Founding Farmers Opens Maryland Headquarters

Founding Farmers has expanded operations in Maryland. The company, which operates eight restaurants and catering and distilling businesses, bought a 17,000-square-foot facility in District Heights in 2024 to grow its commercial kitchen. Since then, it has moved its D.C. headquarters into the space.

The District Heights facility is now fully operational. It produces scratch-made food and drink, including house-roasted coffee, handcrafted chocolates, fresh-baked pastries and more, for the restaurants and the catering company. By the end of 2027, Founding Farmers expects to have created more than 90 new full-time jobs in the area.

“We’re all-in for Maryland, and we’re thrilled to have our District Heights headquarters,” says Dan Simons, co-founder of Founding Farmers and long-time Maryland resident, in a release from the governor’s office. “The employee base is strong, the long-term investment thesis in the area is compelling and the proximity to the Beltway is an essential ingredient for our expansion recipe that helps us better serve our restaurants, diners and customers.”

Lara Hardcastle, Farmers Restaurant Group, will present at How To Spec Live, hosted by Foodservice Equipment Reports.

The facility centralizes pieces of Founding Farmers’ production and administration into one space, including catering operations, some of its food and drink, holiday offerings, culinary classes, contact center and more. Coming up, the space will support the future launch of a direct-to-consumer online shop.

Founding Farmers is majority owned by American family farmers, including the 70,000 members of the North Dakota Farmers Union. Later this month, Lara Hardcastle, senior vice president of Farmers Restaurant Group, will present at How To Spec Live, hosted by Foodservice Equipment Reports. Stay tuned for coverage on FER’s website following the event.