Corey Maxwell, chef and owner of Farmacy, defies the meat-eating image of many military men. In his past life, he served food to our country’s leaders as a chef at the Pentagon. Now, he runs a plant-based restaurant in Bozeman that features farm bowls that are abundant with grains and vegetables.
Farmacy, which Maxwell opened in 2020, is located off of Huffine Lane on the west side of town in the rustic industrial space that was the old barn for Northern Lights Trading Company, now with wood beams and plywood ceilings braced with metal posts. Tables flanked with green chairs create a greenhouse motif while live plants and glass garage doors bring freshness into the space.
Maxwell says he learned to primarily eat vegan in his adult years. Despite growing up in Santa Ana, California, among the orange groves and fresh produce, he says his family was big on tradition. “We had seven dinner items: mac and cheese with hot dogs, steaks or burgers, egg sandwiches, beef stew, spaghetti with meat sauce, and Domino’s pizza. We were not eating whole foods,” he says, adding that if he went to the farmers market with his friends, he would get popcorn. “It wasn’t until later in my career that I valued fresh local ingredients.”
In 2010, Maxwell joined the Army to serve his country. He served as a military chef in Afghanistan then took position as a chef for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he worked in the Pentagon until 2017. In his position at the Pentagon he fed members of the government who worked long hours each day. He noticed that despite their busy schedules, they were making healthy food choices. “Their healthy choices came out of necessity,” he says. “They function at higher levels than most of the world, so a healthy diet was optimal.”
Maxwell’s conversion to a primarily plant-based diet came while still in the Army, the result of medical complications from Lyme disease. Facing poor gut health, an autoimmune issue, joint pain, and not sleeping well, Maxwell began an elimination diet that led him to eat vegan. He began sleeping better and noticed improvements in his joint pain.
Six years ago, Maxwell met his girlfriend, Brenda De La Rosa, and about four years ago they moved to Bozeman to give their children a lifestyle blossoming with open land and nature. Together, they opened Farmacy “simply so that we could eat outside the home the way we do in the home,” Maxwell says. “We wanted to expose the Bozeman community to simple and healthy, whole and plant-based foods.
“We have the healthiest meals in Bozeman,” he adds. “They’re life-changing meals. As simple as it is, this is how Brenda and I eat at home with our kids, Camila and Aidan.”
The Farmacy eating experience begins when diners select a farm bowl or grain bowl. For the former, greens, grains, four cold ingredients, one hot ingredient, and dressing are mixed in a large double palm–sized white bowl; the latter replaces the greens with grains.
Drawing from his life experiences, Maxwell chose to name his restaurant Farmacy as a play on words, ultimately connecting health back to farms where produce grows. “Everyone comes to a pharmacy to feel better,” he says, adding that his logo, the head of an ox, is a challenge to eat vegetarian like the animal. The philosophy is simple: Maxwell believes healthy eating means filling up on whole foods and plant-based meals and he hopes to contribute to the health of the community by offering fresh, accessible plant-based fare.
For now, Farmacy is a fast-casual restaurant and gathering place that’s still new on the block. With changing plant-based menu items, it is fast becoming a place where diners can try something new and partake in Maxwell’s own exploration of the vegan diet as he continues to grow, explore, and experiment.