Beer Box packs up for downtown move

Although today he considers himself something of a craft beer nerd, Beer Box manager Mick Cohn still remembers a time when the concept was foreign to him. Sitting at the bar in Evie’s downtown, soon to be Beer Box’s new home, he recalls his introduction to the now booming subculture.

“I had my first craft beer in college,” he says. “I remember it was a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Before that, it was all cheap, light beer. My first thought was, ‘This doesn’t taste like beer.’”

As he puts it, it was all downhill from there; he was hooked. Last year, his love for craft beer — specifically those brewed in Florida — took shape in the form of Beer Box, a bar in the Evie’s family of establishments. As manager, he adopted a model that focused heavily on Florida microbreweries.

Despite the bar’s less-than-ideal location at Beneva and Clark in a former Evie’s-owned catering building, the concept of a bar specializing in Florida craft beer quickly gained traction, and the bar developed a loyal following.

Following the recent announcement by Evie’s that Beer Box would move to the current downtown Evie’s location, Cohn says the new location will maintain the same niche and atmosphere as the original, but it will now also sell liquor, with an added emphasis on including as many Florida-made liquors as possible.

Beer Box is slated to open in its new location the first week of July, and Cohn says to stay tuned for an opening party, as well as a last hoorah at Evies.

He’s excited, not only for the opportunity to reach the downtown market, but also to introduce more people to the world of craft beer.

“We saw success with this model at the other location, even with some of the obstacles,” he says.” Here, most of those obstacles seem to be gone. I love opening people’s eyes to these different types of beers. You see that light go on, and they just get it. I want more people to experience that.”

*UPDATE — as of 1 p.m. Monday, June 2, Cohn has announced he will be leaving Beer Box for other to-be-announced endeavors in the beer world. Stay tuned for further updates.