- December 13, 2025
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A Sarasota brewing company with multiple locations is embroiled in lawsuits with two lenders claiming it owes anywhere from $600,000 to more than $4 million.
Berkeley Alternative Income Fund LLC and SouthState Bank, in separate lawsuits in Sarasota County Circuit Court, claim Big Top Brewing Company has not made payments this year on its loans.
Michael Bisaha, co-owner of Big Top Brewing Company, declined to comment for this article due to the ongoing litigation. However, Big Top has filed a counterclaim against Berkeley alleging the business was overcharged, which court filings contend “sets off any claim of default for failure to pay on the loan.” All three Big Top Brewing locations remain open amid the litigation.
Berkeley Alternative Income Fund LLC alleges Big Top Brewing Company, an affiliated LLC and its owners owe $4,036,000 in principal plus prejudgment interest. It is suing Big Top and owners Bisaha, Seth Murauskas and Josh Wilson, as well as their company Sixty Seven Fifty Ventures LLC for breach of contract and foreclosure of mortgage, among other claims.
Berkeley and Big Top signed an agreement for the more than $4 million loan on Sept. 30, 2021, according to court filings. It involves property at 3045 Fruitville Commons Blvd., which Sixty Seven Fifty Ventures LLC purchased for $1.4 million on Sept. 13, 2021, according to Sarasota County property records.
The loan was for construction of the Big Top Brewing building at Fruitville Commons, which the Business Observer previously reported spans 18,000 square feet and opened in spring 2024. (When that location opened, the owners told the Observer Media Group they knew it was a big expansion risk, with Bisaha saying he and his business partners aren't a large corporation with endless resources. "We have it all on the line here," Bisaha told Observer Media Group for a story April 3, 2024.)
In early January 2025, Berkeley sent notice to Big Top Brewing Company that it had defaulted under the terms of the loan for nonpayment as of Dec. 1, 2024, calling for the business to pay $4.27 million. That includes the principal, interest and a construction overage agreement, in addition to more than $976 a day, according to court filings.
In a counterclaim that Big Top Brewing Company’s attorney filed Sept. 15, the business alleges Berkeley has charged “an exorbitant amount of interest” on the entire loan of $4,036,000 when the business “had not drawn down on the loan anywhere near the full amount.”
The interest rate on the loan was 9%, but the counterclaim says the business was required to pay 30% interest instead.
“The loan in question was part of an SBA loan package. SBA regulations do not allow a lender to charge interest on undisbursed construction loan proceeds,” the counterclaim says, alleging Berkeley “breached its contract …by charging interest on undisbursed construction loan proceeds which caused Defendants to incur damages.”
From the first draw in November 2021 until the last draw in February 2024, Berkeley required Big Top to pay $30,400 a month plus extension fees, the counterclaim says, adding: “This resulted in an overpayment of interest in an amount exceeding $500,000.”
As a result of the overpayment, Big Top incurred damages including being forced to borrow other funds, loss of revenue since the building did not open as soon as it should have and loss of the SBA loan that would have paid off the Berkeley loan, according to the counterclaim.
Berkeley believes the counterclaim regarding the overcharging of interest is “factually incorrect,” according to the company’s attorney, Steven Hutton. In addition, Hutton, in a phone interview with the Business Observer, says Big Top released Berkeley from any counterclaims by signing four referral notes and a deferral agreement.
Big Top disagrees that it has waived its right to file counterclaims. The contract with Berkeley “should be declared unenforceable as it was procured by fraud, misrepresentation and/or economic coercion,” according to its counterclaim, which says the lender improperly administered the loan and threatened to accelerate it or sue for foreclosure if Big Top did not sign documents extending the contract.
Berkeley plans to file a motion for summary judgment in November, according to Hutton, who says that will likely result in a hearing in January 2026.
“At that point, if they haven’t sold or refinanced, which we understand they’re trying to do, we’ll very likely get a final judgment of foreclosure,” Hutton says of Big Top's Fruitville Commons property.
In a separate lawsuit, Winter Haven-based SouthState Bank claims Big Top Brewing Company owes it more than $600,000.
SouthState entered into a loan agreement with Big Top for $1,016,000 on July 5, 2018, according to court filings.
Starting in January 2024, the bank claims in court filings, Big Top failed to make its payments “as well as all subsequent payments.”
In July 2024, the bank and the brewing company entered into a forbearance agreement, under which Big Top agreed to make its payments on time. However, after the business defaulted, SouthState demanded all payments due by Dec. 12, 2024, court filings show.
As of Dec. 17, 2024, court filings contend, Big Top owes SouthState $617,913.99 in principal, $10,813.81 in accrued interest, $6,763.74 in late fees, and $11,521.24 in miscellaneous fees. That totals more than $647,000.
After a Sept. 18 motions hearing in Sarasota County Circuit Court, court records show the "matter should be resolved" by the attorneys.
Big Top Brewing Company’s attorney James Burgess says in an email: “We are working on a resolution with SouthState,” declining to comment further.
Despite the legal issues, business is continuing as usual at Big Top, which has three total locations: one at Fruitville Commons, one at 975 Cattlemen Road called Big Top Live and another at 2507 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. This past Saturday night, the Fruitville Commons location was busy at 9 p.m, with a party outside and multiple people inside and outside watching college football.
