Big Top Moves Into Former Cock & Bull Space During Expansion

SARASOTA, FL — Changes are afoot at Big Top Brewing Company as it temporarily moves into its new digs — the former Cock & Bull space at 975 Cattlemen Road in Sarasota.

The brewery’s lease is up at its current location, where it’s been located for seven years, at the end of August, James Bixby, marketing manager, said.

While waiting for its new 24,000-square-foot brewery to be built off Fruitville Road, it makes sense for Big Top to call the former Cock & Bull home.

“Going into Cock & Bull, that was once the No. 8 craft beer bar in the nation,” Bixby said. “That’s kind of our goal, to really bring it back to where it was, where people remember it still.”

The space will serve as a temporary taproom for Big Top, but Bixby said the brewery will likely keep the space open after the new facility opens.

Cock & Bull “was iconic for live music,” he added. Big Top hosts live music at its current location and plans to expand on this programming once it moves into its new temporary space.

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“We’re going to expand the music presence and have a bigger stage and a bigger venue for people,” he said.

Though there’s a full kitchen at Cock & Bull, the owners aren’t certain whether the brewery will serve food or invite food trucks to set up at the venue Bixby said,

And while waiting for the new brewery, Big Top will brew out of its new Lakewood Ranch facility, he added.

These changes are in line with the significant growth Big Top has seen since launching.

“We opened up seven years ago as one of the first breweries in Sarasota,” Bixby said. “Since then, a lot more has come to the area, and it’s really exploded throughout Florida. Big Top has always been on the forefront of hat growth. We’re one of the biggest local breweries because of how widely our distribution goes throughout the state in Publix and other stores.”

With its current facility, Big Top has met its maximum of how much it can produce in the state, he said. “And that’s just not enough and that spurred us to look elsewhere.”