Sarasota brewery pays back creditors after $7.2M building sale

Big Top Brewing Company in Sarasota, after a flurry of transaction activity the past 30 days — including the sale of its flagship building in a $7.2 million deal — has paid off multiple creditors, a co-owner and his attorney tell the Business Observer.

And, in something of an unusual twist, the well-known brewery, which draws a big crowd of various ages many weekend nights, says it will continue to fight back against a lender in civil court — even with the debts resolved. 

The transactions, in total, significantly shift the amount of control Big Top Brewing has over its property, from owning to leasing, and it also shrinks the total properties it does business in, from three to one.

But, according to both the co-owner and the Big Top attorney, the deals put the company, which had faced two lawsuits alleging it owed at least $4.6 million to two creditors, on a strong fiscal and business operations path.

Big Top, its attorney Jim Burgess says in a Nov. 20 phone interview, is "in pretty good shape and open for business." 

Co-owner Mike Bisaha, in a Nov. 18 phone interview with the Business Observer, adds that business, at the one remaining location, is going "incredibly well."

The most significant transaction is the sale of its building that's home to Big Top Brewing, at 3045 Fruitville Commons Blvd. That 18,000-square-foot building opened to big fanfare in spring 2024. 

An LLC linked to Big Top bought the 1.8-acre site for $1.4 million in 2021, Sarasota County records show. On Nov. 12, that LLC transferred ownership of the property to Store Master Funding XXXIX LLC, a Delaware company. That entity, the new owner of the Big Top property, is a real estate investment trust under the name Store Capital with an office in Arizona. 

Big Top leased the space from Store Capital for 25 years after the sale, Burgess says. "It’s a good thing," Burgess says. "They got out from under some pretty heavy debt."

 Other recent Big Top transactions include: 

• In October, Big Top shuttered Big Top Brewers Collective on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard in a move that Bisaha has said was planned to consolidate operations at Fruitville Commons.
• Earlier in November, its live music venue Big Top Live transitioned to new management and rebranded as The Parrot Live, as the landlord is selling the property in a deal expected to close in December. (Big Top had leased that property.) 

Two lawsuits

Berkeley Alternative Fund 1 LLC of Mississippi filed a lawsuit against Big Top over unpaid debt in December 2024 and Winter Haven-based SouthState Bank did so in February.

Berkeley and Big Top had signed an agreement for a more than $4 million construction loan Sept. 30, 2021 for the Fruitville Commons location, according to court filings.

Berkeley alleged Big Top had defaulted under the terms of the loan for nonpayment as of Dec. 1, 2024, and called for the business to pay $4.27 million, including $4.03 million in principal, nearly $200,000 in interest and more than $40,000 for construction overage.

Big Top filed a countersuit this fall — alleging Berkeley charged “an exorbitant amount of interest” on the entire loan of $4.03 million, when the business “had not drawn down on the loan anywhere near the full amount."

That case remains remains open, Bisaha says — partly on principle. 

"If it was determined your lender overcharged you, now nearly $1 million, would you fight back?" Bisaha asks in a statement to the Business Observer.

Earlier, in the phone interview, Bisaha says, “We want them to come to the table, and we hope we can reach a settlement,” adding Big Top is waiting for Berkeley to provide documents like ledgers that the brewery requested.

Berkeley's attorney, Steven Hutton, confirms that both his client was paid by Big Top in full and Big Top will continue to pursue its counterclaims. "The case will remain pending and I plan to file a motion for summary judgment on behalf of Berkeley to dispose of the counterclaims," Hutton says in an e-mail. 

The other lawsuit, which SouthState Bank filed regarding a debt of more than $600,000, also remains open, according to court records. The attorney for SouthState Bank says in accordance with his firm's policy, he is prohibited from commenting. 

Burgess says Big Top paid about $700,000 to resolve the SouthState claim.

One location

Bisaha, regarding the transition out of Big Top Live, says the shift in properties "wasn’t immediately planned.” But, he adds, “if a buyer is knocking at the door,” like The Parrot did, then things change. 

He calls the timing of the repayment to its lenders a coincidence in conjunction with transitioning out of Big Top Live. That deal, he says, was financially beneficial to all parties.

“It’s a smoother transition than I think anyone could ever hope for, because everyone involved is excited and wants to ensure its success," Bisaha says.

In recent weeks, Big Top has been putting the finishing touches on its brewing operation at Fruitville Commons; the collective had previously housed production in a space Bisaha said was too small for the company's needs.

“Our new production facility is expected to be finished or ramped up here in the next week or so,” Bisaha says. “We will finally have our whole family,” a team of about 100 staff members, under one roof. 

“Big Top is doing incredibly well," Bisaha says. "It’s now clearly not going anywhere.”