Owning their own brewery was a dream two years in the making for a husband and wife team, but within the next few weeks, Orange County Brewers will be ready for business.

  • Orange County Brewers should open in late May
  • Amanda and Jeremy Roberts building this brewery
  • Will be a full-service restaurant as well

"The whole craft beer community, they're very welcoming, and you learn a lot from just drinking it," said Amanda Roberts, who said she's always had a love for beer. 

Amanda, who earned her chops at an apprenticeship with Sea Dog Brewing in Clearwater, will serve as brewmaster at the North Orange Avenue spot. Her husband, who is leading construction, will run the business side of the venture.

Orange County Brewers will be the first brewery in Orlando’s downtown Community Redevelopment Area, according to the city.

Turning an old Fiat showroom into a brewery is no small task. The Roberts, who have a background in franchise restaurants, gained approval from the city in October 2016 and dropped $200,000 in brewing equipment.

“It was like having a baby. All of my children were coming off this huge semi," said Amanda, recalling the arrival of the large, silver tanks.

“She was super emotional, very nervous that we were going to damage them," added Jeremy.

Amanda, who has already brewed four styles of beer -- from a green tea IPA, to a coffee milk stout -- plans to brew 10 styles for their opening.

But it was not all smooth sailing.

“The issues come where there’s gray area, which there are in all the codes," explained Jeremy. “There’s been a very large learning curve.”

Jeremy said that entailed figuring out how their vision would fit within the city’s code. For example, their proximity to a church drummed up issues related to serving alcohol. Luckily, he said, they factored in a wood-burning oven for pizza and wings.

“That was our pitch with zoning, we’re like hey, we’re going to be a full-service restaurant," he said. “Whenever you’re producing alcohol, it’s extremely difficult because it requires a lot of zoning approvals, which requires conditional use.”

There were other hurdles as well. The Roberts received a cease and desist letter from the U.S. Olympic committee relating to their former name, Pan-American Brewing. Delays in construction and approvals pushed their opening date of February back.

The couple said despite name changes, delays and navigating the city’s zoning and coding, the headaches were well worth it.

“It’s not always about the money, this is a personal project. And I’m very confident it’s going to be successful," said Jeremy. “I think for us, we’ll bring a different crowd to downtown than just the nightlife.”

“I’m excited to get beer in here and get started," said Amanda. “We will have great beer, we will have great food. The ambiance here is just awesome. It’s very homey, it’s very cozy. We’ve just poured our hearts into this place.”

Orange County Brewers has hired an executive chef, but still needs to fill about 20 positions and get through a series of city inspections before they open in late May.