- Halpatter's launched a $300,000 Wefunder campaign offering 1.4-1.75% returns to fund distilling equipment and renovations, while planning to relocate its brewery soon.
- Halpatter's brewery, distillery and restaurant in Lake City permanently closed its doors on Saturday with plans already fermenting for a new distillery in downtown Gainesville next to Dragonfly Sushi
Halpatter’s brewery, distillery and restaurant in Lake City will permanently close its doors on Saturday with plans already fermenting for a new distillery in downtown Gainesville next to Dragonfly Sushi and the Hippodrome.
Formerly known as Halpatter Brewing Company, the business announced the “incredibly difficult” decision to shut down its Lake City operation in an Aug. 8 Facebook post.
Co-owner Amber Tutwiler said in a video on Wefunder that Halpatter’s couldn’t keep up with monthly overhead costs for the brewery’s large historic Montgomery building. She said of the two options to enter large-scale beer distribution or find a new location, Halpatter’s ultimately settled on the latter.
Tutwiler said Halpatter’s downtown Gainesville location will mark a new business model serving solely as a distillery with a cocktail-heavy bar.
An investor already purchased the 1,800-square-foot space in the same building as Dragonfly Sushi, with a sale closing slated for next month.
Halpatter’s will rent-to-own the spot, which Tutwiler said will seat over 60 customers and feature an indoor second-story balcony, viewing window into the distillery, cozy industrial vibes and decor inspired by the natural springs and landscape of North Florida.
She said Halpatter’s goal is to stock the bar with at least 20 and hopefully more than 50 different spirits and liquors handcrafted at the distillery on site.
Throughout Halpatter’s final days in Lake City this week, the company offered discounts and the last line dances, music bingo and trivia nights before hosting a final pour celebration on Saturday.
Comments from the community reflected on book clubs, brunches, birthdays and wedding reception memories that had been forged at the brewery. Halpatter’s credited the community as its driving force to keep brewing through all the highs and lows of running a business.
“To every single person who chose to spend even an evening with us when you could have gone anywhere else: thank you. You made everything possible,” Halpatter’s posted. “Your support allowed us to build something that was so much more than a business. We created a family. You allowed us to be part of a community that we love deeply, and that is something we will carry with us long after the doors close.”
Tutwiler said the costs of brewery products, labor and utilities had risen to around $50,000 a month, matching or exceeding Halpatter’s monthly revenue.
Facing foreclosure in July 2025, the company sold and became tenants of the Montgomery building with over $700,000 of unpaid charges owed to First Federal Bank.
Tutwiler told Mainstreet last year that a scammer also stole $15,000 from the brewery in 2023, making an already tough post-COVID season of business tougher.
The company entered the distillery business in 2024 when it opened Halpatter Distilling & Spirits, producing vodka, rum, gin and flavored moonshine.
After Halpatter’s changed ownership in September 2025 to Jeremy Gable, Tutwiler and her husband, Casey Hull, the group changed names from Halpatter Brewing Company to encompass all its drink and food offerings beyond beer.
Tutwiler said in the video that the pricier cocktails and drinks from a distillery in a highly trafficked location like downtown Gainesville are expected to generate a $90,000 average of monthly sales, enough to cover overhead costs of a smaller space.
She said that while the distilling industry is currently more lucrative than brewing, the Halpatter’s owners also have a passion for it.
“You probably see breweries shutting down all around you,” she said. “This is more than just an industry. This is what we love, what we believe in. Our families are here.”
But renovations and moving come with costs.
Halpatter’s set up a Wefunder crowdfunding account to help cover the $300,000 of distilling equipment, remodeling, permitting fees, labor, moving and maintaining Lake City operations during the move.
Tutwiler said contributions come as revenue share, where donors will receive a quarterly return on investment—1.75% return with 5% of sales for all who give during the first $124,000 round of giving. After that amount is met, the return drops to 1.4%.
“Not every brand can say they want to build something from scratch with their hands from the ground up, and we do,” Tutwiler said.
And Halpatter’s award-winning beer isn’t going anywhere just yet.
Although Tutwiler said she can’t speak too much about it yet, she said Halpatter’s has plans in the works to relocate its brewery.
They’re working with their current landlord to continue leasing the downstairs production space to keep serving beer until a new home can be found for it.
“It’s the right path forward,” she said. “We love distilling at this point as much as beer.”