Voodoo Brewing Company Fort Myers to open soon in Downtown

There’s a new spot coming to town – one they say is the first of its kind to pop up in Downtown Fort Myers.

“It’s going to be a vibrant energy that we bring,” said co-owner Mashelle Towles. “We’re very happy with the culture that the brand brings and what it’s going to bring to Fort Myers.”

Voodoo Brewing Company of Fort Myers is weeks away from opening day on April 6. And many are already excited.

“‘It sounds enticing,” Kelsey said, a resident of Fort Myers. “It sounds like a place that people would want to walk through the door.”

“Especially like a brewery or somewhere to socialize is just like a huge plus,” Katie said, another resident of Fort Myers. “Really excited about it.”

But it took the owners – Mashelle and Keith Towles over a year to get to where they are now.

“The challenges we faced in this location was where we had to put the kitchen,” Mashelle said. “This was a bank before in 1960. And where our kitchen is, is where the bank vault was. So, the walls are 18 inches thick of concrete. So it literally took us seven, seven full weeks to cut through the concrete.”

Along with having to remove 22,000 lbs. of salt from a salt cave left behind by the previous business: Sol of Life.

And it didn’t stop there; damage from Ian also got in the way.

“Ian was very devastating to especially Downtown Fort Myers as a whole,” said Tyler Edwards, the executive chef at the brewery. “So being able to kind of move forward with all the bad things that happened to this beautiful city, we’re able to be a part of something that’s a new experience, a new future for it.”

And while Voodoo Brewing Company is a franchise, the owners have managed to stick to their roots.

“One of the Voodoo requirements is hanging doors from the ceiling,” Mashelle said. “And one of our friends after the storm had to remodel her home from on McGregor. And we were able to get these vintage doors out of the house.”

Because after all, they’re right in the heart of the city.