Founding Farmers Blog

Co-Owner Dan Simons took to DC’s government halls on Friday, testifying at a hearing on plastic straws and stirrers. Speaking before the DC Committee on Transportation and the Environment, Simons encouraged the council to pass the bill that prohibits the sale, use, or provision of non-compostable straws and stirring implements by food service entities, beginning January 1, 2019 with one change: replace the word “compostable” with “biodegradable.” At Founding Farmers, we made the switch to biodegradable straws over a year ago.

Join us as we welcome DC Cocktail Week back to the DC metro area. With over 60 local bartenders, mixologists, and bar and beverage program innovators participating in this year’s event, be sure to gather friends and come see us for the festivities.

MoCo’s Founding Farmers won a prestigious local award Thursday evening from Bethesda Magazine and Bethesda Green, the Leading By Example Green Business Award. As a farmer-owned company heavily invested in protecting and preserving our planet for years to come, we are always delighted to be recognized for what we consider to be necessary and important work right here in our own neighborhood.

As a farmer-owned company, our sustainability efforts have always been an important part of our mission, which includes mindful management of our trash. Our efforts have led to LEED certifications, 3 Star Green Restaurant Association certifications, and numerous awards, including our most recent Near-Zero Waste Award, one of our two recent GRA wins.

Founding Farmers joined over 2,000 beer lovers at the King of Prussia Beerfest Royale last weekend. This was our second time participating in what locals consider to be the #1 ranked festival and suburban Philadelphia’s must-attend fall beer festival.

Northern Virginia runners headed to Reston Town Center over the weekend for the Reston Pumpkin 5K & Kids Pumpkin Dash. Some participants even ran in their festive Halloween costumes. Founding Farmers Reston Station was on-site handing out our specialty Compass Coffee First Bake Blend and our famous scratch-made donuts.

Founding Farmers won two major awards from the Green Restaurant Association last week for our daily efforts to operate sustainably. The People’s Choice Award, which is voted on by the public, named Farmers Restaurant Group (FRG), which owns and operates Founding Farmers, as their favorite green restaurants in the nation. 

On Monday, Founding Farmers DC Chef Oscar Rivera was a winning angler for Farmers Restaurant Group. He reeled in a 31-inch Chesapeake Bay Rockfish that landed our company team a 3rd place trophy at the 7th Annual Congressional Seafood’s FINvitational.

On September 18th, Founding Farmers Reston Station hosted an “Art Reveal” to give invited guests the opportunity to learn more about the original art across our restaurant. It was an evening dedicated to celebrating our commissioned artists and their extraordinary work.

Some have been critical of recent worldwide efforts to eliminate plastic straws. They say plastic straws are so small. How does eliminating them really have any significant environmental impact? For Founding Farmers, and across all of our restaurants, ditching the plastic straw has become a collaborative mission with close to 150 restaurants, NGOs, and government leaders across the DC area.