A long line formed outside Oak & Stone Tuesday morning as the restaurant celebrated its grand opening at Eastport in The Villages, bringing its scratch kitchen and signature self-pour Tap Wall to the growing town center.

The Oct. 6 celebration included a ribbon cutting, giveaways, a prize wheel and an inaugural pour by Oak & Stone and Artistry Restaurants leadership. The Eastport restaurant is Oak & Stone’s 10th location and one of the first restaurants to open in the new Eastport Town Center.

Oak & Stone pairs a scratch kitchen with a self-pour experience that lets guests explore beverages at their own pace. Eastport’s Tap Wall features 66 choices, including 36 drafts, 16 wines and 14 bourbons. Guests use a tap card to activate their selection and control how much they pour. “Tap guides” are also on hand to help newcomers learn the system and explore the selections.

Food is a major part of the concept. Oak & Stone serves artisan pizzas made with dough fermented for 36 hours, including the Sweet Heat with pepperoni, capicola, jalapeño and hot honey and the Farmer & Pig topped with prosciutto and arugula. The menu also features Philly cheesesteak egg rolls filled with shaved ribeye, bourbon sticky wings, pretzel-crusted tuna sashimi, burgers, smoked gouda mac and cheese and a crispy grouper BLT.

The Eastport location serves brunch every day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with dishes including a giant cinnamon roll, lemon-blueberry stuffed French toast, chicken and waffles, breakfast burritos and the Hangover Pizza. Desserts vary by location.

Melissa Elders, vice president of marketing for Artistry Restaurants, says the company recently rebranded Oak & Stone and identified a customer who isn’t defined by age or demographics.

“We recently went through a rebranding of Oak & Stone about six months ago, and one of the things we identified in that process was that every group has a social leader,” Melissa says. “It defies demographics. It isn’t for this group or that group. It’s for everyone. It’s the planner, the leader, the person in that group text who plans activities.”

She says that made The Villages a natural fit.

“The Villages is known for that,” she says. “There are so many clubs, and in each one are the people who love adventure and love to lead.”

The grand opening also included a $15,951.84 check presentation from Artistry Restaurants to Habitat for Humanity of Lake-Sumter. The donation represented proceeds raised through other opening events and donated by Artistry.

Oak & Stone launched in Sarasota in 2016 and has since expanded throughout Florida and into Texas.

Oak & Stone is located at 7014 Central Lake Drive, Eastport in The Villages. For more information, visit oakandstone.com.

Photos: Gina Horan