Dan Simons and Mike Vucurevuch were the principals of a hospitality services firm Vucurevich Simons Advisory Group; little did these two consultants know that they would become restaurant owners later in life.

For years, they managed Founding Farmers in Foggy Bottom for a group of North Dakota farmers and now they’re hitting the Potomac and just opened a new one on November 3^rd. The two consultants stated that they wanted the farmers to be partners rather than just working for them.

The North Dakota Farmers Union, which is a 42,000-member cooperative of family farmers, is licensing the rights to the new restaurant, its third one in Washington. The Union entered the market in 2006 when Farmers and Fishers opened in Georgetown to promote family farms. When the Union was ready to expand, the farmers turned to Simons and Vucurevich who developed the Founding Farmers concept and created the Farmers Restaurant Group to manage the restaurant.

The Potomac Founding Farmers is located off Interstate 270 at Montrose Road, which features silo-styled booths, a farm-themed mural, reclaimed barn wood and flooring made out of recycled materials.

The entire project cost in excess of $5 million and to finance the development, $4.3 million were raised through an equity offering that attracted 25 local investors.

The group is attempting to just buy food from family farms around the country, although it isn’t averse to picking up seasonal items from other areas. The local mantra is definitely an important aspect of the restaurant and one they hope to keep going for years to come.