One of the best restaurants in Sarasota's University Town Center permanently closed

One of my favorite restaurants in the University Town Center area of Sarasota has permanently closed after less than a year in business.

Fat Point Brewing, founded in Charlotte County, opened a taproom and restaurant at 257 N. Cattlemen Road #90, in University Town Center, in the former space of BurgerFi, in July 2023. I enjoyed multiple visits and included Fat Point on my list of the 10 best restaurants in the UTC area, which ran in November.

Unfortunately, it won't be a fun and relaxing option during this upcoming Christmas shopping season, or during the long, hot summer months that must come first. Fat Point Brewing has announced the closure of its UTC location.

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Fat Point Brewing's Sarasota taproom, restaurant permanently closed

The first Sarasota-Manatee location for the brewery from Punta Gorda, which means "Fat Point" in Spanish, and a popular spot among UTC area craft beer connoisseurs, Fat Point Brewing made the announcement earlier this month.

"Unfortunately we have closed the UTC location," reads the Fat Point Brewing social media post. "We would like to thank everyone who came to show support for the brewery, and UTC for the opportunity."

In the same post, Fat Point noted that "you will of course still be able to purchase our beer in stores near you in the meantime as we have not stopped brewing."

Fat Point Brewing served tasty beer and quality pub grub

Fat Point's core beers include popular pours such as my personal favorite, Big Boca, a 5.1% alcohol-by-volume ale with nice hints of spice and citrus. In addition to being a great destination for beers from Fat Point and guest breweries, the UTC taproom served liquor and was an excellent place to watch sports or listen to live music, which I observed being hosted on the covered outside patio during weekends.

More importantly, at least as far as I was concerned, Fat Point served good pub grub. In particular, I was impressed by the Umami Burger ($18.95 with fries), featuring a juicy hunk of meat enhanced by mushrooms, Swiss cheese, caramelized onions, and a tangy "umami sauce." The chicken tenders, served with an array of sauces and fries ($16.95), were also uncommonly good and paired nicely with my pint of Big Boca ale.

Fat Point Brewing blames the closing on "a series of mishaps with build-out, and other things" and wrote on social media that they "have decided it is best to move on from this location and search for the new future home of Fat Point Brewing."

Founded about a decade ago and now billed as Charlotte County's first craft brewery, Fat Point was acquired by the Clearwater-based Big Storm Brewing Co. in 2017. Here's to hoping we have not seen the last of Fat Point Brewing. As far as pairing a tasty beer with quality pub grub in the UTC area, there are still lots of outstanding options, including the nearby Ford's Garage, Yard House, and Rusty Bucket.

Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: One of the best restaurants in Sarasota's UTC area permanently closed