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Phantom Gourmet: Jack's Abby In Framingham

FRAMINGHAM (CBS) -- From the outside, Jack's Abby doesn't look much like a typical restaurant--and that's because it's not.

"It's a fun space, it's a beer hall, it's not a restaurant," says Sam Hendler. "There are a lot of things we do differently than restaurants. If you're looking for a comfortable sit down meal where you're gonna get your own personal table, this isn't the place."

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The room is full of 18-ft communal tables. (WBZ-TV)

"This is gonna have that German beer hall feel," says his brother Jack.

But if you're looking for piping hot pizza, fire-roasted wings, and two dozen ultra-fresh beers on tap, this most definitely is the place--because there just aren't too many spots out there like Jack's Abby.

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Roasted chicken. (WBZ-TV)

It all began in 2011, when brothers Jack, Eric, and Sam Hendler started Jack's Abby brewery with the goal of crafting some of the country's best lagers. After just a few years, the beer became so popular that they outgrew their original facility, and decided to build this state-of-the-art brewery to handle production.

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There are two dozen beers on tap at Jack's Abby. (WBZ-TV)

And alongside the new brewery, they built a tasting room and kitchen, where customers can try a pint, eat some food, and grab a seat at one of the 18-foot-long communal tables with a full view of the beer making process.

"If you're looking out into the brewery, you're gonna see our entire operation," says Sam. "We have these giant windows where you can see everything we're doing on a daily basis. And it's going to be a really exciting experience for people to come in, they can have a meal, they can see where everything they're drinking is coming from."

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Mac and cheese at Jack's Abby. (WBZ-TV)

And while the Hendler Brothers know all about beer, they brought in Chef Gregg Bergeron to handle the food, most of which comes out of the restaurant's custom-built, copper-clad, 750-degree wood burning oven that cooks comfort food classics like roasted chicken and mac and cheese, and all of those snackable, shareable favorites like pizza and wings.

"It's interaction, it's sharing plates, it's meeting new people," says Bergeron. "And sharing an experience with beer and food that is really not like anything else around here."

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