The River Cottage Kitchen, which closed its Axminster town centre store last month, is reopening at its headquarters at Park Farm in April.
The building in Trinity Square is currently empty, and local traders are hoping a new business will soon move in.
River Cottage’s owner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said leaving the town centre had been sad, but he was excited at being able to open up the farm to the public, enabling people to explore the grounds, visit the animals and the vegetable gardens, and enjoy a meal or drink in the restaurant.
The farm was previously used for hosting courses and ticketed events.
Hugh told the Herald: “We felt the time was right to repurpose this beautiful building in a very bold and exciting way.
“Apart from anything else it’s got one of the most stunning views in Devon, and River Cottage HQ is the beating heart of everything we do – we grow the food there, we raise our animals there, we welcome people into the buildings to do courses and learn our philosophy, and this is an opportunity to share that space with many more people.
“Of course, we’re really sad to be leaving the heart of Axminster, it’s been a real buzz to be part of the town. We did think about whether we could do both enterprises, but we decided that what we do at the farm is that beating heart - I don’t think anyone else does anything quite like it and to be able to offer that to local people, I hope will feel as special to them as it does to us.
Meanwhile, town centre traders are anxious to see another business occupying the former River Cottage shop.
Jane Rockett, chair of Axminster Chamber of Commerce, said: "It’s a massive opportunity for someone, it’s such a good position, it’s got really good frontage and it also goes back a long way, so it would be good for so many different things.
“We don’t want it standing empty for too long, we’d like to see the premises maintained so that it’s not an eyesore and we’d really welcome any new business to come and have a look at it and talk about opening up in Axminster.”
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