Resurgence Brewing Co. and Central Rock Gym celebrated the impending groundbreaking on their 25,000-square-foot facility that should be open by the end of next summer.
Seagate Development Group will manage construction, which should begin by the end of October, said Doug Hrabik, senior project manager.
“We’re excited to get it off the ground,” Hrabik said. “This is a milestone right here.”
Resurgence founder, owner and President Jeff Ware and Central Rock Gym General Manager Garrett Schwier were on hand for a ceremonial groundbreaking.
Ware first announced the project in May 2022, when he said it was at least two years from opening. “Hurricane Ian didn’t help,” Ware said of the September 2022 storm. “That pushed us back by at least a year.”
Resurgence opened in Buffalo, New York, 10 years ago and has two locations there. The new south Fort Myers location will be located at 6150 Exchange Lane, south of the Lee Health Sports Complex and just east of the corner of Ben C. Pratt/Six Mile Cypress Parkway.
Resurgence typically has about 20 beers and ciders on draft, including Green Heart IPA, Cosmic Truth, a mosaic hopped session ale, Sponge Candy Stout and Loganberry Wit.
The south Fort Myers location will generate about 100 jobs.
“We love Fort Myers,” said Ware, a frequent visitor. “We’ve been coming down here for 25 years. This is like a second home for us.”
Ware said he was aware of the region’s thriving microbrewery community. He said he isn’t trying to compete with the others. Instead, he wants to join them.
In addition to the brewery, there will be a full bar and a restaurant with Buffalo wings, of course, he said.
“We wanted to bring the Resurgence experience to Fort Myers,” Ware said. “We wanted to be a part of something cool.”
Next door, to the west of the brewery will be the rock-climbing facility.
“We will have 45-foot tall walls,” Schwier said. “We’ll have two styles of climbing.”
It will be a fitness-oriented facility and will provide 25 to 50 jobs. The chain began 15 years ago in Worcester, Massachusetts, and has grown to 27 locations in six states, with two more locations on the way.
“Climbing is a very social sport,” Schwier said. “So, we’ll have a lot of people climbing with their friends, and that helps them stay in shape. This allows us to grow the climbing community here.”
