Heartbreaking news for all who love Boston’s German beer hall and restaurant Jacob Wirth. The historic Theater District building that housed the legendary beer-and-bratwurst spot—which had been set to reopen this year—was engulfed in a large fire on Monday night.
According to WCVB, the four-alarm fire started in the building at 31-37 Stuart St. near the corner of Tremont Street. Since the 1870s, it was home to the Jacob Wirth Restaurant, which was the second-oldest continuously operated restaurant in Boston when it shuttered in 2018. Boston Fire reported a heavy fire on all three floors of the building, which has been under construction for more than a year. The department shared a short video:
Heavy fire on ok 3 floors of a building under construction at 31-37 Stuart st. This is now a 4 alarm fire all companies working pic.twitter.com/iB9HqzracE
— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) June 25, 2024
Witnesses said at one point, flames were shooting about 30 feet out of the front of the building. In response to the tweet, an X (formerly Twitter) user wrote that they could “smell the fire all the way in South Boston.”
In another tweet, Boston Fire said all firefighters were ordered out of the building at 11:15pm. The Boston firefighters were battling the flames from all directions, with multiple deck guns and using the adjacent parking garage to access the blaze. At 12:23am, the department reported that the heavy fire had been knocked down. The fire commissioner said there were no injuries, but damages are estimated at $3 million.
Jacob Wirth was founded in 1868, about a decade before moving to Stuart Street. It closed after a fire in 2018 and was sold to new operators last year. The building is a city landmark, and the new owners, a restaurant group called Jacob Wirth Realty Trust, were renovating in hopes of reopening the historic German American restaurant and bar sometime in 2024. The partners include principals of Boston real estate firm City Realty Group and others. The same group has bought up classic Boston spots over the past few years, cleaned them up and reopened them, including the Tam, Sullivan’s Tap and the Fours (now known as Scores).
Last year, the group said they were excited by how many locals in the area stop in and ask if the bar will be returning soon.
When reached for comment, a representative for the Jacob Wirth Realty Trust shared a statement from Jamison LaGuardia. “We’re heartbroken over the fire that occurred late last evening. We’ve been working diligently to restore this landmark building to continue the great legacy of Jacob Wirth for future generations. We are deeply thankful to the Boston Fire Department for its fast response, and beyond grateful no one was injured.”
The original bar’s founder and namesake emigrated to Boston from a wine-growing area of Germany in the 1830s. Jacob Wirth first opened on Eliot street in 1868, and 10 years later bought the building on Stuart street and moved the bar there. He became one of the city’s best known German residents and one of the country’s largest wine importers, mostly from family vineyards in Germany. According to the Boston Globe, he was also “the first man to engage extensively in bottling beer for family use.”
As one of Boston’s—and the country’s—oldest eating and drinking establishments in its original location, the possible loss of the Jacob Wirth building is devastating both for the city’s history, and those who just loved the restaurant.