Depot 303 opened in 2025 in the former Badcock Furniture building at 303 NW 1st Ave. Weekends there are going fine. Weeknights are the open question, and that's why the hall now has something scheduled almost every evening from Tuesday through Friday. The city owns the building, and its own redevelopment board has been looking at the numbers. The schedule running from now through the Christmas parade is how Mulberry is trying to make a downtown dining room work on an ordinary Wednesday.
That changes how to think about the block. The bingo night or the free concert out front is how this place stays open.
The city owns this one, and it's still building
In Bay News 9's June 2026 story, Mulberry bought the old Badcock property after the furniture company ended operations and turned it into a food hall meant to bring visitors in and spark investment. The operator is Jonathan Bucklew, who also owns The Joinery in Lakeland. He told the station that weekend foot traffic had been encouraging, but "I think we're probably about halfway to where we need to be operationally and size wise." He also said the restaurants were roughly breaking even, sometimes losing a little, while betting on long-term growth.
The city's own records say the same thing. At the April 28, 2026 meeting of Mulberry's Community Redevelopment Agency, board members reviewed Depot 303's March profit and loss statement and raised concerns about continued operating losses. A director of operations from Joinery Development Group pointed to limited customer traffic and the location as the main causes.
The board's answer was practical and local. Members asked for temporary banners and signs around town and along major roads so people would know the building is a food hall, because the permanent signs weren't finished yet. City staff confirmed that Depot 303 flyers could go out with utility bills, with printing the only cost. When a city starts tucking a restaurant flyer into the water bill, it's telling you who it's counting on.
What's at the counters now
The Depot 303 Eat page lists these kitchens, all ordering through the same system:
- Fat Maggies: smash burgers and specialty fries
- Pizza Odyssey: specialty or build-your-own pizza, salads and soft serve
- Tilaw: Filipino and Asian fusion, including grilled chicken skewers and lumpia
- Layers by KC: 20-layer KrepeCake with house-made whipped creams, plus sweet and savory KrepCones
- Lola: birria made in house, which the hall calls "not your grandma's birria, just Lola style"
- Drop Kitchen: listed as coming soon
There's also a bar with beer, cocktails, wine, nonalcoholic drinks and a happy hour, listed on the Depot 303 Drink page. If your household splits between burgers, pizza and lumpia, one stop covers it. That's the whole reason a food hall exists, and it's what makes a weeknight dinner here easy to plan.
The week, laid out
The schedule is where the push for weeknight traffic shows. The Depot 303 events calendar has something running Tuesday through Thursday most weeks, though the hall is listed as closed on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26. There's also a monthly Friday event outside.
| Night | What's on | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Bingo | Depot 303 |
| Wednesday | Mahjong | Depot 303 |
| Thursday | Trivia | Depot 303 |
| Last Friday of the month | Mulberry Jams, free, starting at 6 p.m. | Badcock Commons Park, outside Depot 303 |
| Friday, Nov. 6 | "Hadestown" proshot screening, 7 to 9 p.m. | Gem Theater, 118 NW 1st Ave. |
The recurring nights continue through early December on the hall's calendar, with bingo listed for Dec. 1 and trivia for Dec. 3. Each one is a reason to drive downtown on a night when there would otherwise be nothing to drive there for.
Mulberry Jams is the town's own contribution. The City of Mulberry's event page describes it as a monthly community meet-up with music and activities at Badcock Commons Park. Depot 303 lists it as free and held on the last Friday of each month, right outside its doors. Since the concert sits beside the food hall, a free hour of music and dinner end up in the same place.
The Gem makes it a two-building block
The Gem Theater at 118 NW 1st Ave. is the other half of this stretch. The city runs the Gem as a department funded through its CRA. Bay News 9 reported in July 2026 that Mulberry bought the theater in 2020 and has been restoring and expanding it, adding dressing rooms, a bigger green room and stage, better lighting and more backstage space. It seats just over 200.
This fall the Gem has mostly been doing Friday and Saturday night screenings. The Gem's events page shows "Steel Magnolias" on Sept. 11, "IT" on Sept. 18, and a Dinner and a Movie night with "Edward Scissorhands" on Sept. 26, each running 7 to 9 p.m. Next up is the "Hadestown" proshot screening on Friday, Nov. 6, also 7 to 9 p.m.
Mayor George Hatch described the arrangement to Bay News 9 with the food hall "on the other side of the theater." Both are city projects on the same block, and a 7 p.m. show leaves time to eat at Depot 303 first. For anyone starting earlier in the day, Mulberry Cafe and Coffee House is nearby at 113 W. Badcock Blvd.
December puts the whole town on this block
The weekly calendar keeps things going in a normal week. December is when the rest of Mulberry comes downtown, and the city's holiday schedule starts right here.
- Christmas Tree Lighting, Friday, Dec. 4. The city has it on its calendar, and Depot 303's listing puts it at 6 to 7 p.m. at 118 NW 1st Ave., the Gem's address.
- Christmas Parade and Christmas Village, Saturday, Dec. 12. Depot 303's calendar lists 6 to 9 p.m. at Spence Park and the surrounding streets. Spence Park is at 1100 NE 1st Street, home to the community pool, the bandstand and the pavilions.
- Christmas Lights Decorating Contest, Dec. 15 to 26. The City of Mulberry programs page lists the contest dates.
The tree lighting falls on the Friday after the Dec. 3 trivia night, so the first weekend of December has back-to-back evenings at the Depot 303 and Gem end of NW 1st Ave. Check the city and Depot 303 calendars before heading out, because event details can change.
What's still on the city's to-do list
Not everything downtown is moving at the same speed. The City Manager's report dated Oct. 15, 2026 says the planned Municipal Complex at 802 E. Canal St. is temporarily on hold while the city does a financial assessment. That project would include City Hall, a cultural center and museum, and a police substation. Staff are looking into USDA funding and whether to build it in phases.
So for now, the investment residents can actually use is the food hall, the Gem and the park out front, all on one block of NW 1st Ave. In June, Bay News 9 reported that the city was still trying to recruit businesses into other empty downtown buildings.
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