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Sam Gray, co-owner of Bunnyman Brewing, holds the key to historic building W13 at the Workhouse Arts Center. (Credit: Sam Gray)
The Lorton Workhouse Campus officially has a new tenant now that Fairfax County has turned over the keys to historic building W13 to the owners of Bunnyman Brewing.
According to Bunnyman co-founder and co-owner Sam Gray, he and fellow co-owner Eric Barrett are targeting a spring 2024 opening date for the new Bunnyman Brewing and Café, which will have a small kitchen and serve coffee, house-made sodas, seltzers, beer, cider and wine. Most of the beer will be made onsite at the Lorton location, said Gray, though it will be supplemented with brews from Bunnyman’s Burke-based brewery.
Although it took longer than expected for Bunnyman to gain access to the newly restored and renovated building — the Office of the County Executive and Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck recently interceded to help move things along, according to Gray — the new tenants are pleased with the outcome.
“The county did a great job of making a fun outdoor boardwalk in front of the original building, and we will have a nice outdoor seating area,” said Gray.
Outdoor seating area at Bunnyman's new locationOn the interior of the restored building, most of the brick walls have been covered with drywall, but Gray noted that Bunnyman is planning some “fun interior designs” to emphasize the original building. As part of the tenant fit-out process, Bunnyman’s owners will finish the floors and installation of components required to accommodate the brewing equipment, then put in a kitchen, cold room and draft system. The final stage of fit-out will involve adding furniture and finishes, said Gray.
By early 2024, the new brewery and café expects to start hiring staff.
Across the courtyard from W13, historic building W15 is also wrapping up restoration work, according to Sharon North, spokesperson for Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services. The county continues to coordinate with real estate broker JLL on the marketing effort for that building, she said.
