By: Natalie Manitius
Bean Bar is getting a buzz, and caffeine isn’t the responsible party. The Leesburg coffee shop recently received a license for wine and beer on premises and unveils their wine and cider program today.
Owner Sonia Gupta explains the role of these liquid offerings, as “the design, the vision of Bean Bar was really to create a space and an environment and a menu to bring people together, and I always felt like coffee and wine created the best human engagement, interaction, conversation,” Gupta says.
Between caffeine-induced productivity and relaxed conversation over wine, Bean Bar provides a venue for a wide variety of activities and aims to be “a place where anyone can come and find a thought or a seat that speaks to them,” Gupta explains. The drink license is part of a three-phase process, which began with coffee and will end with food.
Bean Bar will also offer mimosas for Sunday brunch hours, and sangria and beer around the clock. Though Gupta sought to include local Virginia beers as part of Friday’s unveiling, NoVA’s snowstorm stalled delivery efforts. In alignment with the business’s locavore ways, Bean Bar will feature beers from local breweries starting next week.
Today’s available wines all come from Virginia’s backyards, as Gupta espouses the idea to “leverage the best of Virginia and bring the best to Virginia.” Wine offerings include sparkling, red, white and dessert, and travel from as far as Jefferson’s home and the Northern Neck. Vessels vary according to their contents, as Bean Bar offers eight glass varieties–two for red wines, two for whites, one for desserts, and a different shape for cider, beer and champagne.
Non-oenophiles can also partake in the libations, as Virginia ciders are included in the alcohol debut. Keswick’s Castle Hill and Dugspur’s Foggy Ridge represent the fermented apple category, providing three tasty options for cider fans.
Bean Bar plans to adapt the drink menu in order to reflect the best that Virginia has to offer, and pairings will eventually be made possible with a food menu./ 1601 Village Market Blvd. Suite 122, Leesburg.
