With Founding Farmers at the top of nearly everyone’s list as a destination for great plates influenced by Southern and soul food cooking, VSAG’s own Dan Simons is a sought-after source of information on this popular and delicious food topic.  Simons’ thoughts on Washington, DC, Southern-inspired cuisine was featured in the Express Night Out article “Take Your Mouth South: Finding Healthy Cuisine in Washington’s Soul Food Craze” published on July 14, 2009. Read the full article here.

Vucurevich Simons Advisory Group (VSAG) the restaurant team that conceptualized, manages and operates the bustling and award-winning Founding Farmers in downtown DC announces the opening of  Farmers & Fishers, an evolution of the Farmers brand to the waterfront. After just over four months of extensive food menu design and creation, transformation of the bar program to highlight a Tiki Bar menu, and a refreshing of the interiors with new colors, fabrics and artwork, the new Farmers & Fishers is ready for guests. The new concept officially opens on Wednesday, June 24, though guests have been seeing the changes over the last couple of weeks.

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International restaurant consulting firm VSAG announces the successful in-store market launch of Cucina 39 high-end handcrafted Italian pasta sauces by Chef Keaton Hopkins with the first release through Whole Foods stores in late summer 2009.

Chef Hopkins selected VSAG for development of the all natural and gluten-free product line as well as market research, packaging, and meeting arrangements with some of the grocery store industry’s top contacts and decision-makers to get it on store shelves.   Read the rest of this entry »

On April 22nd, Founding Farmers and VSAG celebrated the official award and certification of the restaurant as LEED® Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).   With this award, Founding Farmers is the first USGBC certified restaurant of any type in the District of Columbia, and the first full-service, upscale-casual LEED Gold restaurant in the entire United States. Read the rest of this entry »

VSAG kicks-off work on developing a modern Asian concept, with a focus on specific niches within Asian cuisine. In addition to concept development, brand development and all operating systems and recipes, VSAG is providing master project management services.

Today VSAG announced the grand opening of their most recently developed concept, Founding Farmers.   Developed for the North Dakota Farmers Union, Founding Farmers is located in the heart of the nation’s capital, just three blocks from The White House.    Designed to meet LEED Gold green building certification criteria, and designed to operate as a Certified Green Restaurant, by the Green Restaurant Association, Founding Farmers restaurant is DC’s Greenest restaurant.  With 260 seats on two levels, the design and decor are reminiscent of a modern farmhouse, with warm hues, materials like reclaimed flooring and barnwood walls, comfortable seating and little details that add to the personality of the space.

VSAG begins work on a new engagement developing a modern Mexican concept, for introduction in the U.S. as a prototype for international expansion.

The Principals of VSAG spend a week in New York City, researching several categories of restaurants, eating their way through the latest trends, and documenting up and coming concepts.

VSAG begins concept development and implementation planning for a new restaurant concept for Renown Health, a world-class hospital and health care campus in Reno, NV.   Renown Health is northern Nevada’s largest not-for-profit health network and a nationally recognized healthcare leader.

VSAG has been engaged to develop a full service restaurant concept for a new flagship Marriott hotel.