Business & Tech

Bunnyman Brewing Blends Beer With Urban Legend In Burke Area

Two retired friends started Bunnyman Brewing to bring a brewery to an underserved area of Fairfax County.

Bunnyman Brewing opens Saturday, July 24 on Guinea Road in the Burke/Fairfax area.
Bunnyman Brewing opens Saturday, July 24 on Guinea Road in the Burke/Fairfax area. (Emily Leayman/Patch)

BURKE, VA — Locals may know some variation of the Bunnyman urban legend involving a person in a bunny suit with a hatchet or axe. A common variation centers around the Bunny Man Bridge on Colchester Road in Clifton. But a more accurate version identified by a historian's research suggests the real origin is around Guinea Road in the Burke/Fairfax area in the 1970s. Those woods in the area of the urban legend are next to a new business named after the Bunny Man.

Bunnyman Brewing is set to open Saturday, July 24 at 5583 Guinea Road, Fairfax — the back of the shopping center. The brewery, started by Fairfax County friends Sam Gray and Eric Barrett, not only capitalizes on the urban legend, but it provides a much-needed brewery in the Burke area.

Gray and Barrett, who are W.T. Woodson High School and Fairfax High School graduates, respectively, know each other from their kids doing wrestling together. In between time spent at gyms, they started brainstorming ideas. Barrett has invested in breweries before, and Gray had the idea to start his own brewery. They ultimately decided to partner up and found the space for the business on Guinea Road. The timing was perfect, as Gray retired from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department around the same time Barrett retired from his career.

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"We decided to do something fun in our retirement," Gray told Patch.

Bunnyman Brewing offers 15 beverages on tap, including stouts, IPAs, barley wine and more. For the non-beer drinkers, there are hard seltzers made with real fruit purée as well as non-alcoholic soda and kombucha. The brewery is also working on three sours to come out next week.

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"We'll have something for everybody, and we'll have different things we're experimenting with," said Barrett.

Opening menu at Bunnyman Brewing. Emily Leayman/Patch

Bunnyman Brewing's head brewer is Rob Weick, who brings professional brewing experience to the new brewery. Barrett notes that the brewery won't skimp on ingredients for its beers.

"We give him 100 percent flexibility in what he wants to develop and how he wants to do it," said Gray.

Beverages are self serve from the taps with the option of a regular-sized glass, small glass or tasting glass with flight boards. Customers will check out with a staff member and pour the beverage themselves. Prices are based by the ounce. Food offerings come from food trucks when they are scheduled on site.

Emily Leayman/Patch

Customers can enjoy their drinks in the brewery's 82 indoor and 55 outdoor seats, and it is wheelchair accessible. One of the highlights is the upper level seating that overlooks the brewing equipment.

Emily Leayman/Patch

The owners' partnership began in 2019, and building started last year. There have been a few hurdles along the way as COVID-19 hit. While getting contractors was not a problem, the pandemic has brought delays related to shipping, and costs for products such as lumber were higher.

The business also continues to grapple with the 10 billion can shortage in the U.S. Bunnyman Brewing is grappling with the delay with a focus on beers on tap, but cans will be coming. There are no immediate plans for distribution, Gray said.

Barrett added that Bunnyman Brewing is a community-focused business, so customers can come enjoy the beers on site. The business would also consider delivery if it becomes viable or people want it.

Even before the brewery opened, Bunnyman Brewing has been selling out of its branded merchandise. When available, shirts, hats and hoodies are available online and on site.

The brewery also held a grand opening last weekend, limiting it to 100 on Saturday and 150 on Sunday. Those dates sold out within a half hour.

"We had every seat full inside and out," said Barrett.

Outdoor seating at Bunnyman Brewing. Emily Leayman/Patch

Part of the success Barrett attributed to the Bunnyman legend. But the other part is that it's the only brewery with a tasting room in a five-mile radius. He noted that there are 84,000 houses in this radius and only a few bars — one less with the recent closure of Brion's Grille. The owners know of people that are tired of driving out to Loudoun County for a brewery.

Aside from sharing their brews, the owners look forward to sharing local stories. Barrett says he is a fan of local history and that Burke has a lot of history. Of course, those stories include the Bunnyman legend — the real story documented by a historian, not the Bunnyman Bridge version.

"I would love to bring awareness that there is a lot of cool history in the area," said Barrett.

Bunny Man legend information from the Burke Historical Society. Emily Leayman/Patch

The business has a connection to the Bunnyman Bridge since the woods behind Bunnyman Brewing has train tracks that lead to the bridge. The owners say they won't bring awareness to the Bunnyman Bridge on Colchester Road since the urban legend really didn't happen there. Nevertheless, they did join the adopt-a-highway program to clean up Colchester Road in the area of the bridge.

In the future, the brewery will consider collaborating on events. The owners have discussed a Bunny Man festival and other potential ideas with the Burke Historical Society. They could also get an amended Virginia ABC license if they want to sell off site at festivals and community events. But for now, they're just ready to open the doors and go from there.

For more information, visit www.bunnymanbrewing.com or follow the brewery on Facebook or Instagram.


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