Two Saints Tavern closing after 10 years in Fenway

Local News

“The system is broken, but it’s not their fault,” the bar’s managing partner said.

The doors of Two Saints Tavern will close for good this weekend after nearly a decade in operation in Fenway, the bar said. 

“The younger generations are drinking less. They’re socializing less. Everybody can afford a 75 inch TV in the dorm room now, they don’t need to go out and go to a social hangout to watch the football game, and things are getting more expensive,” Chuck Hitchcock, the managing partner of the bar, told Boston.com.

The Gainsborough Street business is a beacon for students from nearby Northeastern University, with a Northeastern flag hanging in the back alongside numerous Dropkick Murphys posters.

The bar’s location has been standing since the 1980s and was originally named Our House East, affectionately dubbed OHE. The name and ownership changed to Two Saints Tavern after Hitchcock and his partners bought the business in 2017. 

The bar is a partnership with multiple owners including Dropkick Murphys lead singer Ken Casey. 

The dive bar makes efficient use of the space that they are given, with a dancing space, a DJ booth, dart boards, and a karaoke station. Proof of its many customers lies on its signature-covered walls.

Still, the partners began discussions of selling the bar in July 2025, and made the decision to close on March 9. 

Rising insurance costs behind bar’s closure

The closure is due to rising insurance costs, Hitchcock said.

“The liability insurance structure in this state and many others is broken. Our insurance carrier was canceling us, and it’s getting out of business as a whole,” he said.

Liquor liability insurance protects businesses from being financially responsible for alcohol based accidents, like injuries or deaths, the managing partner said. 

Last year, Berkshire Hathaway Guard — the tavern’s insurance since 2021 —  notified Hitchcock that they would stop insuring any company that makes more than 30 percent of their sales from alcohol, he said. Two Saints Tavern makes 85 percent of their money from liquor sales, according to Hitchcock.

In the last year, Two Saints Tavern paid around $18,000 for their liquor liability insurance. 

“I was getting quotes in the $75,000 to the $82,000 range,” Hitchcock said. According to the managing partner, the quoted price would be around 6.5 percent of his sales.

However, Hitchcock doesn’t blame the insurance companies for the rising prices.

“The system is broken, but it’s not their fault,” he said. 

Hitchcock does not plan on reopening Two Saints Tavern or another bar in the Boston area. He wants to assess the market first.

The bar’s closure might upset some patrons due to its familiarity and history, but for Hitchcock, it’s more than that. 

“It was my first establishment that I was an owner in, and it was challenging,” Hitchcock said. “It’s my baby.”