The Restauranteur Who Never Rests - The Farmhouse Group's Jed Davis never tires of opening a new place

07/02/2025 10:52AM ● By MARIE EDINGER

Over the past several years, Burlington has grown to be a top-tier destination for food-focused travelers from all over the country. It wasn’t always that way, but Jed Davis, owner of The Farmhouse Group, a collection of five restaurants specializing in four distinct genres, has had a hand at pushing things in that direction and is largely responsible for putting Burlington on the culinary map.

While opening a restaurant might sound like a daunting task, Jed makes the process sound like no big deal. He says building a restaurant is as much an artistic endeavor as a business venture. “I love the challenge,” he says. “You create a vision of a specific experience and then bring it to life in a physical space. It can be a very rewarding process.”

ALWAYS A GROUP EFFORT

He also loves watching that space become part of so many people’s daily lives. But he empha- sizes that he hasn’t done it alone. Over the years, he’s put together a trusted team who’ve helped him achieve his objectives. “We’ve built up a great team over fifteen years,” he says. “We have longtime employees. We have a core group of managers who have been here ten-plus years each. It’s not just me running around,” he says, laughing.

Jed grew up in Vermont and worked at an inn in Brandon through high school. He majored in Hospitality Management in college and worked in the restaurant business during his summer breaks. His first jobs after graduating were all in the restaurant business. What ignites the drive in him to keep going and keep creating? “I just find [opening restaurants] a rewarding experience,” he answers simply. “Restaurants offer a lot of special moments for people, and it’s fun to be part of that.”

Special Farmhouse burger, the sales of which benefit a different local nonprofit each month.

FIRST, A McDONALD’S MAKEOVER

In 2010, Jed opened his first restaurant in Burlington, The Farmhouse Tap & Grill . “It was a pretty bold move,” Jed says. “It was a rundown, vacant McDonald’s when we took it over.”

Ironically, the place still specializes in burgers. “We turned it into a farm-to-table gastropub,” he adds. If you think the terms “farm to table” and “gastropub” don’t quite align, think again. Jed’s vision for the restaurant was to have a casual menu with gourmet, locally sourced ingredients. “We wanted to purchase product locally,” he explains. “Burgers were a great vehicle, because there was—and is—a good supply of locally raised meats and all kinds of artisan cheeses, and things to put on top of the burgers. We have wonderful product here, and we can showcase it as best we can.”

Because Jed was born in Vermont, he viewed creating a restaurant like Farmhouse as not just an opportunity, but also an obligation. The menu at Farmhouse Tap & Grill features an entire section of Vermont cheese, served alongside crackers, honey, and preserves. You’ll also find menu highlights like dry-rubbed chicken wings, tuna tartare, meatloaf, mussels, and cavatelli with veggies.

NEXT, A TACO TAKEOVER

Jed’s next venture, El Cortijo Taqueria , a Mexican restaurant, has more in common with his first restaurant than you would guess. (Hint: The word “cortijo” is Spanish for “farmhouse.”) But that doesn’t begin to tell the story of how Jed went from running a unique burger joint to owning a Mexican restaurant. So how’d it happen? Farmhouse Tap and Grill offered a Taco Tuesday menu that became popular—very, very popular, and the rest is history.

El Cortijo's elote special taco.

El Cortijo Taqueria offers exactly what you’d expect: enchiladas, taco plates, and burritos, but they also have some surprises on the menu, like a special wet burrito and a variety of tostadas. El Cortijo also has incredible breakfast options on the weekends, including Latin-Vermont fusion pancakes with local syrup and cinnamon-sugared plantains.

Guild Tavern's swordfish, with house-made gnocchi, garlic jus, confit Jericho Settlers Farm tomatoes, Pitchfork Farm kale, and crispy capers.

THIRD TIME’S A CHARM

But Jed and The Farmhouse Group didn’t stop there. A few years after opening El Cortijo, he opened his third restaurant, Guild Tavern , a “high-end, classy tavern” on Williston Road. Once again, the name is a dichotomous description for a restaurant’s identity, which may be why this particular restaurant took some time to get off the ground. That’s putting it lightly, according to Jed. “It struggled a lot in its first years, to be honest,” he says, the issue being the high cost of serving genuinely good food. “I think there was definitely some sticker shock,” Jed explains. “If you’re going to serve super high-quality entrees and steaks, you have to charge accordingly.” At first, entrees like wood-grilled swordfish or local farm-raised chicken were priced higher than some folks in the area expected. But, in time, the restaurant found its customer base, and it’s been going strong for over a decade now.

Guild Tavern's steak frites, with hand-cut fries and Jericho Settlers Farm steakhouse tomatoes.

FOURTH, AN HOMAGE TO ITALIA

Jed wasn’t done, though. Next: Pascolo Ristorante . You guessed it—another pun. Pascolo is Italian for “pasture” or “grazing land.” In keeping with the Mediterranean theme, the appetizer menu offers things like warm potato chips with truffle oil, Castelvetrano olives with sea salt, and Sicilian anchovy toasts with lemon aioli and a “jammy” egg. The pasta list is expansive and mouth-watering, with multiple variations of gnocchi or rigatoni with a choice of sauces. Other offerings include limoncello shrimp and salmon piccata, both served with polenta and lemon-garlic broccolini. The restaurant also has pizza with gluten-free options.

Pascolo's chicken Parm with spaghetti. Pappardelle funghi.

Pascolo's verdure pizza, with broccolini, olives, mushrooms, Maplebrook Farms mozzarella, and pomodoro, and Margherita pizza (pomodoro, fresh Maplebrook Farms mozzarella, basil, and olive oil).

FIFTH, ANOTHER FARMHOUSE

The newest addition to the group’s portfolio is a second location of their flagship restaurant, Farmhouse Tap & Grill , located in Williston. Jed says they promoted some people from within to help open the new restaurant.

The Williston location features an outdoor patio, where they serve “BrunchLunch” from 10am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays. The menu features favorites such as smoked bacon eggs Benedict and griddled pancakes, along with bar snacks (chicken wings, fries, cheddar ale soup), salads, and burgers. The menu for the rest of the day and the rest of the week is similar to the original location, Jed says.

Spring cavatelli, with cherry tomatoes, kale, zucchini, Vermont Shepherd Inverino cheese, gremolata breadcrumbs, and crisply quinoa at Farmhouse Williston.

“Good locations, good product, good people—it’s easy to do in Vermont, and we’ve built up great teams over the years,” Jed says. “We just continue to focus on trying to be great every day.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE FARMHOUSE GROUP

Farmhouse Tap & Grill Burlington

160 Bank Street

Burlington, VT

www.burlington.farmhousetg.com

El Cortijo Taqueria

189 Bank Street

Burlington, VT

www.cortijovt.com

Guild Tavern

1633 Williston Road

South Burlington, VT