Sipping under the stars

The Tipsy Skipper is at 48 S. Magnolia Ave., Suite A, in downtown Ocala. [Ocala Gazette/MAVEN Photo + Film file photo]

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Posted June 6, 2026 | By Jamie Berube, [email protected]

Two downtown bars will soon be serving drinks at sidewalk tables in front of their main eateries after winning approval from the Ocala City Council.

The Mutiny Bar Ocala and The Tipsy Skipper, adjacent to each other on South Magnolia Avenue, can expand on-premises consumption of beer, wine and liquor (4COP license) to outdoor sidewalk areas.

Owner Buck Martin, of Martin & Weiss, LLC, submitted parallel applications for the Mutiny Bar Ocala, 46 S Magnolia Ave., Suite B; and The Tipsy Skipper, 48 S Magnolia Ave., Suite A. Supporting materials included hand-drawn site plans showing multiple round tables with seating, current liability insurance through Penn-America Insurance Group and other required documents. Both businesses already held indoor on-premises consumption approval.

During the June 2 meeting, Mayor Ben Marciano raised concerns about open containers.

“It’s been a major issue downtown. If the applicant is here, I’d love to hear how we’re going to make sure that that’s not an issue with open containers leaving the site,” he said.

Sam Betty, general manager of The Mutiny Bar Ocala, stated that Mutiny will regularly staff a door person to monitor the outdoor awning area to keep people from leaving the designated space with drinks.

“We are following the same standards that are already in place for places like the Black Sheep on Broadway and Big Hammock Brewery and enforcing the awning space with simple tables and seating and having someone to make sure that all alcohol remains in that space and does not extend out into the street,” Betty said.

Councilwoman Kristen Dreyer asked Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken whether officers inquire about the origin of open containers when issuing violations.

“That’s been an issue,” he acknowledged. “This has really come about, quite frankly, because of a pretty significant increase in after-hour fist fights and things like that downtown that’s caused our bike unit, our patrol officers, to make these stops.

“We’ve issued a multitude of warnings, some court dates,” he continued. “The problem is, we’re ending up having to focus on the patrons who are sometimes ignorant of the city ordinance as it relates to open containers.”

Balken said it was good for the mayor to bring up this point, adding, “We’re working with the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco to do administrative actions against these bars themselves. So, our officers have gone out and warned these establishments that these activities are going to occur if these problems continue.

“I think it’s problematic for a business to say that they’re always going to be there at the door to watch these patrons coming and going with alcohol,” Balken said. “I understand what he’s saying, that these other businesses are already doing this. I just think it’s important, certainly a good time for the warning to be put out there, where we have got to take enforcement action, not only on the patrons that are leaving with the open containers, but we’re going to have to start moving toward the establishments themselves, too, because there is an administrative responsibility on their part to make sure this doesn’t happen.”

Dreyer added context from her experience in the district.

“I think what part of the issue is that when you go to many other places, they have established zones where you can freely walk around with like a Solo cup or something. People may get used to that and they just assume you can do that everywhere,” she said.

“I have no idea, but I will say that because this is my district, I do frequent our downtown at strange hours of the night just to check out like what’s happening down here, and of all of the establishments, these two actually do have somebody at the door. They card me when I go into the place, which I really love, by the way,” Dreyer said.

“I can see where these problems would be created, because there are some bars, one is coming to mind that really has zero oversight, so I can get my alcohol and kind of roam around the whole entire building and then leave and do whatever I’m doing,” she said. “And they kind of have like an outdoor club scene at night also, so I don’t know who specifically we’re talking about with creating your problem, but I can see where some places would be causing a problem.

“What I would say to council is that these two facilities provide a location for a genre of patron that nobody else does, and so I’m very thankful that they’re here, because they kind of have, like, a punk rock-type of client that goes in there, and I can think of no other places in the city, or the whole entire county, that provides that for that type person that wants a certain community that is really kind of hard to find. The establishment itself has a really positive atmosphere,” she added.

“I would ask that maybe we meet privately and talk about who these businesses are that are causing the problem,” Dreyer said.

Balkan clarified the department’s position regarding the two establishments under consideration.

“I want to be clear, the Tipsy and Mutiny have been great partners to us. I think it’s probably good timing to put the warning out there, but that is not our issue. I think you and I are in agreement. We know where specifically the larger percentage of that problem is coming from, and we’re dealing with that,” he said.

OPD location reports for the two addresses, covering the period from Jan. 1, 2024, through May 2026, documented clear differences in activity levels between the establishments.

The Tipsy Skipper had a total of seven calls for service. These consisted of one battery, one petty theft, four security duty calls and one trespass warning.

The Mutiny Bar Ocala had a total of 38 calls for service during the same general period. The calls included one battery, two disturbances, three trespass warnings, one petty theft, one Marchman Act, one field interrogation report, one park and walk, one citizen assist, one assist other agency, two department info calls and 24 security duty calls.

Many of the security duty calls reflect routine or requested police presence rather than criminal activity initiated by the establishments themselves.

People listen to music inside The Mutiny Bar on South Magnolia Avenue in Ocala on Jan. 25, 2026. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette file photo]