A gun store that opened its doors in Ocala in 2021 has permanently closed its doors less than a year after the business filed for bankruptcy.
Big Daddy Guns officially closed its location at 3558 SW College Rd #400 over the past several months.
Although no reason for the closure has been given, it comes just 10 months after the corporation, Big Daddy Unlimited, announced that its locations in Ocala and Gainesville had filed for bankruptcy to “resolve numerous liabilities to various creditors,” according to a statement issued by the company in March 2023.
“Those stores are operating as usual and will continue to provide the best service for our customers…Realistically, this will have little effect on the two locations, and all of our other stores remain entirely unaffected by this filing,” reads a statement issued by Nicholas A. Lahera, the company’s public relations coordinator, on March 30, 2023.
The company, which operates an online store, first announced plans to expand into Ocala in 2020.
At the time, the company planned to construct a 40,000-square-foot distribution center, as well as the retail location along SW College Road.
Big Daddy Guns celebrated the grand opening of its retail location in Ocala on February 20, 2021.
In recent months, customers have taken to social media and review sites to complain of unfulfilled orders and indefinite shipping delays, with many reporting an inability to reach staff at the Ocala location before the closure.
Although Big Daddy Guns has permanently closed, the city of Ocala still has around a dozen businesses and pawn shops that sell firearms, including Ocala Armory, GPS Guns and Ammo, and GoodTime Outdoors, among others.