Something’s brewing at Old Florida Seafood House
Under the twinkling fluorescent glow of market lights, DJs spun music and VIP drinkers tipped back their first glasses of suds during an early preview of Holy Mackerel Small Batch Beers, Wilton Manors’ first brewery.
For a taproom not scheduled to open for another two weeks, Holy Mackerel, at 1414 NE 26th St., was hopping on Thursday night. Patrons bellied up to an O-shaped island bar and marveled at the taproom’s centerpiece, a neon-bright, Everglades-themed mural that wraps around the cavernous interior of the former Old Florida Seafood House.
“I’m running crazy trying to get this brewery in shape. This is probably the fifth version of this menu,” says the frantic-looking co-owner of Holy Mackerel, Frank Barecich, pointing to a menu of Danny’s BBQ, the barbecue restaurant at the brewery.
“This place was a mess a week ago,” he says. “Chairs, metal just everywhere. Now it looks like this.”
In conversations with Barecich a week ago, he said Holy Mackerel’s 14,000-square-foot taproom was “a few weeks away” from its debut. The brewery’s Facebook page hints at a Jan. 28 opening. Records show the taproom got its food license on Dec. 4 and its temporary beer license on Dec. 26.
But during an unannounced visit on Thursday, the brewery appeared to be in “soft-opening” mode. Asked if Holy Mackerel would open to the public on Friday, Jan. 18, three waitstaff said yes.
Asked again on Thursday night, Barecich contradicted his employees. “No, no, we’re definitely not open yet,” he says. “This is just a trial, an early thing for friends and family. The kitchen isn’t ready.”
So is Holy Mackerel open or closed? Closed, if you ask Barecich. Open, if the flowing beer is any indication.
If the name Holy Mackerel sounds familiar, it’s because the brewery first opened in January 2017 in an unassuming office park on Powerline Road in Pompano Beach. Its original owner, Bobby Gordash, sold the Holy Mackerel’s brand and beer recipes 11 months ago to Barecich, who in turn revived the 13-year-old beer company.
On tap, for now, will be Holy Mackerel’s Belgian-style Speciale Golden ale; the buzzy, high-alcohol
Belgian-style Panic Attack; Cafe Cubano, a coffee-flavored version of Panic Attack; and Pink Froyd, a double dry-hopped pink hibiscus IPA.
Guest drafts from nearby South Florida breweries will round out the taproom’s offerings. Barecich has also hired a chef to program the menu at Danny’s BBQ, which will feature brisket and pulled pork, baked beans and mac n’ cheese. The restaurant should open by February, he says.
In the taproom the words “HOLY MACKEREL,” spelled out in marquee lights, are emblazoned across a faux grass wall. The rest of the taproom, which includes a corner music stage, is framed in shiny, corrugated metal panels that workers continued to drill into the walls on Thursday night.
Barecich says he and his business partners have plans to add nightly live music indoors. Also on his to-do list: Preserving the history of Old Florida Seafood House, a dining institution that served customers from 1977 until it closed five years ago in December 2014. “I want to keep displaying the original paintings and some old photographs from its heyday,” he says.
Holy Mackerel’s Facebook page says the brewery will open to the public at 5 p.m. Jan. 28. For more information, call 954-306-3458 or go to HolyMackerelBeers.com.