Farmside Kitchen wants to be America’s next great fast casual, comparable to Chipotle, CAVA, Panera, Shake Shack, and Sweetgreen.
Cofounder and CEO Meg Schiffman, who previously worked as CAVA’s director of marketing, understands how these giants got to where they are—each one started with a branding aspect that set them apart from the beginning. Panera is known for bread, Chipotle is fueled by its burrito bowl, Shake Shack is associated with the luxury burger, Sweetgreen covers salads, and CAVA controls the Mediterranean segment with its grain bowl.
Farmside owes its identity to the Farmbowl, a product filled with healthy grains, fresh proteins, and various vegetables. All are made with ingredients sourced from local and regional farm partners, like Hines Family Farms in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Across the menu, guests will find regeneratively grown quinoa, cauliflower rice, brown rice, black beans, lentils, and more. Additionally, proteins are grilled in-house, which “just creates a much more robust sensory experience,” Schiffman says.
Customers can build their own with a choice of a grilled protein or roasted veggie, grains, greens, six toppings, and dressing. They can also order one of Farmside’s nine signature bowls. The Rancher—described as “a savory taste of the Southwest” with some sweet and hot flavors, black beans, brown rice, kale, roasted corn, and more—is the number one seller and mixes 30 percent. Another example is The Farmside (signature grilled chicken, warm roasted sweet potatoes, gala apples, goat cheese, sliced toasted almonds, shredded kale, warm seasoned brown rice, and balsamic vinaigrette).
Alongside Farmbowls, the company sells avocado toast, grilled cheese, mac n’ cheese, sourdough bread from local concept La Farm Bakery, and multiple cookie flavors.
“Ultimately one way to think about it is we’re trying to become—and we are on our way to becoming—a version of an American CAVA or an American Chipotle,” Schiffman says.
“ … To some people, maybe American sounds a little broad, but it’s grilled, fresh proteins,” she adds. “It’s simple seasonings. It’s olive oil on your roasted vegetables and salt and pepper. These are straightforward but delicious and craveable flavors that anybody can eat. I think that’s one of the things that really sets us apart from a Mexican or Mediterranean style cuisine is this is super approachable, and it’s something you could eat with high regularity, which is really critical.”
Schiffman cofounded Farmside in 2021 alongside VP of operations Ben Protheroe, who has experience from CAVA, Chipotle, and Piada Italian Street Food. The chain has three locations in Durham and Cary, North Carolina, and Chantilly, Virginia, which is just outside Washington, D.C. The original restaurant in Durham earned $3.3 million in AUV last year, a number that “knocked our socks off,” Schiffman says. The restaurant saw better sales numbers than the average CAVA, Chipotle, and Sweetgreen. EBITDA margin was 19 percent.
Schiffman believes Farmside is built to win the fast-casual space because it intersects three key culinary factors—convenience, health, and taste. So far, the chain has experienced favorable success with guest sentiment and frequency.
“Something that’s so critical to the success of any fast-casual restaurant brand is that people have to be able to come and eat your food on a regular basis,” Schiffman says. “And I’m down there in our North Carolina location all the time, and I know there’s people that come in literally every day and they get the same exact thing and they don’t get sick of it. And that’s really important, I think, and one of the things that’s driving our success here in the early days.”
When Farmside opened its first location four years ago, it focused on creating an inviting space—a necessity when COVID-conscious customers were still unsure about dining out. Schiffman wanted a space that “really welcomed them and made them feel almost like at home.”
Inside, there are warm wood tones and trims and custom-made quilts, and outside there are comfortable pergolas and seating.
“Most important to know here is that when you think about some of our predecessors, the CAVAs, the Sweetgreens, and the Chipotles of the world, they grew up in this more industrial style … We wanted to flip that a little bit.”
The restaurant is supported by a small, but “extremely loyal” team with little turnover, Schiffman says.
“Our purpose is to nourish a happier and healthier way of living for all people—especially our team members, for the planet, and for our farm partners,” Schiffman says. “We create this beautiful virtuous cycle where each one is feeding on the next and just creating this experience of something better for you—making you feel better and making you at the end of the day want to treat people better. Our guest service philosophy is to bring a little bit of joy to every single guest today, and that’s the goal that each one of our team members comes in with when they start their shifts.”
Farmside separates its growth trajectory into three phases. The first is North Carolina and Northern Virginia markets like Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Greensboro, North Carolina; and Arlington, Alexandria, Sterling, and Fairfax, Virginia. The next step is further penetration in these two states and growth into South Carolina. This will create a gateway to the third phase, which is expansion into primary and secondary markets throughout Georgia, Florida, Texas, and Tennessee.
Once Farmside develops its proof of concept with the three locations, the brand hopes to initiate a large capital raise to elevate it to a new level of expansion—money that could help open another 10 units within the next few years.
Schiffman acknowledges there will be challenges, as there are for any other fast casual looking to break through. The high-quality commercial and residential trade areas that Farmside prefers will be difficult to obtain, but the CEO is confident in her chain’s brand promise and future.
“We just want everybody to live their best life, and we know so much of that is about what you put in your body,” Schiffman says. “If you’re putting good stuff in your body, you’re going to get good stuff out.”
