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5 tips for a Greener Restaurant

Feb 15, 2013

Want to contribute to a better environment, save money and feel good about your restaurant? If so (now why wouldn’t you?), then we’ve got two words for you: go green! We understand that as a restaurant operator, it’s a challenge to balance daily operations, customer satisfaction and bottom line profits, so we’ve gathered up a few good tips that won’t break the bank and are very easy to implement.

energyefficienthanddryer
energy efficient hand dryer | Image by Mr. T in DC

5 Tips for a Greener Restaurant

  1. Install high-efficiency pre-rinse spray valves– save on water and reduce energy costs when it comes to washing dishes
  2. Use individual utensil and napkin dispensers – guests won’t accidentally take more than they need! That equals less waste!
  3. Recycle – this one’s almost a no-brainer!
  4. Invest in green take-out packaging like the one used at Sauce Restaurants
  5. Install an energy-efficient hand dryer in your restaurant’s restroom

 

While there are many more ways to go green at your restaurant, these are just a few tips that can help you get started. If you have any questions about going green, getting LEED certified, or how to reduce your overhead utilizing efficient practices, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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McDonald’s Now Serving up Sustainable Fish

Feb 08, 2013

We’ve written a lot in the past about how more consumers are being conscious about what they eat — they are looking healthy options like organic and all natural. Many are interested in green and sustainable practices and businesses have been taking notice, too.

Let’s get a refresher on what sustainability really is when it comes to food production. According to 1990 “Farm Bill,”

“the term sustainable agriculture means an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term:

  • satisfy human food and fiber needs
  • enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends
  • make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls
  • sustain the economic viability of farm operations
  • enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.”

source: http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/agnic/susag.shtml

 

And just recently, McDonald’s has proudly announced that are serving MSC -certified sustainable fish — the first USA chain to do so. According to their press release,

“McDonald’s collaboration with the Marine Stewardship Council is a critical part of our company’s journey to advance positive environmental and economic practices in our supply chain,” said Dan Gorsky, senior vice president of U.S. supply chain and sustainability. “We’re extremely proud of the fact that this decision ensures our customers will continue to enjoy the same great taste and high quality of our fish with the additional assurance that the fish they are buying can be traced back to a fishery that meets MSC’s strict sustainability standard.”

 

 

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Waste Saver Tip for Restaurants: Utensils

Feb 07, 2013

As restaurant operators, it sure is a lot to juggle the day-to-day operations, customer satisfaction, quality control and bottom line profits. Sometimes, however, small changes can make a huge difference.

 

It’s not a surprise that “waste” is a buzz-word in the restaurant industry. If you think about that word, most would associate the word “food” with it. But looking at the bigger picture, there many facets that contribute to waste that effectively can eat into profits. This includes anything from food, water, energy and supplies.

 

Reduce Waste Now at the Self-Serve Counter

 

fork-dispenserIn previous blog posts, we’ve written about reducing waste by composting, recycling and even how to reduce napkin waste. In today’s piece, we’re talking forks! If you want to reduce inventory usage by your customers, installing a utensil dispenser like the Dixie SmartStock, may be a good idea.

Devices such as these have a small lever that a guest would simple push in order to retrieve a fork, for example. The genius in the design is that it only dispenses one fork at at time. Since it is encased in a close container, it’s more sanitary since guests cannot directly touch them (or worse, sneeze on them!) with unclean hands. Also, because of the vertical standing design, less counterspace is used as compared to traditional open-bin plastic cutlery containers.

 

How do you reduce waste at your restaurant? Share you techniques!

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Locally grown food is the next profitable restaurant trend

Oct 10, 2010

How has green found its way into restaurants? Just a few weeks ago, we wrote a post highlighting Forage in Los Angeles, a unique new concept based entirely on cooking and serving foods grown from local farmers and amateur green thumbs. This movement is better known as “growing local” and is beginning to become a popular choice for restaurants interested in promoting healthy eating, green environments and sustainable foods.

“Growing local” in the truest sense of the term is growing your own produce, and that’s exactly what many restaurants are doing today. In fact, in a survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association, one-third of the 2,000 chefs surveyed named restaurant gardening as the top trend. So what are the benefits?

In-house gardening benefits for restaurant owners:

–    Money-saving: it costs less to grown your own produce rather than buying and having it shipped.

–    Quality and freshness: gardens allow restaurants to control quality, plus it virtually eliminates the need for pesticides.

–    Cater to your clientele: you can have the ability to offer foods that people are looking for and also grow foods that are in season.

The Blue Water Grill in Grand Rapids, Michigan now boasts a 3,000 square foot garden that grows tomatoes, strawberries, squash, herbs, squash, sweet coarn and 12 fruit trees. Ken Vos, general manager, commented, “We just thought it was a great opportunity that supported doing what we wanted to do and that was to be a local restaurant.”

And the best benefit of all? Research has shown that restaurant customers are actually willing to pay more for local food – meals made with local ingredients. In fact this recent study “shows that restaurant patrons prefer meals made with local ingredients when they are priced slightly higher than meals made with non-local ingredients, said Amit Sharma, assistant professor, School of Hospitality Management, Penn State.” Interestingly, the higher prices given to locally grown menu items conveyed a sense of higher value. The study showed there was a limit, however, to how much restaurant diners were willing to pay, which showed 18 percent markup was acceptable but a 36 markup deemed too much. The full experiment detailed report will be printed in the fall/winter issue of the International Journal of Revenue Management.

Perhaps this project sounds like quite a lot to take on at once. If you want to start thinking green and taking advantage of the benefits of locally grown food, you can definitely start small with baby steps and begin growing from there. Think about the most commonly used herbs on your restaurant menu (basil, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, mint etc)– get input from your chefs as well. How about just growing a few these herbs outside your restaurant that would be strategically placed in view of your restaurant guests? Your guests will certainly appreciate the view as it depicts an atmosphere of freshness and healthiness. If you want to go all out but just don’t have the space, consider researching local public gardens that allot you your own space to grow produce. Follow this link to search for the closest garden in your area.

The bottom line is restaurant gardening is smart and environmentally friendly. Start small and slowly grow your vision and soon your restaurant will be reaping the rewards of the growing local movement.