New, Eco-Friendly Founding Farmers Restaurant Grows in Washington, DC
New Upscale Casual Concept will be the First LEED Gold-designed and Certified Green Restaurant to Open in the United States Capital
From recycling to choosing fuel-efficient vehicles, being “green” is quickly becoming a focus in every part of our lives. So it’s no surprise that when surveyed for the new 2009 Zagat Dining Guide, 62% of Washington, DC area residents reported that they are willing to “pay more” for sustainably-raised food. Finding such “green” fare is about to become much easier for Washingtonians, with the mid-September opening of Founding Farmers.
Now undergoing finishing touches at 1924 Pennsylvania Avenue NW – just blocks from the White House – Founding Farmers is an innovative, eco-friendly restaurant that will give new meaning to “earth-friendly eating.” With sustainable agriculture at the heart of its menu and environmentally safe measures built into the very framework of its 8,500-square-foot space, Founding Farmers is designed to meet Leadership in Energy Efficient Design (LEED) certification criteria, and Green Restaurant operational standards, noteworthy efforts that will distinguish this restaurant from others claiming ‘farm fresh’ or ‘green’ in their descriptions.
Developed by VSAG (Vucurevich Simons Advisory Group, www.vsag.com in conjunction with a collective of American Family Farmers, Founding Farmers (www.wearefoundingfarmers.com) will serve fresh Farm-to-Table American-inspired true food and drink in a new, 8,500 square foot soaring space that will accommodate approximately 250 seats. The site is a prominent location at 1924 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, in the recently completed IMF (International Monetary Fund) HQ2 building.
“Founding Farmers is an exciting concept that is honestly derived from a great history of American farm culture and what it means to serve ‘true food’,” describes VSAG Principal Dan Simons. “I’m thrilled by the Zagat Survey news on eating green. It’s not about being trendy – we’re serving foods that help support the environment – and we are bringing the green movement right to the table”.
Led by Chef Graham Duncan, Founding Farmers will offer breakfast, lunch, dinner, Sunday brunch and Sunday supper with menus that include all homemade traditional American classics inspired by the heartland. All menu items will be made with sustainably farmed, and sustainably sourced products and only in-season vegetables and fruits. Not ‘kitschy’ country cooking, the dishes include family farm favorites like fresh-baked biscuits, breads and pastries, omelettes, pancakes, and all the breakfast trimmings, big, hearty rustic farm sandwiches and soups, big, colorful green salads with just-picked vegetables, a variety of pot pies, prime cuts, pot roast, roasted chicken, and rich, delectable pies and desserts from the pastry bar, supplied by the in-house bakery.
On the beverage side, Founding Farmers has an innovative bar program featuring ‘bar-chefing’ of classic cocktails and bar treats by real mixologists, specially trained to know the chemistry of distilled spirits and truly delicious concoctions. Also on the bar will be organic vodkas, family-distilled Bourbons, small batch brewery beers, and a wine list that includes organic wines harvested through sustainable viticulture, and popular varietals from both domestic and international vineyards.
Founding Farmers is the first restaurant in the District of Columbia to seek the LEED Gold certification rating as determined by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), and will also operate as a Green Certified Restaurant, as approved by the Green Restaurant Association, with operational standards to reduce waste, recycle more, and practice earth-friendly food service.
As a Green Certified Restaurant, Founding Farmers will source locally and regionally whenever possible, and will follow strict guidelines for reducing energy use and waste, with management and staff learning the best earth-friendly practices such as water conservation and recycling. In the dining room, eco-friendly choices menus printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks, and house-filtered water that doesn’t come in throwaway bottles. The restaurant has invested in the state-of-the-art Natura® water system to provide guests with fresh-filtered, purified, mineral-filled, chilled sparkling and still water served in glass carafes to eliminate truck deliveries (and polluting emissions) and to reduce tons of plastic and glass waste.
“At Founding Farmers we are offering fabulous, great tasting products and great service, and are doing all we can to protect the environment. We truly believe that we have created a new model to demonstrate that some profit should not be taken when the environmental impact is too great,” describes General Manager Ralph DeRose.
Washington, DC firm CORE architecture + design combined LEED requirements with innovative design. Inside the restaurant are silo-shaped booths made of recycled steel, ‘PaperStone’ countertops in the restrooms, a natural color palette of earth tones in fabrics and finishes made with post-consumer content, reclaimed brick pavers and barn woods underfoot and communal farmhouse tables – all areas that guests will ‘touch’. Other LEED criteria design elements and energy-efficient moves include the use of day lighting to illuminate the restaurant, increased ventilation, green-sourced power and low-VOC emitting paints.
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