Buffalo Brewery plans brewpub and rock climbing for South Fort Myers –

A Buffalo, New York-based beer brewer plans to build a satellite brewpub and restaurant with an adjacent indoor rock climbing facility in south Fort Myers.

Jeff Ware, owner and founder of Resurgence Brewing Company, said his project is at least two years away from opening. It would be located at 6150 Exchange Lane, just south of the Lee County Sports Complex and just east of the RaceTrac gas station at 14575 Ben C. Pratt/Six Mile Cypress Parkway south of Fort Myers.

A lot of work needs to be done before this project can begin, Ware said, including rezoning the land with Lee County from the general commercial district to planned industrial development, which would allow for recreation and dining. “We are slowly moving forward in the opening process there,” he said. “It’s something we’ve been working on for a while now. We think it would be a good place for us and our brand. We are not ready to announce much yet.

Ware said he had no connection to Southwest Florida other than vacationing in the past 20 years. “We have a lot of Buffalonians living there,” he said. “There are a lot of strengths. Buffalo is making a comeback on craft beer. It’s a very similar vibe to Fort Myers.

The owner of Resurgence Brewing also liked this particular location near the start of Michael Rippe Parkway with easy access to US 41 and Daniels Parkway as well.

“We want to be centralized,” Ware said. “We want to focus on food. So there would be a restaurant. Our everything is the beer experience. Our goal is to get people to come and get cold beers. And live this all-encompassing beer experience. It could be a good addition for the beer scene in Fort Myers.

Resurgence brews approximately 7,000 barrels of beer per year at its 30,000 square foot brewery in Buffalo. Ware predicted that the Fort Myers location would be about one-third that size.

By comparison, Fort Myers Brewing brews about 12,000 barrels per year.

In addition to Resurgence Brewing, Central Rock Gym, an indoor rock climbing experience, would be part of the project, next to the brewery, Ware said.