Founding Farmers Close to Opening in Reston Station

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by Fatimah Waseem January 11, 2018 at 1:30 pm 23 Comments

Founding Farmers plans to open its Reston Station location in early 2018.

The opening of the restaurant, originally set for summer 2017, was delayed due after plans to the 10,000-square-foot location (1901 Reston Metro Plaza Drive) were revamped.

No firm opening date has been made public, although the company has begun hiring for all positions and expects to open in the first quarter of this year. In August, a company representative told Reston Now the restaurant will open next month.

A spokesperson for Comstock Partners, the owner of Reston Station, said the company went back to the drawing board to improve the design and layout of the restaurant after opening a new location — Farmers & Distillers — in the District.

“After opening their downtown D.C. restaurant a year ago, they decided to make some major changes to better improve operations,” said Maggie Parker, vice president of communications and community outreach for Comstock Partners. “They can’t wait to open.”

The Reston restaurant rests on the ground floor of a planned 200-room hotel at Reston Station and on top of the 3,500-space Reston Station Transit Facility. A large mezzanine is planned at the site, which sits next to the 45o-unit BLVD at Reston Station.

The farmer-owned restaurant include a full-service menu and bar with breakfast, lunch and dinner and a Farmers Market buffet brunch on weekends. A “First Bake” menu will offer takeaway breakfast and coffee on weekday mornings, according to the restaurant’s website.

Founding Farmers is owned by more than 47,000 family farmers of the North Dakota Farmers Union and is supplied by hundreds of family farms, according to its website.

No update was available on when Sweet Leaf, a locally owned cafe chain scheduled to open next to Founding Farmers will open. Signage on the store front indicates an opening in the winter of last year.

(This post was updated on Friday, Jan. 12 at 10:29 a.m. to include background about Founding Farmers).

Photo by Fatimah Waseem

Drip

Does anybody else notice that Reston Station still continues to blast Christmas music every afternoon during rush hour? I wonder if they will keep it up until Easter. I suppose every neighborhood has that one guy who doesn’t take down his Christmas stuff.
- The Constitutionalist
  
  Maybe they like Christmas music.
  - reston resident
    
    They are fighting the alternative-fact War On Christmas!
    I say Happy Festivus and Happy Kwanza to all my Christian fiends… I mean friends!
    - The Constitutionalist
      
      At least you say something.
      - reston resident
        
        I figure that Happy Festivus would be better received than “Die Infidels!”
      - The Constitutionalist
        
        I think the latter would be well received in this community. After all, #HHNHH.
- EliteinReston
  
  YES!!!! I was just going to post:
  Maybe by the time Founding Farmers opens, the Christmas music will be turned off. #The TwelveMONTHSofChristmas
- EliteinReston
  
  They heard us and stopped the holiday music by Thursday night.
Ted Gebis

That underground parking is a mess. Too confusing. These spaces are reserved for this, those spaces for that. I’ll be continuing to visit a truly local establishment called Red’s Table at South Lakes Shopping Center. Great food, owned by a Restonian and free parking.
- LC
  
  I have given Red’s Table a shot four times and every time the food is just meh. I guess it’s just me but I have not been impressed at all…and I was so excited because it definitely has one of the best views in Reston.
  - lukeinva
    
    The food at Red’s Table is amateurish at best.
    - Ted Gebis
      
      Tom Sietsma from The Washington Post seemed to like Red’s. On the other hand, he didn’t have much good to say about Founding Farmers.
  - Willie Reston
    
    They got a new chef about a year ago and the food has improved a bit. Prior to that, it was lousy I agree.
- SuperCoop1280
  
  I like Red’s Table and you are right, the parking over at the Reston station is a mess. My only issue with Red’s Table is the ambiance seems off to me. The food is good but the atmosphere is just lacking.Also, while the parking is free over at South Lake’s, its also a mess. Going to the CVS or Pet Valu sometimes requires a hike form the Safeway or BBT lot.
Tom H

Wish this article included information about parking. Will the restaurant validate?
Why do you bother?

You could park at the free lot on Sunset Hills. It’s not far to walk from there.
Howard Wu

Glorified IHOP.
- AJ
  
  Farm to table….what does that mean… Founding Farmers is FARMER OWNED….made from scratch is a bit different, house MADE distillery,….sustainable…LEEDS certified…. the folks ARE unique in every aspect of their daily commitment … starting from using the flour of their North Dakota owmers in the breads they bake to the ingredients in the Vodka ans Rye Whiskey they locally produce…. hang on Howard…. it’s definately a bit more…
  - Anonymous Person
    
    You need….some more random….too long…. ellipses sprinkled throughout your….incoherent ramblings.
    - Mike M
      
      Go easy. AJ might be an artist.
  - The Constitutionalist
    
    Your message is coming in broken and unreadable, over.
- JoeInReston
  
  Farm to table wannabee.
Fact

Founding Fathers is a case study about Americans losing family tradition and forgetting how to cook.

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