Vivify Burger & Lounge was opened on September 26, 2013. The owners Blake & Aby Bethem have a long history of restaurant experience here in Fredericksburg. After meeting while working in a local downtown restaurant in 1997, they went on to owning and running Bistro Bethem on 309 William Street for 14 years before opening Vivify.
Blake (or Chef) began his culinary interest while serving in the USMC, and completed his education at Johnson & Wales University in Virginia Beach. Aby (or wife of the chef), arrived to Fredericksburg for the University of Mary Washington, where she received her BS in Business Administration. Working side by side for over 20 years, Blake’s creativity coupled with Aby’s logical business side has been a great recipe for their restaurant careers.
viv·i·fy transitive verb \ˈvi-və-ˌfī\
: to make (someone or something) more lively or vivid
Our translation- Vibrant gathering place.
Vivify, meaning to us ‘lively & bright’, was inspired by our young children. We are passionate about our product choices and wanted a casual environment where our family would be happy eating, and we would feel good about the quality we were providing to them. We will not substitute on quality- locally baked bread, grass fed beef, homemade sauces, farm fresh produce (whenever possible), homemade desserts and new creations all the time. We are more then just a burger joint, offering vegetarian and gluten free options as well. At the time of conception- we were the first to have a rooftop deck in Fredericksburg, and were one of the first/only to have our style of order window service. We are an original ‘fast casual’ dining establishment in downtown Fredericksburg.
Our vision has organically evolved from family friendly dining into the early evening with ‘the lounge’ concept and bar coming alive as the night progresses. Weather you are looking for a relaxed dinner with your family, or an evening out with friends- we really do fit with what you are looking for.
