. The Station is a 3,000-square-foot taproom with a 32 foot bar, featuring food from Mimi’s Chuka Diner. Last fall, we spoke with Artifact’s director of hospitality, Megan MacLean, who shared what makes the cider special.

“[T]hey really have pursued this vision of honoring the apples and the terroir where the apples come from,” MacLean said.

Bhatt said he hopes that customers will fondly remember the times they had at The Station.

“It’s a tough decision to make,” Bhatt said. “It’s emotionally very difficult. We tried to do the best by our staff and let them know what was going on as early as possible, trying to make the last few days be positive, hoping people have a good memory of the cider they were able to have.”