Tampa’s Cigar City Brewpub closes, with plans to relocate

Cigar City Brewing Co. is a Florida favorite. I crush its deliciously canned beer every time I visit mom in the winter manatee capital of Homosassa, Fla. Cigar City Brewpub opened April 1, 2013, with the simple goal of giving Tampa both great food and great, local-brewed beer. Unfortunately, the brewpub recently closed — at least in its current location. Here’s an announcement via Facebook:

Farewell and thank you to our Northdale and Carrollwood customers. We are currently scouting new locations and plan to reappear in 2017. Check our Facebook page for updates. We will continue normal operating hours until Sunday, January 1st at 10 p.m.

We’ve reached out to Cigar City, and Brewpub partner Toni Derby had this to say via e-mail: “The brewpub was just too much square footage for our concept; we are looking for a smaller footprint to relocate the brewpub.”