Cape Coral Brewery Scotty’s Bierwerks Shuts Down After Lease Increase

Scotty's Bierwerks closed on Nov. 28, 2025. A lease hike killed plans to transfer ownership to a new buyer. Cape Coral's last brewery served its final customers after nine years.

Mary Bellman, the marketing manager, said the lease jumped almost 50% above what they'd been paying. "With the new buyer coming in, to take over, we have a new lease, and our lease increase was astronomical," said Bellman, according to Gulf Coast News Now. "It was nearly 50% of what our old lease was, added to the old lease."

Owner Scott Melick had been planning to retire. He found someone to take over. The Facebook post mentioned that one of the brewmasters was ready to carry things forward, but lease talks hit a wall and blocked the sale.

Melick opened the spot off Pondella Road back in March 2017 after spending years brewing at home. "I started the brewery because I could make better beer at home than I could buy," he said, per News-Press.

The place ran a 20-barrel system inside a 10,000 square-foot space with a separate warehouse for fermenters and kegs. About 100 locations sold the beer throughout the region. His brews won medals from the North American Brewers Association, the Best Florida Beer Brewer's competition, and the Denver International Beer competition.

Sarah McKee, a regular, said she thought the closure announcement was a joke at first. "The best part is we made a lot of friends," said McKee, according to WINK News. "Our daughters just blossomed, came out of their comfort zone… getting everybody just happy to be here."

Jeff, another customer, shared that his oldest kid learned to walk there. He told his parents about an expected baby at the brewery too.

Scotty's Bierwerks featured trivia nights, live music, yoga classes, and visits from food trucks. Bellman said the turnout on the final day was big.