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Friday, March 29, 2024

Popular Ocala nightclub Raw Hyde Live calls it quits amid COVID-19 crisis

An Ocala nightspot has thrown in the towel amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

Raw Hyde Live, located at 718 S. Pine Ave., made the announcement late Friday afternoon on its Facebook page.

“It comes from a heavy & sad heart to have to say this but Raw Hyde Live will no longer be opening its doors,” the post reads. “Due to COVID-19, we had to close our doors in early March & we still don’t know when we would have the opportunity to fully operate.”

The popular nightclub, which has been at the S Pine Avenue location since October 2018, posted on March 18 that it would be closed for 30 days because of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order to shut down bars and nightclubs.

“Sorry for any inconvenience but this is out of our hands,” the post read, adding that the management contacted various officials to see if there was something they could do to stay open. “Each official has informed us we have to comply and shut our doors.”
On Friday, a little more than two hours after the Facebook post went live, 65 people have left comments and it had been shared 112 times. The post offered thanks to Raw Hyde Live customers and even left open the door for a return to business.

“We hope to potentially see you all again in the future when things are back to normal, at a new location,” it read.

The announcement definitely left some patrons stunned.

“This breaks my heart. I love this place,” wrote Laura Milam Buey.

“Now I can’t come and dance,” Lisa Clark wrote. “Praying it won’t be long. I love Rawhide.”

Will Reed, who visited the nightclub during a visit to Ocala, agreed.

“Thank you for the hospitality you showed me while I was in town,” he wrote. “Much love.”