'Coming to an end': Sports bar's announcement adds to Gainesville restaurant scene shakeup

The future of the The Social at Midtown, the massive sports bar across from the University of Florida campus, is unclear following an announcement Thursday on social media that its time "is ending."

"After 8 years, The Social at Midtown is coming to an end. We have been grateful these past years for spending it with you all. We are so glad you were part of our family this long and experiencing this journey with us. Join us this weekend for our last weekend as the Social!"

The property was put up for sale in January 2021, and Alachua County property records show it sold in December 2022 for $9 million. It is now owned by Gatorbolt LLC, whose registered agent is listed as Zabel Thur De Koos, a broker with Gainesville-based Lexus Real Estate Group.

The building at 1728 W. University Ave. has been home to some of Gainesville's most iconic watering holes, including the Gator City Sports Grille and the Purple Porpoise. It underwent a $2.2 million renovation ahead of The Social's opening in fall 2016 that included the addition of two rooftop terraces.

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The Social's announcement follows the closing of two other businesses in the small strip of restaurants and bars on University Avenue. The Grog House Bar and Grill closed in May 2023 and the Tijuana Flats restaurant closed earlier this year.

Volta Coffee, Tea & Chocolate

Volta Coffee, a downtown staple since August 2008, announced on Instagram that it will be closing at the end of May due to the owner's ongoing battle with cancer.

Owner Anthony Rue wrote that his battle with the disease has "turned my life upside down" and that he plans to keep the cafe, 8 SW Second St., open through Memorial Day if possible.

"The demands of running the cafe and baking program are outpacing my ability to manage along with my disease," he wrote.

Rue told The Sun in March 2010 that he found his love for coffee while attending Indiana University in Bloomington.

“I learned the difference between coffees carefully,” Rue said then. “It sparked an interest in how coffees were roasted, how they can taste entirely different and why.”

Rue spent almost a year researching coffee, business models, and trade and environmental impacts before he and his wife, Janet Kreischer, opened their cafe.

"We didn’t anticipate what an amazing impact Gainesville would have on us," Rue wrote in the Instagram post. "I like to think that in our own way, we became one of the many cultural touchstones that makes Gainesville so interesting."

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Birdie Box

Birdie Box, the popular chicken sandwich spot on Southwest 13th Street with the the double-decker bus parked out front, is now closed.

Cones have blocked off the parking lot at 2216 SW 13th St. for about a month. The owners in an April 2 Instagram post revealed what was happening.

"Birdie Box has decided to go forward with selling the brand. This was not an easy decision. Knowing the new owners of Birdie Box will be taking the brand elsewhere made the decision even more difficult," the post said.

Birdie Box started as pop-up serving up a variety of chicken sandwiches inside the now-closed Gainesville Country Club during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It opened its brick-and-mortar location in 2022.

Co-owner Ash Free told The Sun in March 2022 that the key to their delicious sandwiches was their proprietary blend of brine.

"Since we started out on a golf course it's actually an Arnold Palmer brine," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: 'Coming to an end': Sports bar's announcement adds to Gainesville restaurant scene shakeup