Founding Fathers Opens New Multi-Purpose Headquarters In Prince George's

DISTRICT HEIGHTS, MD — A farmer-owned restaurant, full-service catering and distilling business has expanded its operations into Prince George's County.

In 2024, Founding Farmers purchased the spot at 8100 Cryden Way in District Heights to grow its commercial kitchen. Since then, the company has moved its Washington, D.C., headquarters into the 17,000 square-foot facility in District Heights, leaders announced this week.

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"We started with construction and renovation at the site in 2025 and slowly started moving in as progress was made toward becoming fully operations," Founding Farmers Vice President of Marketing and Communications Meaghan O'Shea told Patch. "Now we have our full-service catering and events company there, the contact center, coffee roasting, pastry making, handcrafted chocolate program and more operating out of 8100 Cryden."

By the end of 2027, Founding Farmers expects to have created more than 90 new full-time jobs, O'Shea told Patch.

Founding Farmers employs more than 1,400 employees throughout the Mid-Atlantic, including its catering company and eight restaurant locations. As a farmer-owned establishment, the business focuses on making its products from scratch, using ingredients provided directly from farmers, while continuing to send a greater portion of the food dollar back to its farmer-owners.

"We're all-in for Maryland, and we're thrilled to have our District Heights headquarters," said co-founder of Founding Farmers and long-time Maryland resident Dan Simons. "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."

The concept of Founding Farmers was originally developed in 2005 and is majority owned by American family farmers, including the 70,000 members of the North Dakota Farmers Union. The group opened its first restaurant in 2008 in Washington, D.C., then expanding to eight restaurant locations across the Mid-Atlantic.

Founding Farmers opened its Founding Spirits distillery in 2016 in Washington, D.C. In 2023, the group launched Founding Farmers Co. Catering & Events.