World of Beer closes in downtown Sarasota

Within four months, the east end of downtown Sarasota has lost three large restaurants, as World of Beer on Main Street has shuttered its doors.

According to a sign posted in the front door of the craft beer-centric concept, the location has “officially closed.” The move comes two months after the Sarasota City Commission approved a new liquor license allowing the location to forgo rules of an SRX license mandating 51% of revenue from food sales.

“If it ain’t broke, leave it,” Commissioner Suzanne Atwell said at the time. “They’ve had quite a good reputation.”

Ker’s WingHouse and Sol’s NYC Deli both closed in spaces within a block from World of Beer in December, with the latter opening in a new location in Gulf Gate this year.

The closure is the latest difficulty SRQBeer USK LLC, the franchisee, has been experiencing with the corporation. The parent company revoked the group’s franchising agreement earlier this year, but it continued to operate with World of Beer branding.

Today, a judge heard a motion to withdraw from the case filed by Michael E. Schuchat — SRQBeer’s attorney — due to irreconcilable differences with the defendant, in a case filed by World of Beer Franchising Inc. accusing the local operators of violating a franchise agreement in its rebranding of its University Parkway location.

“Unfortunately, the franchise group in this market failed to execute to our brand standards and were consistently undercapitalized for successful operations,” said World of Beer President and CEO Paul Avery in an emailed statement.

Developer Mark Kauffman, who owns the building, said SRQBeer co-owners Dean Lambert and Mark Broderick have received interest from other franchises, but remains unsure of the future of the restaurant. The tentative plans include operating a similar businesses under the same lease.

“That’s what we hope to do,” Kauffman said. “He may be bought out, I don’t know. We don’t know what’s going to happen."