The other day I stopped by Smucker Farms of Lancaster County, the new Amish store at 2118 14th Street NW (near W). It’s basically a small grocery store with traditional and artisanal items — think a small version of Whole Foods if everything was from Amish and Mennonite farmers (and some local farmers in the DC area).
The store is actually fairly minimalist, with shelves along the side walls and some displays in the center, plus some other items in the back. There are dry food items (soups, jelly, pasta, root beer, and so on) plus a bit of organic produce, and a lot of farm-raised beef, poultry, pork, eggs and dairy (see that here and here).
They also have dry goods like soap, candles and wooden toys (and kubb sets) in the back area.
When I was there, the cashier was a cousin of founder Eric Smucker, who she said is from Lancaster, the Amish heartland, and has been in DC for nine years.
The place has a lot of nice items, and I’d go back, but it’s not your average grocery store: I’m sure there are good things there, but a lot of them I’ve never tried. You have to have either heard of the relatively popular stuff, like the highly-rated, lard-made Good’s Potato Chips, or you have to pick stuff that sounds good or interesting. Definitely not your usual food shopping experience. The prices were a bit higher, but not outrageous, and you certainly get what you pay for. I got a really tasty jug of root beer for about $3 and stroopwaffles, a delicious Dutch treat of waffle cookies with caramel between them, for about the same price.
You should stop by and check it out yourself. It’s always nice to have a store with quality items and farm-raised food, especially now that the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace is done for the season. They’re open 8am-10pm on weekdays and 9-9 on Saturday and Sunday.
