Thursday, July 14, 2016

Modern Market now set for mid-August opening at Bethesda Row

I have an update from Modern Market on their Bethesda Row location, which will be their first of several in the D.C. region. You may have seen my report on the sign having been installed, and the furious pace of construction inside. A spokesperson says that they expect to open in mid-August, which I think they are definitely on-target for, given the progress on the interior build-out.

While you may recall that Modern Market has a focus on healthy dining and farm-sourced ingredients, I now have more specific information on which farms they are sourcing from.

Farms will include Satur Farms (located on one of my favorite places, Long Island, NY), which specializes in salad greens; Greater Tater (in Wayland, NY, down I-390 from another favorite, Rochester), which is all about potatoes if you couldn't tell; Phillips Mushroom Farms (in Kennett Square, PA) which has a gourmet division for restaurants; Harvest Queen Farms (Warwick, NY), which produces onions and spring mix lettuce; Bergamo Brothers Farms (Vineland, NJ) produces lettuce and leaf vegetables; and Sheppard Farms (a family farm boasting 233 years of operation[!] in Cedarville, NJ), which sells asparagus, cucumber, lettuce and bell peppers.

Other product sources will include Freebird Chicken in Pennsylvania, where the birds are raised on vegetarian, antibiotic-free diets and allowed to roam in barns; Compass Coffee on 7th Street NW in the District; Capital Kombucha, also in the District; and, rounding out the D.C. trifecta, Atlas Brew Works. Toasted sandwiches will be on bread from the Nation's Capital, as well - Union Market's Lyon Bakery.

Modern Market has two things in common with the former tenant of their space at 4930 Elm Street, Boloco: it is a fast-casual restaurant, and it pays it workers a living wage. The emphasis on providing a living wage extends to at least some of their producers, as well. Satur Farms states that its workers receive "living wages."

You could probably dine there if you are on a living wage, also, as entrees are in the reasonable $10 range. Modern Market will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

While the restaurant will address possibly the largest list of specialty diets I have heard of in Bethesda, they also emphasize that healthy eating isn't just about dieting. It is about avoiding artificial ingredients, hormones, etc. By way of example, Modern Market conducted a two-year search just to find pickles that didn't contain sodium benzoate.

“What we love about DC is that it’s filled with our customer – active health minded folks who care what they eat,” the chain's co-founder, Anthony Pigliacampo said in a statement Wednesday. “Expanding Modern Market gives us an opportunity to bring awareness to sustainability, both in food and in employees.”

Want to test out Modern Market before the masses? Be sure to sign up on their website for a soft-opening invite, and you will get in before the doors open to the public (and the food and drinks will be free)!

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

#SponsoredContent

Brian said...

Idk about that, 7:17. Even if it were - so what?

Good article Robert, I just signed up for the soft opening!

Robert Dyer said...

7:17: Nope.

Anonymous said...

Tarnation Bob will hate this joint. Healthy food? No way. Bring on the Big Mac's and Cheetohs

Anonymous said...

What is a living wage? Sounds like socialism.

Anonymous said...

I see there's also one opening in Congressional Plaza later this year.
Hope they are great and do well.

Elm said...

Yes, I read about their new Rockville location on RockvilleNights.com

Great site to read if you live, work or play in Rockville. :)

Anonymous said...

Seriously Elm- how much does Dyer pay you?

Elm said...

8:50 AM I'm paid nothing to read RockvilleNights.com. I want to read it to keep informed on the goings on in Rockville.

I would gladly pay to read RockvilleNights.com, but thankfully it's free to read :)

It's the most read daily Rockville focused news source at this point.

Anonymous said...

That's where I saw it too, Elm. I read a dozen or so local sites. Dyer's sites included; I enjoy them.
Sadly, no one's paying me to read anything. But if there's someone out there who would pay me to read their site or get clicks? Let me know. I'm perfect for the job.
Love and bacon, 8:04AM

Robert Dyer said...

8:50: Does the other site pay Dan Reed to promote their stuff? Never see you questioning him about his Bethesda Now I+II obsession? So why would you attack one of my readers for supporting me?

Robert Dyer said...

8:00: In this case, they are voluntarily paying a higher wage. Socialism is when the government dictates a specific wage, rather than the private sector.

Anonymous said...

Reed played a wonderful role in the demise of Bethesda NOW. Bad idea to hire a guy who hates Bethesda to write about it.

The NOW home office in Arlington didn't vet their writers over the river too well :)


Anonymous said...

ALL HAIL HANS RIEMER ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US

Anonymous said...

#snoribund

Anonymous said...

It's a shame that none of their farmers are from Maryland or the Ag Reserve. It would be nice if they supported local farms. Understandable that they're using farms they know. But, the reality is using NY/NJ farms increases their carbon footprint. Might be healthy but defeats the purpose of reducing impact to the planet.

Anonymous said...

Can anyone understand what 10:37 is attempting to shout?
"all your base are belong to us" Huh?

Anonymous said...

Hoping this won't get deleted as a "violation of term" but I think this is the video from a few years ago @10:37 is referring to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fvTxv46ano

Anonymous said...

11:11AM Good point. The Maryland Buy Local Challenge Week is July 23-31. Maybe more restaurants will be encouraged to buy from MD farms in the future.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, 1:26PM. Appreciate it.
You're probably ok with the link since it isn't defamatory, doesn't attack anyone or promote a competing site.