Broc Smith's Sarasota footprint started with a single liquor store, and it hasn't stopped growing since. On Sarasota SpeaX, he traces the full arc: from taking over what had been Crossings Liquors and rebranding it as Liquor Locker, to building Dive Wine & Spirits, the Hive Bar food component, a since-closed lounge experiment, and now Masō Steakhouse, the intimate 11-table, reservation-only fine dining concept he co-owns with business partner Jeremy.
Broc is disarmingly candid about how much of that growth came through trial and error. He describes an ATF visit over an early bourbon-sourcing mistake, a Nashville-hot-chicken-style pop-up called Hive that flopped, and a themed lounge concept he admits "would have worked in St. Pete" but never found its footing in Sarasota. Even Masō carries scar tissue: the space previously housed a struggling Donatos Pizza the landlord pushed him into opening before he could pursue the steakhouse concept he actually wanted. Masō didn't officially open until Valentine's Day weekend, deliberately slow-rolled through private dinner parties rather than a hard launch, a lesson Broc says he learned from watching other restaurants get overwhelmed and trashed online in their first weeks.
The business logic threads through every stop. At Dive, Broc explains how operating as a bar rather than a pure liquor retailer lets him buy wine at bar pricing and undercut larger competitors like Total Wine. At Masō, he talks about curating an experience with three cocktail specialists who workshop drinks together without ego, and about deliberately targeting Sarasota locals over tourist traffic, modeling the approach in part on Marcello's.
From Liquor Locker to Masō
Broc also gets into the bourbon market's recent swings, from paying $2 a bottle for cases of Yellowstone rum finish to watching Eagle Rare prices crash from $15,000 to $5,000 in two years as collector demand cools.
As always, the hosts close with the roundabout question. Broc's answer draws a laugh and real agreement from the table: 'roundabouts are like communism, they only work if everybody buys in.' He goes through the Rapid Fire Gauntlet, fueled by Food+Beer, before recommending Sarasota pizza entrepreneur Carlos Solozano as a future guest.
What you'll take away
- Broc Smith's Sarasota hospitality group includes Liquor Locker, Dive Wine & Spirits, Hive Bar, and Masō Steakhouse
- Operating Dive as a bar rather than a retail store lets him buy wine at bar pricing to undercut larger competitors
- Masō is an 11-table, reservation-only steakhouse that deliberately targets Sarasota locals over tourists
- Broc describes several past failures, including a themed lounge concept and a Nashville hot chicken pop-up, as valuable learning experiences
- He compares Sarasota's roundabouts to communism, saying they only work if everybody buys in
“Roundabouts are like communism. They only work if everybody buys in.”
“I'm purely in it because I know to make it work you have to sell alcohol.”
Places mentioned: Downtown Sarasota