Brewery Bhavana to open location in Cary's Fenton district

Brewery Bhavana will open a location in Cary's Fenton shopping district this year, property managers announced Monday.

Posted 10:27 p.m. Jan 8 — Updated 2:30 p.m. Jan 9

Kathy Hanrahan

, WRAL lifestyle editor

CARY, N.C. — Brewery Bhavana will open a location in Cary's Fenton shopping district this year, property managers announced Monday.

Brewery Bhavana's Fenton location will be in a 2,000 square-foot space that will feature an extensive outdoor patio. The restaurant will offer a "more casual experience focused on its award-winning Belgian-inspired beers and dim sum offerings, and feature a skylit bookstore and floral shop," according to property manager Hines.

Brewery Bhavana opened its first location in March 2017 in downtown Raleigh. Bhavana has received numerous awards including being named one of the 10 Coolest Places to Eat in the World in 2018 by Forbes and one of Bon Appetit's 10 Best New Restaurants in America. The restaurant was also named a semi-finalist for a James Beard Award in 2018.

During the COVID pandemic in 2020, the restaurant became the focus of allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate workplace conduct. Former employees came forward to WRAL, describing an environment that involved the objectification of male and female employees, allegations of sexual assault and a culture of silence.

In June 2020, Vanvisa Nolintha and Patrick Woodson, co-owners at the time of Brewery Bhavana, said in a statement that their fellow co-owner Vansana Nolintha, who is Vanvisa's brother, would be stepping away from both Bhavana and its sister restaurant, Bida Manda. The siblings had opened Bida Manda in 2012 at 222 S. Blount St., next to the space that would become Brewery Bhavana.

In September 2020, Woodson and Vanvisa Nolintha announced that they would be stepping away from their current roles and hired Frederique Leonard as the chief executive officer of Brewery Bhavana.

Brewery Bhavana spokesperson Andrea Weigl said that Woodson took over as sole owner of Bhavana in May 2023. "Woodson has no stake in Bida Manda, and Leonard does not have any role at Bida Manda," Weigl said.

Brewery Bhavana, Bida Manda reopen with new management

"We're most excited about the opportunity to offer our version of an outdoor beer garden," Woodson said of the upcoming Cary new location. "We will be able to create this casual outdoor dining space filled with live plants and offering light dim sum plates and flowing drinks, which we cannot offer in downtown Raleigh."

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