Three new Sarasota, Bradenton area locations planned for craft beer bar, restaurant chain

One of the many national restaurant and bar chains based in Florida has announced plans for expansion in its home state, including multiple locations in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Craft beer bar and restaurant The Brass Tap plans to open new locations in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch and Parrish, as well as Ruskin and Wimauma in Hillsborough County. The Brass Tap is headquartered in Tampa, which is also where the closest locations to Sarasota-Manatee are currently, according to its website.

The five Brass Taps will be opened by Kimberly Button and Tim Dean. While Button said they haven't determined the new locations' exact addresses or estimated openings yet, both are locals with ties to the greater Tampa Bay area, including Sarasota-Manatee, with Button a Manatee High School graduate and current Bradenton resident.

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Dean, who attended the University of South Florida with Button, recently brought the idea to her of opening a Brass Tap location. Both of them remembered when they were kids going to Beef 'O' Brady's, another national casual restaurant chain headquartered in Tampa (and founded in nearby Brandon.) When they saw The Brass Tap was owned by the same company as Beef 'O' Brady's, they decided to go forward with it, along with expanding its reach in the greater Tampa Bay area.

“We know the area very well, and we’ve grown up here," Button said. "I think that’s why we have focused on all over the Tampa Bay area, just because it’s where we’re from.”

The Brass Tap serves a variety of casual dining staples, with the menu at its Tampa — Midtown location offering dishes including burgers, gourmet grilled cheeses, other sandwiches and wraps, chicken and seafood baskets, tacos, pizzas, chicken wings, salads, loaded fries and tots, and shareables such as steak, chicken or Korean barbecue pork nachos.

As its name suggests, The Brass Tap also features an extensive selection of beers on tap, including local craft — the same Tampa Brass Tap currently features Motorworks Brewing from Bradenton and Sun King Brewing, which has a Sarasota location, along with numerous other Tampa Bay breweries. It offers additional bottled beer options, wine and a selection of signature cocktails.

For more information on The Brass Tap, visit brasstapbeerbar.com.

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Craft beer bar restaurant The Brass Tap to open in Sarasota Bradenton