It looks like a bar, feels like a bar, but you probably won't find yourself stumbling out after one too many.
Longtime grocery store Chuck’s Natural Fields Market, whose flagship store opened in Temple Terrace in 1992, has introduced a new concept inside its second location at 116 N. Kings Ave. in Brandon. Focused on pouring a fizzy, fermented beverage, Windmill Taphouse brings to life what Chuck’s owner Chuck Homuth describes as a “West Coast California idea.”
“It is like a health beverage bar, where you get some benefits out of drinking,” Homuth said. “Kombucha is of course what we have on tap, and you get benefits like digestive benefits, probiotics, antioxidants, and it actually helps your mood, too. So you go to a bar here at Chuck’s now, and you come in and feel good without worrying about having a hangover the next day.”
Patrons choose from an impressive selection of the living, sparkling tea, whose popularity has grown in recent years, from local producers like Orlando’s Farm Boy Produce, Sarasota’s Kombucha 221 B.C. and Kombucha Tampa. Nearly 10 different taps showcase flavors for every taste, everything from “creme soda” to “koffee” to “fire apple.”
Though the taphouse specializes in a health-conscious approach to meeting up for a drink, it also offers a variety of area craft beer on draft, as well as bottled wines and brews, for those seeking a traditional bar experience. Knowing firsthand what it’s like to compete with big corporations, Homuth says it’s important for him to support local companies.
Windmill opened its doors March 8 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce. Since then, people have been very supportive of the bar, according to Homuth, especially complimenting the aesthetics of the space.
With peach-colored walls, aluminum bar tops and a small corner platform for events like karaoke night, the intimate but spacious taphouse can accommodate 35 people. While Homuth is still working on the decor, he has plenty of ideas that tie in Windmill’s “natural” theme, including hanging photographs of a windmill from one of his farms north of Tampa.
Alongside the bar, two other rooms at Chuck’s aim to draw in crowds. One is a 30-seat theater with a 12-foot screen, which Homuth plans to use weekly to play old movies, and the other is a 350-square-foot “salt cave.” Twenty-four tons of Ukranian natural rock salt are stacked along its walls, and patrons pay to spend time relaxing, meditating and reaping the benefits that come with breathing in the mineral-infused air. (Salt therapy, also known as speleotherapy, is said to help the lungs, sinuses and more.)
Windmill Taphouse operates 4 to 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, and 4 to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 6, 2016.