Midtown Station, a repurposed city fire station on the south side of Tuscawilla Park at 235 NE Watula Ave., is slated to have a soft opening in August.
The family friendly food/beverage/dessert/live entertainment venue, which can accommodate 300 guests, will open early seven days a week and remain open until 10 or 11 p.m. nightly, according to the developers.
The venue offers the only waterfront view dining in central Ocala, since it overlooks the pond at Tuscawilla Park.
The complex's anchor will be Infinite Ale Works, which will have a centerpiece bar and “beer tower” (a dual-sided 24-tap dispenser.) Also at Midtown Station:
+ Big Lee’s Barbecue, featuring food from Food Network Master of ‘ Cue Rashad Jones
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+ Sipping Grounds Downtown, with designer coffee, breakfast foods and pastries
+ Spagato, a unique European-inspired (Spagato.com) sundae dessert of spaghetti-style gelato topped with whipped cream and sundae fixings like Reese’s peanut butter
+ La Pinsa, serving traditional pizza and salads
+ Chicken Spit, serving vertical rotisserie chicken with a mix of Mediterranean, Mexican and Indian inspired flavors.
Midtown Station will have an open-air dining patio facing the pond. The east section of the building will house the actual brewery operation.
Live entertainment is planned for Fridays and Saturdays and Sunday brunches.
Development dreams in Midtown Ocala
Development by selected businesses to convert catalyst sites like former Ocala Fire Rescue Station 1 into operations that foster a “thriving center” for arts, retail and dining in the area just north of downtown is part of the city’s 2017 Midtown Master Plan, according to information provided by City of Ocala Public Information Officer Gregory Davis.
The former OFR station, a 1.08-acre property with a 12,000-square-foot main building area, was built in 1975. It was deeded to Brewery In Midtown, with Tom McDonald as registered agent, in April 2022, according to state and county records.
The parcel, valued at $360,000, was donated to Brewery In Midtown for $1 as one of the incentives, and additional incentives include city provided infrastructure and incentive payments of $100,000 at completion and $25,000 annually for five years, according to a city document.
Three of five original catalyst sites with incentives to the developers remain open. The site known as Lot Five, located at Northeast First Street and Magnolia Avenue, is out for bid, Davis indicated.
Infinite Ale Works is owned and operated by Tom and Kirstin McDonald. The brewery is currently located at 304 S. Magnolia Ave. According to infinitealeworks.com, the brewery was established in 2014. The McDonalds state the award winning large scale brewery brews at least 31,000 gallons annually.
The McDonalds are spearheading the Midtown Station project and have not yet said if they will continue their operation on South Magnolia Avenue after Midtown Station opens.
The McDonalds made the magnolia wood and concrete bar countertop in Midtown Station, which can accommodate 40 patrons and surrounds the unique industrial look “beer tower” designed by Tom McDonald.
The beer tower has 24 taps on each side to dispense the brewery’s signature style brews.
Goodbye, fire station
The Midtown Station project has been an 18-month total revamp of the former fire station's interior.
A city repair and renovate permit was issued Jan. 22, 2023 with an expiration date of July 31, 2024. Brewery In Midtown LLC is listed as the owner and Owen Home LLC as contractor.
Steve Craig with Owens Construction recently installed wooden doors on “barn door”-type tracks in the building. He said redoing the roughly 50-year-old structure has been a “fun project.”
One original bay door from the fire station was retained.
On a recent day, Robbin Cruikshank was designing and decorating the space for her Sipping Grounds Downtown coffee shop. Family members helped with setting up her space on the west side of the building.
Cruikshank now operates her coffee business as a vendor in the Downtown Farmers Market. She plans to bring her “sausage bomb” breakfast sandwiches, signature coffees, espresso and lattes like the “Bye, Bye Grace,” a blend of caramel, vanilla and non-alcoholic bourbon.
Pastries available include lavender iced Danish.
Cruikshank was recently going over furniture including comfortable seats and a couch.
“(The McDonalds) are creative and hardworking…we share the same vibes,” she said.
Michael Benedict, of Daytona Beach, owner of the Spagato, La Pinsa and Chicken Spit operations, currently runs restaurants from Saint Augustine to Melbourne. He said he's excited about Midtown Station becoming a food and entertainment destination.
Benedict plans to be fully up and running by Labor Day.
“Tom and Kristin have done an amazing job; I’m proud to be part of it and can’t wait to open,” Benedict said by phone.
Brian Stoothoff, a retired assistant chief with Ocala Fire Rescue, stated in a text that the preservation of community history is wonderful and the location overlooking Tuscawilla Park is gorgeous.
“I’m eager to have a meal at the new venue. The visit will be nostalgic for me, as I spent the majority of my firefighting career working out of Station 1,” he stated.
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