Sarasota's biggest new brewery, restaurant, full bar and beer garden opens today
I was thrilled to announce back in March that the Sarasota team behind a successful group of local restaurants, known for their tasty pizza, burgers, and wings, had partnered with one of the region's top breweries for a major new drinking and dining destination.
Now, the wait is almost over.
When Mike Bisaha, Seth Murauskas and Josh Wilson planned their new Big Top Brewing facility at 3045 Fruitville Commons Blvd., they reached out to Joe Seidensticker and Joe Guli, best known for their leadership of popular Sarasota and Bradenton restaurants Oak & Stone, Libby's and Circo.
Today, June 4, the public will have the opportunity to visit this massive new brewery, restaurant, full bar, and beer garden replete with lawn games, which is in the burgeoning Fruitville Commons neighborhood, situated just east of Interstate 75.
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Big Top Brewing opens new brewery, restaurant and beer garden today in Sarasota's Fruitville Commons
"We open at 4 p.m. tomorrow," Seidensticker texted me late Monday, June 3. "Dinner only this week then full open for lunch and dinner starting on Monday (June 11)."
On Tuesday morning (June 4), Big Top made the official announcement via social media.
"The moment you’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived!" reads the post. "We are thrilled to announce that Big Top Brewing Co.’s brand new location is officially open! Join us for an unforgettable evening of craft beer, delicious food, and great company.
"For now, we are open exclusively for dinner from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. To ensure everyone has a wonderful experience, we are operating by reservation only. The last reservation of the evening will be taken at 8:45 p.m."
Reservations can be made by emailing Kaylee at [email protected]. Guests are asked to provide their name, phone number, email, time, and how many people are in their group. Parties of six or more may be sat at two different tables but next to each other.
Business has been booming for more than a decade in Sarasota for Big Top Brewing
Business has been booming in Sarasota for Big Top Brewing, which debuted in 2013 at 6111 Porter Way and has built a loyal following with tasty, bestselling core beers such as Hazy Sky Wire New England IPA, Circus City IPA, and Hawaiian Lion Coconut & Coffee Porter as well as seasonal and limited beers like the IPA collaboration with Florida musician Damon Fowler and Finhead Lager, crafted to benefit Mote Marine Laboratory.
Big Top left the Porter Way facility in 2021 for the Lakewood Ranch taproom formerly known as Naughty Monk Brewery, renamed it Big Top Brewers Collective and began brewing their beer there as well as welcoming others to use what Bisaha described as a "mini brew hub." That same year, Big Top Brewing Company also took over Cock & Bull’s space at 975 Cattlemen Road as a taproom and live music venue with food trucks. Now, Big Top Brewing opens its new facility and will begin brewing its beer there "to keep up with demand," Bisaha told me in March.
Much more than just a place to brew beer, Big Top's new facility aims to be a community meeting spot. “Sarasota has never seen anything like this, and that gets us the most excited," Bisaha said. "We built and designed this place for family and friends to gather.”
Big Top Brewing features full restaurant and liquor bar
In addition to brewing and serving its beloved beers, Big Top's new facility features a restaurant, full-liquor bar and beer garden with lawn games. Seidensticker and Guli have crafted food and drink menus that should appeal to the customer base they built at Oak & Stone, Libby's and Circo without using the same recipes. "It’s really elevated brewery food," Seidensticker told me in March.
Highlights of the menu include wood-fired pizzas with hand-pulled mozzarella and other artisanal toppings, a signature burger with a brisket blend and Manchego cheese as well as a vegan option consisting of a house-made falafel patty, 24-hour house-brined wings, and tacos such as the Cubano with mojo pork and Nashville Hot with tofu.
There are also a bunch of "beer bites" such as Giant Chicken Meatballs, Bavarian pretzel, Tex-Mex egg rolls, mezze platter, and spicy tuna served on top of crispy sushi rice. There are salads, too, in addition to "kitchen specialties" such as crispy chicken breast served with pesto, pasta and Parmesan cream sauce, as well as a barbecue platter for two featuring Hazy Sky Wire-braised 48-hour ribs, and Carolina Gold BBQ pulled pork.
While most Big Top guests will want to pair their food with locally brewed beer, there are wine and cocktail options such as a margarita that the menu describes as a "balancing act between sweet and tart." Other mixed drinks include a daiquiri that is "strong and punchy, just like Ernest Hemingway," and a smoked old fashioned laced with locally sourced honey.
"For me and Joe (Guli), it's really exciting to bring the food and management aspect to this unique space that is groundbreaking for this area," Seidensticker said. "We know what we want to see at these places and this is our hometown, in our backyard, and we wanted to knock this one out of the park."
Big Top Brewing's new facility to feature massive beer garden with live music and lawn games
Big Top's new facility seats nearly 700, with 200 inside and 500 outside in the 28,000-square-foot beer garden featuring two huge oak trees. There's everything from 30 televisions to three big fire pits at Big Top, as well as live music, including local bands and dueling pianos.
For additional activities, guests can play cornhole or bocce ball, with feather bowling, a game played with wooden balls shaped like cheese wheels, an option that the owners are considering for the future.
Talking to Bisaha in March, though, he sounded most excited about the food that he will be able to pair with his acclaimed beers. In fact, he's most excited about the pizza and the meatballs.
"Those are things out of our realm of expertise, which is why we wanted to partner with Joe and Joe to put out food that represents the beer well, and beer that represents the food well," Bisaha said. "We wanted to make sure our world-class beer could be paired with exceptional food."
Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota's biggest brewery, restaurant, and beer garden opens today
