When Deep Brewing Company built a new location at 2855 Pablo Ave. just up the hill from their OG spot at 2524 Cathay Court — a place they now call “Deep Brewery & Kitchen” because of the addition of a full-service, in-house restaurant — you could tell right away they were about to take the 9-year-old microbrewery next-level.
But 8 months since their September 2025 opening, it’s crazy to see how fast things have progressed.
Deep’s old location was 800 square feet. The new location — with those towering German beer-hall-like ceilings — is just over 5,000 square feet.
The old location rotated food trucks 4 days a week. The new one has a kitchen that’s putting out some of the best food in Tally 5 days a week — breakfast, lunch and dinner — as well as adding an in-house a coffee and espresso program.
The old location only offered beer. While the new one has a full cocktail menu in addition to homemade sangria, wine and non-alcoholic Hop Water.
The old location was only open Thursday to Sunday — afternoon and evening only. But the new one is open Wednesday to Sunday, including at 7 a.m. on the weekdays and 9 a.m. on the weekends with its Brunch partner, Outboard Coffee Company.
The old location only had two TVs to catch games on — and oftentimes, the streams weren’t even synced-up. But the new location boasts arguably the biggest big-screen television in Tallahassee — a staggering 280 inches — along with 7 other big screen TVs positioned around the brewery.
And the old location had a staff of roughly 5. While the new one is hovering around 50 team members between the bar, brewery, restaurant and kitchen.
Transition into breakfast with Outboard
Then transition has been a ton of work, but it has also been rewarding to see several longterm goals reach fruition, said Deep co-founder Ryan LaPete this week.
“The move gave us room to do everything we’d been wanting to do but couldn’t. The biggest one is Outboard — we now run a full Southern breakfast and brunch program out of the same kitchen, five mornings a week. It’s a whole new business living inside the building,” LaPete, a former deep-sea diver, told us.
“Beyond that, we added Wednesday hours — which we turned into Wing Wednesday and has become one of our best traffic days. We brought in oysters and fresh seafood, which fits who we are — the name is ‘Deep’ for a reason. We launched a real espresso program and added cocktails for the few folks that come through that may not be beer people. And overall? The reception’s been better than we hoped.”
To us, the biggest move wasn’t just adding breakfast, brunch, coffee, espresso and cocktails.
It was the addition of a multi-purpose kitchen in general — one that’s churning out everything from shareable apps (smoked fish dip, wings, smoked pork belly, ceviche and grilled octopus), to killer sandwiches (Cubanos, Chicago dogs, Italian beef, roast beef & cheddar, fried green BLTs and burgers), to full dinner plates like steaks, grilled fish, brisket meatloaf, bone-in pork chops and roasted chicken.
We’ve dined there many-a-times since they opened, and the menu is both ambitious, delicious AND impressive all at once.
Bradley’s grits and sausage
In fact, when we look around the Florida craft beer scene, we’re having a hard time finding ANY brewery operating a concept quite like Deep’s.
“We don’t think anyone else in Florida is doing scratch Southern breakfast inside a working craft brewery, where you can order a fresh doughnut and a locally brewed beer at 7 a.m. if that’s your kind of morning,” said LaPete, who still oversees the beer part of Deep Brewery & Kitchen, while local restaurateur Justo Cruz (of Tally Mac Shack fame) was brought in to develop the menu and run the new kitchen.
“Everything is made in-house. The doughnuts are fried fresh every morning — that’s become the signature, and they sell out. We use Bradley’s grits and Bradley’s sausage — because if you’re doing Southern breakfast in Tallahassee and you’re not using Bradley’s, what are you even doing? And on top of that, we’ll put our Sausage gravy up against anyone’s.”
Ryan, who loves coffee, admittedly has always wanted to dive (no pun intended) headfirst into the java beans at some point. And launching Outboard Coffee Company two months after opening Deep 2.0 was dream come true for him.
The Deep philosophy
“We pull real espresso, not gas-station coffee, and we run morning cocktails — bloody marys, sangria, micheladas & mimosas — for the brunch crowd. And because the brewery is right there, the beer list at breakfast is the same award-winning list you’d get at dinner,” he added.
