World of Beer to open pubs in Bradenton and downtown Sarasota

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World of Beer on Tourist Center Drive. (Herald-Tribune archive / 2009 / Dan Wagner)

World of Beer on Tourist Center Drive. (Herald-Tribune archive / 2009 / Dan Wagner)

World of Beer is making major expansions in Sarasota and Manatee counties. The craft beer pub chain -- founded in Tampa with more than 60 locations across the country -- will build bars at 497 Cortez Road W. in Bradenton and a yet-to-be-revealed site on Main Street in downtown Sarasota, according to managing partner Dean Lambert.

The Bradenton WOB will be the chain's first stand-alone building, Lambert said, and will be their largest at about 6,000 square feet, or almost twice the size of a typical World of Beer. Both it and the Sarasota location will have full kitchens, offering tavern fare like giant German pretzels and paninis. But these won't be restaurants, he said. Think of them as World of Beer with food, not a restaurant that serves craft beer. Customers will still be able to order food delivered like at other WOBs, he said.

Lambert hopes the Bradenton World of Beer will open with more than 50 taps and 500 bottles of beer in late October or early November. The Sarasota site, which will be a similar size, will probably open in late summer, he said. They will open starting at lunchtime every day, he said.

It sounds like these will be the biggest beer bars in the area, both in terms of size and beer menu.

In addition to the new pubs, World of Beer is expanding its existing site at 8217 Tourist Center Drive, Lambert said. They are taking over the store next door and knocking down walls to add more seating and a small kitchen, he said. More parking is also in the works. Their goal is to be finished before the Mall at University Town Center opens across University Parkway in October.

The addition of kitchens follows a move by out-of-state WOBs, he said. Some states won't allow businesses to serve beer and wine unless they also serve food, he said. The tavern food has proved popular, so they are adding kitchens to some existing pubs and including them in new ones.

This furthers the explosive local growth of the craft beer industry. Four breweries have opened in Sarasota and Manatee since November, existing bars are adding taps and new craft beer places are opening. I asked Lambert if the market is getting too crowded. He said it's not, calling the growth a "win-win for everybody."

"The more destinations, the better," Lambert said. He said craft beer appeals to a different demographic than traditional bars and nightclubs, and that the growth is attracting beer fans from elsewhere.

"There's plenty of room for all of us," he said.

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Alan Shaw

Alan Shaw has been a fan of craft beer since the 1990s. He is partial to hops and has been an editor at the Herald-Tribune since 1997. He can be reached at (941) 361-4914, by email or mail at 1741 Main St., Sarasota, FL 34236. Follow him at @alancshaw on Twitter and on Facebook.
Last modified: May 27, 2014
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