Back on the Square: What's Open and What's On in Downtown Inverness This Fall

The old Chronicle building faces the courthouse from 103 N. Apopka Ave. Since the last day of August it has smelled like sandwiches again. On Monday, Aug. 31, Kari Walsh unlocked the door of Hometown Deli for the first time in four and a half months. There was no ribbon-cutting. Her staff were back making the house Hometown Grinder, and the deli was again the room that Walsh describes as full of meetings, families, kids' ball teams and her "Thursday knitting ladies."

The way the deli got through those months says a lot about downtown Inverness this fall. While the storefront couldn't open, the business kept working at the city's public events. That same calendar, set mostly along a short stretch of North Apopka Avenue, is the steadiest part of downtown going into October and November.

The months the deli spent at other people's events

The spring was hard on this block. Shortly before 11 a.m. on Friday, April 17, an explosion and fire hit Storm Distillery at 105 N. Apopka Ave., which shares a wall with the deli. Owner David Mohr was among those hurt, and he later died of his injuries. Two weeks later, Bay News 9 reported that the blast had destroyed most of the distillery building and damaged White Light Wellness Studios and Hometown Deli next door. Neighbors left flowers and messages outside the distillery. No public report since then has said what will happen to that building.

Walsh told the Chronicle the deli was "a year and six days old" when it happened. She said the explosion wrecked the ceiling, the whole kitchen, the bathroom and the mop closet. She never had a reopening date. "If we were going to reopen, we wanted to make sure that the building was sound and safe," she said.

Meanwhile, the deli went to the crowds. Walsh said the city and the community helped her find events to work over the summer. The deli set up at downtown events, at baseball tournament games at Whispering Pines Park, and at events in Crystal River and Homosassa. "This community's been amazing, the city's been amazing," she said.

In other words, the public calendar did more than fill weekends. It gave a small downtown business somewhere to sell and kept its customers in touch with it until the kitchen was rebuilt.

Before reopening, the deli said it planned to serve lunch only, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the first week back. It would then close Sept. 5 through 7 and return to breakfast and lunch from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting Sept. 8. Those hours were announced in advance, so call before planning an early breakfast around them.

Three storefronts, three different outcomes

Downtown's other storefront news since midsummer fits in a short list, and each item went a different way.

• Hometown Deli, 103 N. Apopka Ave. Back open since Aug. 31 after extensive repairs. Walsh grew up in Inverness. She opened the deli on April 11, 2025, inspired by Joe's Deli, her old favorite.
• Artman's Smokehouse, 301 W. Main St. A barbecue restaurant in the former Angelo's Pizzeria & Ristorante space. Opening was set for Tuesday, Sept. 1, with planned hours of 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday. Online diner reviews describe ribs, chicken, brisket, coleslaw, greens and baked beans, which suggests it is now serving. When the restaurant was hiring, its team said it was "absolutely overwhelmed" by the response.
• Nine State Brewery, 200 Tompkins St. Closed after about seven years downtown. Florida Beer News reported the closing on Aug. 19 and said the brewery had been offered for sale in late July. The brewery thanked its "amazing customers, friends, and community" in a Facebook post. No new tenant has been announced for the space.

So one storefront came back, one is newly open, and one has closed. That leaves downtown at roughly the same size it was. What has grown is the list of things scheduled outside on the street.

The fall calendar runs up North Apopka Avenue

Nearly all of the city's fall events take place at the Depot District, 300 N. Apopka Avenue, and Liberty Park, 286 N. Apopka Avenue. Both are farther up the same street as the deli. Here are the downtown dates from the City of Inverness calendar through November. Cootertober, Cooterween and the monthly concert series aren't included here.

The city lists Market at the Depot on the first and third Saturday of every month. The Oct. 17 and Nov. 21 dates above follow that schedule. National Night Out is listed with free food and family activities.

Two Saturdays in November with double bookings

Lay the market's schedule over the festivals and two November Saturdays stand out.

On Nov. 7, the Inverness Festival of the Arts takes over Courthouse Square from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The same morning, Market at the Depot runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. farther up Apopka Avenue. That makes it one of the few fall Saturdays with something going on at both ends of downtown, and Hometown Deli's front door faces the courthouse right in between. The festival's description calls it a two-day event, but the city calendar lists only Saturday. Check closer to the date if you're hoping to go Sunday.

On Nov. 21, the Farm City Festival fills Liberty Park from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It's also the third Saturday of the month, the regular day for Market at the Depot next door, which runs the same hours. Two events in neighboring spaces on the same morning tend to mean a busier street and harder parking. Getting there before 9 is the easy fix.

The two October weekends are calmer. Oct. 3 has the market alone. Oct. 17 has the market with no festival booked downtown, which makes it the quietest Saturday on the list.

Where to eat between events

Breakfast and lunch work best with the event hours. Hometown Deli's planned regular hours, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., cover all of the market's 9-to-2 window and most of the Festival of the Arts. Artman's planned 11-to-8 schedule fits after a market or festival Saturday and the Friday Hocus Pocus screening. It doesn't fit the Sunday trail ride or the Tuesday National Night Out quite as neatly, since National Night Out runs until 9. Both restaurants' hours come from announcements made before they opened, so a quick call is worth it.

If you're looking at the closed Tompkins Street brewery and wondering what comes next, nothing has been announced. The same goes for the Storm Distillery site on Apopka Avenue. Until there's news on either one, downtown's fall runs on the deli, the smokehouse, and the events in between.

After November

The Citrus County Chamber has scheduled the Inverness Christmas parade for Dec. 12, 2026. Between now and then, the first-and-third-Saturday market schedule keeps going, so Dec. 5 and Dec. 19 should be market Saturdays too. Confirm them on the city's calendar before you go.

Hometown Deli's comeback ran through the same downtown events listed above, so we'll see a few of you at the Depot on a Saturday morning this fall. If those walks around the square have you wondering what's next for your own home in Inverness, Katie Spires and the team are just down the road. Let's make your move together.