Voodoo Brewing Co. is weeks away from opening its first Washington-area taproom, on the ground floor of Makers Rise on Dulles Station Boulevard, a short walk from the Innovation Center Metro station. We toured the space on September 17 with owner Curry Lee, who expects to open in two to three weeks once the final permits come through.
Fans have waited about a year. FFXnow first reported the Herndon plans in March 2025 with a target of the end of that year, and in April 2026 the owners told The Burn they were aiming for May.
Developers have added hundreds of apartments around Innovation Center station since it opened, and they have hundreds more apartments and townhouses under construction or approved. The neighborhood has plenty of places to live and work. In our view it still needs a place where neighbors run into each other on a Tuesday night, and Voodoo has a shot at becoming one.
Voodoo began in 2005 as a small Pennsylvania brewery
Matt Allyn founded Voodoo in 2005 in Meadville, a college town in northwestern Pennsylvania. For its first seven years the company only brewed beer for distribution. In 2012 head brewer Curt Rachocki and his brother Matteo bought it and opened its first taproom. Voodoo started franchising in 2017, and by March 2025 it had four company-owned locations and 22 franchises, including one in Virginia Beach.
The Herndon taproom will not brew on site, according to FFXnow. Curry’s team will pour Voodoo’s Pennsylvania-made core beers instead. The Burn lists Good Vibes, a West Coast IPA; Thunder Lizard, an imperial IPA; and Lacto Kooler, a Berliner weisse, which is a tart, low-alcohol German wheat beer. Seasonals such as a Key Lime Kolsch will rotate through.
Curry Lee lives in Reston and came up through the beer business
Curry’s full name is John Curry Lee. He worked in the brewing industry for about seven years before he enrolled in business courses at Virginia Tech. He found Voodoo’s franchise program during the pandemic and won the Herndon territory after an approval day with the company’s owners.
He lives in Reston, a few miles from the taproom. Along one wall he added a hidden door with the look of a speakeasy entrance, decorated as a tribute to his love of cats. We will leave it to you to find it.
A local artist painted the murals that cover the main walls in bright, vibrant color. The artist carried the work into the restrooms, where George Washington makes an appearance.
The menu covers a full bar and a kitchen aiming above standard pub food
Beer is the headline, but Curry is building a full bar. The drink list will include cocktails, wine and frozen margaritas, so a group with one IPA drinker and three people who want something else can all order.
The kitchen is working on burgers ground with brisket and fries cooked in beef tallow, which is rendered beef fat. General manager Travis comes from Wisconsin and plans to bring some of the Midwest to the menu, so expect a few items built around cheese.
The taproom also has a row of retro pinball machines. Jaws and Iron Maiden were in place during our visit, with more on the way.
Hundreds of new apartments and townhouses are going up around Dulles Station
Metro opened Innovation Center station in November 2022, where Route 28 crosses the Dulles Toll Road. Despite the Herndon mailing address, Dulles Station sits outside the Town of Herndon, in the unincorporated McNair area of Fairfax County. Developers have built, approved or proposed these projects near the station:
- Makers Rise. Crimson Partners welcomed the first residents to its 356-apartment building in September 2023. Voodoo takes about 3,750 square feet of the ground-floor retail space.
- 2310 Dulles Station Boulevard. Directly across the street from Voodoo, DSVO Dulles is building a seven-story, 510-apartment building, the last undeveloped piece of the Dulles Station development. The Fairfax County Planning Commission approved it in November 2022, and the plan includes ground-floor retail and townhouse-style units along pedestrian walkways.
- Coppermine Commons III. On August 25, 2026, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved 98 townhouses from Felice Development Group to replace a vacant five-story office building at 13851 Sunrise Valley Drive.
- Dulles Corner. Pulte Homes has proposed 145 townhouses in place of the Park West office building at 13880 Dulles Corner Lane.
Two of the four are townhouse communities, so buyers could soon have new homes to purchase near the station, in a part of Herndon real estate long defined by office parks and rental apartments.
Lake Anne Brew House and Aslin show what one taproom can do for a neighborhood
Jason and Melissa Romano opened Lake Anne Brew House in 2016 in a 1,000-square-foot space at Lake Anne Plaza, with 47 seats and a deck over the water. We have been regulars for years. The Romanos gave neighbors a reason to stay on the plaza after dinner, and other businesses there benefit from the foot traffic. In 2025 they leased the former Chesapeake Chocolates storefront next door to double their seating.
Aslin Beer Company started in an industrial park off Sunset Park Drive in Herndon, then came back to 767 Elden Street in the heart of downtown Herndon with a rooftop bar, a coffee counter and a restaurant partner, Izzi. Aslin calls the building its “return to where it all started.” In our view, Aslin now gives downtown Herndon the same kind of evening draw the Romanos gave Lake Anne.
Dulles Station already has a Metro stop and a fast-growing population. It lacks the history of Lake Anne and the walkable main street of downtown Herndon. Voodoo is a franchise of a Pennsylvania brand rather than a homegrown taproom, but it has a Reston owner and hundreds of residents living upstairs. Whether it becomes a regular stop depends on those residents and the ones moving in across the street.
Plan your first visit
- Where: 2315 Dulles Station Boulevard, Herndon, on the ground floor of Makers Rise.
- When: The owners expect to open in early October. Watch the Voodoo Herndon website for the date.
- Getting there: Innovation Center station on the Silver Line is a short walk away. Parking details were not final at our visit, so check before you go.
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