After many months in the works, Founding Farmers announced it will open its latest location this February in Tysons Corner, just a block from the new Metro stop. Here’s what you need to know.
It’s the biggest yet.
The downtown DC and Rockville locations may look small next to the new multi-level, 12,000-square-foot restaurant fashioned after a Virginia farmhouse. Fun design elements include a private phone closet so guests can take calls on their cell phones without stepping outside; bird’s nest light fixtures; and a space built to mimic a farm-style front porch.
There will be biscuits and “croissant-style” doughnuts.
Similar to newish Tysons neighbor America Eats Tavern, the menu takes cues from local Virginian ingredients and recipes. About 35 percent of the lineup is unique to the location, with Southern biscuits, “croissant-style” doughnuts (just don’t call them Cronuts), honey-glazed hams, and an in-house butcher for utilizing large cuts and whole animals, which can help make meats more wallet-friendly for customers.
It’s open early, and late.
Think diner hours: breakfast, lunch, dinner, post-dinner, brunch, seven days a week. The kitchen will also offer an express breakfast service with to-go items, handy for anyone jumping on the nearby Silver Line.
Brunch will be bountiful.
As at other Founding Farmers locations, a generous buffet-style brunch will be offered Saturday and Sunday. Look for a similar lineup of salads and sweets, egg dishes, a carving table, fried chicken, and more.
Or forget all of the above and go for a juice cleanse.
If all the above sounds a little much, beverage director Jon Arroyo has a solution: a cold-pressed bottled juice cleanse, with vitamin-rich, detoxifying sips guests can drink in the restaurant—maybe with a side of ham?—or take to go. Less health-conscious imbibers will find Virginia-made spirits, 12 beers on tap, and a variety of cocktails mixed with house-made bitters, syrups, and fresh juices.
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Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
