Founding Farmers

Forrester Construction renovated a Founding Farmers restaurant, developed by a coalition of more than 40,000 American family farmers.  Founding Farmers “triple green” approach combines the use of sustainable agricultural products, earth-friendly operations and green facilities. The Washington, DC location was the first LEED™ certified restaurant in the nation’s capital, while the Park Potomac location—also LEED certified—is entirely wind powered. The menu consists of American classics influenced by traditional farm cooking as well as global agriculture.

The Founding Farmers restaurants make extensive use of reclaimed and recycled materials. The DC location features recycled steel mesh guardrails, a two-story reclaimed barn wood portal and a concrete bar counter. The Park Potomac location continues this theme with a bar made of planks salvaged from shoe shipping crates and the use of 100 percent recycled Paperstone counter tops and Oscoda flooring throughout the restaurant.

Project Location:

Washington, DC | Potomac, MD

Architect:

Adamstein & Demetriou

Size:

16,300 SF

Schedule:

3 months

Highlights:

LEED™ Gold

Awards:
  • USGBC National Capital Region Project of the Year
  • NAIOP DC | MD Award of Excellence
  • ENR Mid-Atlantic Construction Award
  • Association for Retail Environments (ARE) Design Award
  • ARE Sustainability Award
  • Mayor’s Environmental Excellence Award