Field Store House

About the offering

Field Store House Company Summary Field Store House is an agriculturally-focused hospitality project on the North Shore of Lake Superior in the Clover Valley Farming Region near Duluth, Minnesota, combining a 40-acre farm, a café with fine-dining tasting menu options, and a 3-room inn into a destination experience rooted in sustainable agriculture, zero-waste hospitality, and deep connection to the land. Founded by a fine-dining couple with credentials from Michelin-starred and Relais & Châteaux properties (The French Laundry, Frasca Food & Wine, Dunton Hot Springs, Sons & Daughters, Statebird Provisions, Aziza), the project has acquired the 40-acre property (August 2024), begun development, and is running pre-operational activities including a Market Garden farm stand (selling produce 2 days/week) and a sold-out Field Dinner series for summer 2025 serving 144 guests. The Wefunder campaign has raised $53,100 from 17 investors with early bird terms having $46,900 remaining. The Problem The hospitality industry is one of the top five waste contributors to landfills globally, yet no hospitality property in North America has achieved true zero-waste status. Fine-dining and luxury hospitality remain disconnected from the agricultural systems that produce their ingredients—most high-end restaurants source through supply chains with little transparency or guest engagement around land stewardship. Meanwhile, rural regions like Lake Superior's North Shore are overlooked by mainstream hospitality despite their rich ecosystems, agricultural heritage, and growing destination appeal. The industry lacks working models that demonstrate how luxury hospitality can operate sustainably without compromising the guest experience, leaving chefs and operators who share these values without a blueprint to follow. The Solution Field Store House integrates three revenue-generating components on a single 40-acre property. The Farm operates a 1.5-acre market garden, rotational grass-pasture with sheep (wool, meat, milk), waterfowl, perennial herb and spice gardens, orchard trees, and grape vines—all managed through biodynamic, dry-land farming, rotational growing/grazing, and closed-loop soil management principles guided by watershed analysis, soil health assessment, and integrative species relationships. The Café serves a daytime offering to the public with a farm stand, casual options, and tasting-menu experiences built on the original homestead blue-stone foundation—designed as a place where local farmers stop for morning croissants and out-of-town guests enjoy a 6-course tasting lunch. The Inn provides 3 guest rooms for destination visitors with dining, agricultural experiences, and concierge services for exploring the North Shore or retreating on-property. The project aspires to become the first zero-waste hospitality property in North America, working with leaders in the space through organizations like MAD (led by Michelin-starred chefs and environmental strategy researchers). The founders explicitly position Field Store House as a prototype and model-forge for the next generation of land-based hospitality—creating replicable frameworks for others to adopt. Business Model Revenue comes from café dining (casual and tasting-menu), inn lodging (3 rooms), farm stand produce sales, the Field Dinner series (sold-out events), tours, workshops, and self-guided agricultural experiences. The projected timeline has the café and inn opening for the first full-concept season in May 2027, with an SBA loan to fund the build. Current pre-operational revenue comes from the Market Garden stand and the Field Dinner series. No specific revenue projections, pricing, ADR, or financial metrics were disclosed. Traction The 40-acre property was purchased in August 2024 and development has begun. The Market Garden stand sells produce 2 days per week (pre-operational validation). The Field Dinner series for summer 2025 is sold out, serving 144 guests—demonstrating demand for the culinary experience concept. The founders have 7 years of experience running beta versions of the concept with successful execution. Unsolicited media coverage has been received from local and social media. The Wefunder campaign has raised $53,100 from 17 investors with 10 investor reviews. The featured investor ($5,000) is a Denver fine-dining operator who describes the project as "a definitive stance for a return to meaningful interactions with our resources." The café and inn are projected to open in May 2027—the project is pre-construction and pre-revenue beyond farm stand and dinner series income. Team CEO Seth O'Donovan has held positions at Michelin-starred and Relais & Châteaux properties including The French Laundry, Frasca Food & Wine, and Dunton Hot Springs. She brings an intersectional background spanning social work, agriculture, and hospitality, with skills in foraged food, fermentation, whole animal butchery, and animal husbandry. Her roles include operations, dining-room oversight, experience development, and agricultural planning. Chief Culinary Officer Tony Weston served as Managing Chef at Michelin-starred and James Beard Award-winning restaurants including Sons & Daughters, Statebird Provisions, and Aziza. He grew up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and brings accomplished land stewardship skills including orchard management, farming, and market gardening. His roles include Chef and agricultural director.

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