Downtown Ocala dive bar for punk, hard music shows, hot dogs, hoagies, beers and booze

Doug Engle, Ocala Star-Banner
·2 min read

When you first walk inside Mutiny Ocala, you notice a mural of a giant octopus near the bottom of a sea complete with a shipwreck, skeletons and a shark.

Mutiny is a music bar (punk & hard rock) focusing on live shows, hot dogs, hoagies, beers and booze. The bar opened in September 2021 and is located at 46 S. Magnolia Ave. in downtown Ocala. The bar serves both drinks and food and is open seven days a week: Sunday through Thursday from 2 p.m. to midnight and Friday and Saturday from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m.

"So my partner Chris Weiss specifically wanted a punk rock bar, and that is what I've had the most familiarity with, music wise. My brothers and I all played in punk and hard core bands. Just kinda of something I had interest in anyway. The opportunity to run my own was very intriguing," General Manager Sam Betty said on a recent afternoon at the bar.

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It has been well received in the community. Mutiny is constantly packing in fans to see touring bands. Betty said his goal is to bring that type of music back to Ocala. There are places to play in Gainesville, Tampa and Orlando, but there was no place that offered that genre of music in Marion County.

General Manager Sam Betty suggests paring one of the signature sandwiches of the bar, the chopped cheese goagie, with a Narragansett Lager from Rhode Island. Mutiny Ocala is a music bar (punk & hard rock) focusing on live shows, hot dogs, hoagies, beers and booze. The bar opened in September 2021 at 46 S. Magnolia Ave. in downtown Ocala. It serves both drinks and food and is open seven days a week: Sunday through Thursday from 2 p.m. to midnight and Friday and Saturday from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The bar has live bands once a week, any where between Wednesday and Sunday. Betty says that when the bands are touring, he's kind of filling the dates between Jacksonville and Orlando.

"When you walk in here, you're basically standing in the band. It's a very intimate setting. It's very up front and personal," Betty said.

They just want to provide a venue to local bands from all over the state to showcase their talents.

Betty said that they're just a good dive bar cooking some good food and slinging some fun drinks

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Mutiny bar in Ocala for live rock music, hot dogs, hoagies, beer,