The restaurant group behind Founding Farmers and Farmers Fishers Bakers has worked with local distillers to produce its own signature gin and rye whiskey in recent years. Now, the group will begin producing booze itself with a new distillery pub called Farmers & Distillers, coming to 600 Massachusetts Ave. NW in the fall of 2016.
The $7 million project will inhabit a 12,000-square-foot space with a 300-seat restaurant and 30-seat bar. Farmers Restaurant Group, which is owned by Dan Simons, Michael Vucurevich, and the North Dakota Farmers Union, will team with Rick Wasmund of Copper Fox Distillery in Sperryville, Va. on the distillery component. (Wasmund collaborated with Beverage Director Jon Arroyo on Farmers Restaurant Group's existing spirits.)
Farmers & Distillers will be open every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner plus weekend brunch. According to a press release, the menu is still in the works, but it will take inspiration from the neighborhood, the stories of local immigrant entrepreneurs, and "the spirit of George Washington," who was a distiller himself.
GrizForm Design Architects, which is behind the design of Bluejacket, Farmers Fishers Bakers, and Doi Moi, will create the look of the place with "several microclimates within the restaurant, each with its own slightly different personality and whimsical touch-points." The distillery pub also aims to have a LEED Silver certification.
Stay tuned for additional details.
Photo courtesy Farmers Restaurant Group