A taproom that opened just over six months ago in east Ocala has temporarily closed as the owners rework their business model to keep the doors open.
The Sunny Pint has temporarily closed its location at 4901 E Silver Springs Blvd, Suite 503, within the Six Gun Plaza in Ocala.
Owners Susan Sidoti and Simone Waddell took to social media last week to provide more details about the restaurant, which Ocala-News.com first reported opening last fall.
In an eleven-minute video posted to the company’s YouTube channel, Sidoti and Waddell suggested the restaurant closed due to inconsistent sales.
“We were finding that we only had sporadic popular times and they weren’t consistent,” said Waddell. She went on to say that “trying to be open five days a week” was not “sustainable” for the business.
Sidoti echoed the sentiment, saying that the restaurant would be popular during certain sets of hours and on certain days. She cited a large decrease in sales on Saturdays, positing that it may have been weather related.
Despite developing a “very loyal core of followers,” the owners say they are struggling to figure out the best hours of operation.
They stated that they will be dialing back the number of days they are open and expressed disappointment at not being able to open back up immediately.
“We are doing everything possible to see what we can do to reopen soon, because we have definitely built up a fan-base there. And we hate disappointing you folks with not being open at the time,” said Waddell.
Waddell and Sidoti say they are reworking the hours, menu, and event offerings at the Ocala establishment in an effort to reopen in just over a month.
“We are thinking of maybe doing a shorter week and then having a beer themed event, one night each week,” said Waddell. She says the taproom is targeting early June for its reopening.
Waddell and Sidoti first opened The Sunny Pint in Wildwood in 2020.
After a successful run serving The Villages, the business owners began working on a new location in Ocala in December 2022. That location replaced MAE Brewing Company, which closed in 2022.
Waddell and Sidoti say they are open to suggestions and are hoping that kayakers and others visiting Silver Springs will consider stopping by the taproom.