diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/build-remote.cc b/src/hydra-queue-runner/build-remote.cc
index 6070bd4e..be164501 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/build-remote.cc
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/build-remote.cc
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ static void openConnection(Machine::ptr machine, Path tmpDir, int stderrFD, Chil
         Strings argv;
         if (machine->isLocalhost()) {
             pgmName = "nix-store";
-            argv = {"nix-store", "--serve", "--write"};
+            argv = {"nix-store", "--builders", "", "--serve", "--write"};
         }
         else {
             pgmName = "ssh";