Resurgence Brewing Co. has opened its south Fort Myers restaurant and brewpub, a project more than three years in the making.
The brewery is at 6160 Exchange Lane, off Six Mile Cypress Parkway, just southwest of Hammond Stadium, the spring training home of the Minnesota Twins.
The original Resurgence opened in 2014 in Buffalo, New York, where owner and founder Jeff Ware sought to take part in the city’s growing craft beer scene while renovating historic warehouse buildings.
The Resurgence Brewing Co. brewpub at 6160 Exchange Lane in south Fort Myers marks the Buffalo-based brewery’s first location outside New York. The company held a soft opening March 6.
David Dorsey
The new location still needs about a month before it can host a grand opening. A soft launch took place March 6 shortly after receiving its certificate of occupancy. The company expects to begin brewing beer on-site in the coming weeks while staff training continues. The operation currently employs about 60 people.
In the meantime, Resurgence is trucking its beer from Buffalo. The restaurant is offering about 25% of its eventual menu during the soft opening, including chicken wings.
Resurgence is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
Andrew Zach, chief operating officer of Resurgence Brewing Co., stands inside the company’s new south Fort Myers brewpub and production facility. The brewery plans to begin brewing beer on-site in the coming weeks following its soft opening.
David Dorsey
“We knew our wings had to be great down here,” said Andrew Zach, chief operating officer for Resurgence. “We spent a lot of time with our team explaining how to make them, why to make them and what makes them stand out from other wings out there.”
The initial menu includes items such as jumbo pretzels with mustard, Barley Brussels, Brussels sprouts with sweet chili glaze, and several other appetizers priced around $13.
Ten wings cost $17, and four chicken tenders cost $14. Additional burgers and sandwiches are planned and expected to be priced around $16.
The new brewery stems from Ware’s desire to establish a second location. Because his parents have spent part of the year in Southwest Florida for about 25 years, south Fort Myers felt like a natural fit.
Resurgence Brewing Co. opened its new restaurant and brewpub at 6160 Exchange Lane in south Fort Myers following a soft launch in early March. The brewery expects to begin producing beer on-site soon.
David Dorsey
6 Mile LLC, a company that includes Ware as a part owner, purchased nearly 8 acres in south Fort Myers. Central Rock Gym, an indoor rock-climbing business located next door, partnered on the lease with Resurgence Brewing. Seagate Development Group managed construction.
“It’s kind of like a second home to us,” Ware said of the area. “We had been talking about putting a brewery down here. We had a hunch. We did research and decided we were on point. It’s a great beer scene down here.”
That scene includes Fort Myers Brewing Co., Millennial Brewing Co., Coastal Dayz Brewery and Point Ybel Brewing Co., among others in Lee County.
Ware noted there are about 60 breweries in the greater Buffalo area, which has a population of roughly 900,000. Lee County has a similar population but far fewer breweries.
Ware and his business partners concluded there was room for Resurgence to grow in the Southwest Florida market.
“As we all know, the craft beer industry is really contracting,” Zach said. Ware and his colleagues, however, felt comfortable bucking that trend given the company’s popularity in Buffalo and a less saturated brewing market locally.
“Our opening is all hands-on deck,” Zach said. “We’re making sure everything is progressing daily. We’ve been planning for weeks. So far, we’ve had strong support from the community. We’ve had quite a lot of people who have reached out to us over the past couple of years, wondering when we were going to open.”
Resurgence maintains strict quality standards, Zach said, including periodic visits from professional beer tasters who sample the brewery’s assortment of beers.
The brewery offers five flagship beers, along with seasonal selections.
“Our flagship beer here is our Citmo,” Zach said. “It’s our original hazy IPA. It’s made with Citra and Mosaic hops, hence the name Citmo, mosaic, and mash them together.
“If you’re down here, and you want a hazy beer, you go Citmo!’”
A flight of beers at Resurgence Brewing Co.’s new south Fort Myers brewpub includes selections such as its flagship Citmo hazy IPA along with other craft styles brewed by the Buffalo-based company.
David Dorsey
Resurgence also produces ciders and vodka-based drinks. It serves wine and has a full liquor bar. The brewery does not carry bottled beers from other brands. Instead, it offers Bridge Pilsner for customers who might normally order mass-produced domestic beers.
“It’s a bridge between your mass-produced domestics and your craft beer,” Zach said. “It crosses that threshold. It’s our spin on a mass domestic.”
The brewery features an open-concept design that allows customers to watch brewmasters make beer on-site.
Large-screen televisions are installed throughout the space, and the owners plan to make the venue a gathering spot for sports fans during events, such as March Madness and the NFL season.
“We want people to smell the hops and smell the malt and see what we are doing,” Zach said. “Beer is meant to be fun, and beer is meant to be social. People are looking to have a good time. Our goal is to have something you like.”