About Stone & Spore

Peak-Fresh Specialty Mushrooms — Direct from Berryville

Stone & Spore is a controlled-environment specialty mushroom cultivation facility in Berryville, Virginia, supplying Northern Virginia chefs, retail customers, and ag partners with mushrooms cut at peak morphological density and delivered directly from the farm.

The Problem with Commodity Mushrooms

Premium mushroom species like Pleurotus (Oyster) and Hericium (Lion's Mane) lose up to 4.1% of their quality per hour post-harvest. By the time chefs receive a typical commodity oyster mushroom — multiple days into a cross-country supply chain — much of its culinary value is already gone. Cell walls degrade. Moisture sets in. Trim waste climbs above 20%.

Our Approach

We cultivate in a hospital-grade, climate-controlled cleanroom inside our Berryville facility. Cell walls stay structurally intact. Moisture is precisely regulated. Trim waste falls to zero. The result is a product that costs the same per pound as commodity supply but performs dramatically better at the plate.

What We Cultivate

We grow specialized strains, each with distinct culinary applications:

  • Blue Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus var. columbinus) — high-volume workhorse for high-heat dry-sear applications
  • King Black Pearl (Pleurotus ostreatus x Pleurotus eryngii) — center-of-the-plate scallop replacement
  • Chestnut (Pholiota adiposa) — pyrazine-heavy structural garnish for wine-focused tasting menus
  • Lions Mane (Hericium erinaceus) — anisotropic protein analogue for steak and seafood verticals
  • Pink, Golden, Snow, and Phoenix Oysters — fragile, hyper-vibrant garnishes with 48-hour shelf lives, sold under our Same-Day Fancy Oysters umbrella

Every variety is paired with our Mushroom Culinary Guide — chef notes, handling protocols, and execution technique developed in collaboration with regional culinary professionals.

How to Buy

Chefs and culinary professionals: Apply for a chef account for wholesale pricing and direct delivery (Tuesday and Friday) across NoVA and the Top of Virginia.

Ag partners and processors: Apply for Field-Grade pricing for bulk processing use.

Retail customers: Find us Saturday mornings at the EatLoco Farmers Market in MetPark (Arlington) and Sunday mornings at the EatLoco Reston Farmers Market. Or order online for pickup at the Farm in Berryville (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday).

Stone & Spore — Berryville, Virginia. Veteran-owned and operated.