Voodoo Brewing Co.'s only Northeast Florida location has gone dark for good, closing its doors at 1974 San Marco Blvd. on September 15.
The Bradenton Herald reported that company officials and a franchise co-owner could not be reached for comment.
From Grand Opening to Abrupt Exit
Franchisees Chris Rudin and Ryan Locke opened the Jacksonville pub in July 2024 as Voodoo Brewing Co.’s only Northeast Florida location. It operated in an 8,646-square-foot, two-story space in the San Marco Building, according to jacksonville.com, serving craft beer and pub fare.
Reports on the closure's timing diverge: jacksonville.com described the gastropub as closing after about two years, while bizjournals.com reported the San Marco bar closed after 14 months. Bizjournals.com also reported that the location struggled with elevated expenses from the start, and that the closure followed the Voodoo parent company's sale to new ownership, after which grassroots investor contributions became essentially null.
Closure Pressures
Elevated expenses were a challenge for the location.
Part of a Wider Jacksonville Pattern
The San Marco closure comes as breweries and taprooms across Northeast Florida have also shut down. The Bradenton Herald counted at least 12 Voodoo Brewing taprooms and franchise locations nationwide that have closed since May 2023, citing news reports and social media accounts. The outlet said reported reasons for closures most often include changing consumer habits, rising operating costs and economic fluctuations.
Some Jacksonville-area closures have involved long-running venues: A1A Ale Works in St. Augustine closed in May 2024 after 29 years, Ragtime Tavern in Atlantic Beach closed in January 2025 after 42 years, and Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery in Tinseltown closed in June 2025 after 26 years. More recent downtown and Riverside losses include King Maker Brewing, which closed April 4 at 720 King St. after six years; Institution Ale Works, which closed April 24 at 929 E. Bay St. after 15 years; and Bold City Downtown, which closed June 27 after its lease expired following nine years at 109 E. Bay St.
Investor and industry context
In an email to investors in Voodoo’s 2024 Honeycomb campaign, Chairman Matthew Rachocki said their investments were “not expected to retain realizable value following the completion of the transaction,” according to Allied News. That report provides investor context but does not establish why the San Marco location closed. The Brewers Association’s 2024 report counted 430 U.S. brewery openings and 529 closures, the first year since 2005 that closures outnumbered openings. Its 2025 report gave different comparison figures for 2024—518 openings and 591 closures—and counted 300 openings and 481 closures in 2025. These national figures offer industry context, not an explanation for the San Marco closure.
