The owner of this restaurant believes
in and works with the whole concept of a sustainable lifestyle. Every year she
adds a new sustainable feature to its environs, staff, and food. She incorporates
locally grown organic food in her restaurant, even growing fruit on the property.
The landscaping accomplishes several sustainability goals: 1) the fruit is served
in the restaurant; 2) the shade from the trees help keep the building cool, and
3) the vegetation produces oxygen and helps offset the carbon dioxide emissions.
She has come up with some innovative ways to water those trees and plants too:
water and coffee that hasn’t been consumed by customers and excess water
from the ice machine is used to water the garden. Other water features include
the water used in the hand sinks in the bathrooms is used to flush the toilets.
The restaurant is unique in that it uses both photovoltaics AND wind power
for electricity. In fact, this is the first business and restaurant to use renewable
energy to power it! Any other electricity it needs is purchased through Xcel
Energy's "WindSource" program.
The owner’s commitment to energy efficiency extends to buying 80% of
her food locally, not installing air conditioning but using swamp coolers and
cross ventilation instead, and hiring people from the neighborhood so there
aren’t any transportation costs.