“The philosophy is the same one that drives the brewery: do a few things and go deep on them. We’re not running a 40-item breakfast menu. We’re running a tight one where every item earns its spot. But the thing we hear most in reviews isn’t about any one menu item — it’s about the staff. How many breweries do you walk in to with table service and a knowledgeable and friendly team? That’s the new Deep experience.”
Deep recognized when they launched breakfast and brunch that not everyone has time to stop in, sit down and ease into the morning.
So they helped Outboard implement its own online ordering system — just for brunch items and coffee/espresso — and the response has been appreciation for those looking for a good breakfast in Northeast Tallahassee, but also in a hurry.
“Online ordering for Outboard is now live (outboard.deepbrewing.com). You order ahead, pick your pickup time, and your food’s ready when you walk in. No waiting, no standing around. It was built for commuters — people who want a real breakfast instead of a drive-thru one but only have 10 minutes,” Ryan said. “Heck, you can even order the night before, choose a future pickup time — or on your way in — then grab it and go. The online menu isn’t our full brunch menu and is limited for now — but it’s ever-expanding.”
What’s next: Coffee Club?
One of the things that Deep — the craft brewery — has done a great job of over the years is keeping folks tuned in to “what’s next” by rolling out a new beer release every Friday called “Featured Friday.” And the Deep Kitchen has adopted that model by constantly highlighting new dishes — practically weekly.
“It’s how we’ve always operated — we did a new beer release every single week at the old location, and we haven’t missed a week at the new one. The kitchen runs the same way for brunch, lunch, and dinner,” LaPete said.
“We like to think of ourselves as a curated place, not a volume place. We’d rather give you a short list that’s always moving than a long list that never changes. And frankly, it keeps us sharp. This flexibility also allows us to collaborate with other local businesses like our month-long collab with local organic blueberry farm Sienna Lee Gardens. Tons of creative ideas on food, beer, and spirits have been born so far, and we plan to do many more.”
But perhaps the part that’s growing fastest in this new concept is their ability to welcome private events and cater large parties. They’ve already hosted Tallahassee Chamber mixers, awards banquets, sports teams dinners, corporate parties and holiday gatherings in the first 8 months open.
“The new space changed what we can offer. You don’t have to buy out the whole building — we can section off part of the brewery for a semi-private gathering, or do a full private event, depending on the size and the occasion,” LaPete said.
“On food, we can run it however the event calls for: passed apps, buffet-style, or fully plated dinners out of the same kitchen doing our regular menu. Birthdays, rehearsal dinners, corporate events — we’ve done them all since opening. Everything we do at Deep Brewery & Kitchen, we can bring to you,” LaPete said.
“We’ve been catering events around town since the new kitchen opened. And Outboard can do morning catering — doughnuts, biscuits, coffee service — for meetings and office events. Just tell us the headcount and the occasion, and we’ll build the menu around it.”
LaPete said customers are already booking into fall and winter for holiday parties, and if you’re thinking about a November or December date, reach out now by email (info@deepbrewing.com) or by phone at 850-567-0295.
Deep remains a part of the 2026 TLHBS Membership Card program (tlhbeersociety.com) and their current deal is buy two beers, get the third beer half off — plus 10% off all merch. But given how much their offerings have expanded, they plan to add more to their TLHBS soon via Outboard and the Deep Kitchen.
“Outboard is also launching a coffee club called the ‘Motorboater’s Club’ that will reward patrons with a free cup of coffee on every visit,” LaPete said. “And we’ll be rolling that out very soon.”
So there ya have it — the FULL Deep update on everything they’ve been up to over the last eight months. It’s a lot, but it’s also exciting.
Deep celebrates its milestone 10 years in Tallahassee later this year in September, and — given all the upgrades since opening Deep 2.0 — we can’t wait to see what they have planned for that!
Stay tuned!
Danny Aller is the co-founder, along with Matthew Crumbaker, of the TLH Beer Society. Reach the Beer Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or email tlhbeersociety@gmail.com.
If you go
What: Deep Brewery & Kitchen
When: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 9 am.-9 p.m. Sunday
Where: 2855 Pablo Ave.; visit deepbrewing.com
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Deep Brewing goes big with breakfast as Brewery & Kitchen evolves
Reporting by Danny Aller, TLH Beer Society / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Danny Aller, TLH Beer Society | USA TODAY Network
