A new speak easy will take the name of the old Anti-Monopoly Drug Store that was originally founded in Ocala over 130 years ago.
Anti-Monopoly Drug Store Speak Easy is hoping to open the doors on its new location, above The Lodge Craft Pub & Eatery, as early as next month. After announcing preliminary plans in December and taking over the building from its previous occupants, Moy Media, the new business has been moving at a blistering pace.
“There’s many great things to come,” said Bryan Caracciolo, through a video posted in conjunction with Ocala Main Street and Angie Lester of Boyd Real Estate on Dec. 4, 2019.
Modeled after the bygone prohibition speakeasies of the 1920’s, Anti-Monopoly will borrow its decor and setting to give the feel of a business operating 100 years ago. According to the company’s Facebook page, the Anti-Monopoly Drug Store was a “staple of Downtown Ocala” for almost 90 years.
Over the past few weeks, the company has released a few sneak peek photos previewing the interior of the speak easy, including a collection of historic photos of the city’s downtown over the past 100 years.
The speak easy joins an ever-growing list of restaurants and businesses that have opened their doors in downtown Ocala in the past 12 months.
In October, Bank Street Patio Bar opened the doors on its new location, which has been well-trafficked by residents ever since. That same month, The Black Sheep on Broadway celebrated its grand opening in the location formerly occupied by Fox Den Tavern. Late last year, The Tipsy Skipper and Mellow Mushroom also both announced plans to open locations along Magnolia Avenue later this year.