Business

Bantam Cider, a local favorite, closes after 10 years

"We accomplished what we set out to do, and more, and we’re now excited to explore a new chapter."

Bantam Cider's Rojo, Wunderkind, and Americain. (Bantam Cider)

June 7, 2021

2 minutes to read

It’s a sad night for cider fans: local favorite Bantam Cider is closing after 10 years.

Bantam founders Michelle da Silva and Dana Masterpolo shared the news in a June 7 Facebook post. While they said the pandemic has had an impact and “added new challenges to the mix,” they noted a few reasons for their decision to close up shop.

“Our little idea which grew into Bantam Cider was based on the principle that we would make the best cider using the highest quality ingredients, and processes,” they wrote. “We’ve always stayed true to this and it’s always served us well. But as we look into the future, and having recently evaluated various scenarios, we understand now more than ever before, that we would ultimately need to make some compromises to continue to grow.”

From left, Dana Masterpolo and Michelle da Silva are the founding partners of the locally produced Bantam Cider. – Brian Feulner for the Boston Globe

Bantam’s first big hit, Wunderkind, was born in 2012, in a small space on Dane Street in Somerville. Bantam’s cozy Somerville taproom opened in 2014, and production has expanded since. Bantam was producing over a dozen ciders and distributing to over 1,500 accounts across 5 states.

Da Silva and Masterpolo said they’d have to rethink ingredients and processes to reduce production costs which, while it might work, just isn’t something they’re willing to do.

“We believe it’s the kind of compromise that would kill what we’ve always considered the ethos of Bantam,” they wrote. “And faced with this as an inevitable predicament, we’ve decided to retire Bantam Cider as it is today, something we’re proud of. So, it’s out of respect for the path we’ve taken and all of the great people along the way who have made Bantam what it is, that we are choosing to hang our hats, heads held high, grateful for all of the support we’ve been given along the way, and the amazing ride it’s been.”

Da Silva and Masterpolo noted that the final case product will be available in retail stores for a few more months until it’s no longer available.

“And then, as mysteriously as we appeared in the market nearly ten years ago, we will mysteriously be gone,” they wrote. “We make this decision with great satisfaction knowing that for ten years we’ve had a memorable journey… We accomplished what we set out to do, and more, and we’re now excited to explore a new chapter.”