Murphy's Law building brewery and pizzeria in Burleson

Image credit: Murphy's Law Brewery & Pizzeria.

A name long familiar to the industry is set to take the next big step on its journey, as Murphy's Law Brewery & Pizzeria has signed a lease on a 4,000 square foot location in The Standard at Chisenhall development at 309 W. Hidden Creek Parkway in Burleson.

Michael and Sandra Murphy are the husband-and-wife team behind Murphy's Law, which began as a homebrewing project carrying the family name roughly a decade ago. Along the way, the Murphys created recipes and participated in events like The Riverside Shootout (2017, 2018) at Martin House Brewing Co. of Fort Worth, and Luckapalooza (2018, 2019) at the craft beer-centric restaurant, LUCK in Dallas, prior to its closure in early 2020.

Beyond their homebrewing endeavors, Michael was a crewmember at the brewers' supply shop, Texas Brewing Inc./Pro Brew Supply, while Sandra went on to join Panther Island Brewing of Fort Worth in 2019, working her way up to the position of head brewer, a pioneering promotion for a North Texas female, in June 2021.

Now, after spending the early part of 2025 doing research and formulating a business plan, the couple is set to embark on a new adventure as they develop Murphy's Law Brewery & Pizzeria with partners Shawn Howell, owner of Southside Cellar in Fort Worth, and Ben Walter, creative and culinary director at Southside Cellar and part of the Priory Brewing Collective.

Of course, after all this time, one might wonder what inspired the Murphys to finally establish a brewery of their own.

"We both were tired of living other's dreams and decided to follow our own," says Michael. "Everything came together perfect, where we are in our lives, the location, and Shawn and Ben helping on the ends we don't know."

Once up and running, Murphy's Law will be the first 100% grain-to-glass brewing operation in Burleson. It'll be a female-led business, with Sandra presiding over brewing operations and Michael handling front-of-house duties as general manager.

In the production space, house beers will be brewed on a 3.5-barrel system, with those recipes and products from other beverage-makers filling out the daily menu.

"We plan on having twenty taps, ten that will be Murphy's Law beers," says Michael. "Another five will be guest taps - styles we won't brew with local stuff from our friends in Dallas-Fort Worth. Then, the last five will be non-beer options - seltzer, mead, etc."

On the subject of what they will  brew, the Murphy's Law portfolio will feature a mix of styles, with anything from everyday lagers to original recipes like the company's Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cream Ale appearing on the tapwall.

"I've been a student of craft beer for a decade, and I believe our offerings will reflect that," says Sandra. "I love a Czech lager as much as I love the cereal beer our Luckapalooza fans know us for. Of course we will have a hazy IPA, but I'm most excited about a rotating IPA series we have planned to honor our friend Charlie Pelletier."

Pelletier, who passed away in March 2024, was a devoted local craft beer advocate and the admin of Fort Worth Craft Beer, a Facebook group focused on brewery news in the Panther City. He was also known for taking a sip of a newly-poured pint and saying, "God, I love this beer!" Taking that to heart, the IPA series will be named after this phrase or something similar.

As for the food offerings, Walter will serve as culinary director at Murphy's Law. After being involved with Black Kat Pizza in Fort Worth, Walter is now working to advance the pizza program at Southside Cellar. Plus, he's been collaborating with the team at Vector Brewing of Dallas to perfect the dough they'll be using at Murphy's Law.

So, when is all of this expected to happen? Construction is set to begin on Murphy's Law Brewery & Pizzeria after the first of the year, with the goal to be open by next summer (ideally in time for the World Cup). Readers can stay up-to-date on the progress of the build-out by following the company's social media channels on Facebook and Instagram.