Who We Are

In 1986 the Weeping Radish opened the first microbrewery in Manteo, North Carolina. Twenty-three years ago it was illegal for microbreweries to sell their own beer, so owner Uli Bennewitz worked with state legislators to change the law and opened the brewery with a Bavarian restaurant.

Times have certainly changed! Now there are dozens of microbreweries across the state with more opening every day. Things have changed for the Weeping Radish too. In 2006 we opened a new brewery in Jarvisburg, about twelve miles north of Kitty Hawk and in 2007 we closed our Bavarian restaurant in Manteo. Our beers have always been fresh, all natural, and faithfully followed Reinheitsgebot, the German Purity Law of 1516 that states that beer can only be brewed using hops, malt, yeast and water. When we moved to Jarvisburg we wanted to apply those same principles to food and launched our “Farmer to Fork” concept.

The US food chain has consistently expanded and by not the average food travels over 2000 miles from the farm to the consumer. Every perishable commodity (which includes most of the food we eat) requires additives, chemicals and preservatives in order to “survive” this processing and distribution system. Our goal is to reduce the food chain from 2000 miles to less than 200. Our new facility includes a 14-acre organic and biodynamic farm and a butcher’s facility, operated by a German Master Butcher, that only buys animals from local, sustainable family farms. Our deli-café uses these ingredients to create a menu that is determined by availability of meats and seasonal vegetables rather than a chef ordering from a catalog.

We are honored to have been a vacation destination for so many families visiting Manteo and are looking forward to being a leading force in the Farmer to Fork movement!