How to Green a Restaurant, Part 1: Ike’s Quarter
Are you considering being a green restaurant? Consider the example of Ike’s Quarter Cafe, a New Orleans style restaurant in the gold rush era town of Nevada City, California. When I mentioned to my hair stylist yesterday that I would be writing about it, she said, “Oh really? I had no idea they were a green restaurant. I just thought they had good food.”
Exactly.
I think Ike would be pleased. As he said when I spoke to him, “Everybody needs to eat,” and he has worked hard to create an environment and a menu that is welcoming to a broad range of the public. Though he is a graduate of the San Francisco Culinary Academy, and a long time fan of and participant in healthy minded restaurants, he found that they were a bit exclusionary to those not of a deeply healthy inclination.
But inside that, he had a deep personal commitment to creating a restaurant that had minimal impact, and a maximum benefit, to the earth, for his customers, and his staff. Only recently has Ike’s Quarter been a certified green restaurant, via the Green Restaurant Association. They ask that you do 15 measures to start, then 4 new measures each year. For him, that was in some ways a challenge, as they’d already done so much.
So what have they done?
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For starters, almost none of their waste becomes, well, waste. As Ike says, “There’s so little that’s truly trash, so much of it is recyclable and compostable.” They convert their grease into biodiesel, and their food and paper waste, all of it, goes to “Seth the Dirt Man,” a person who just showed up and offered to take it all away, to make, well, dirt. It seems, when you put it out there, resources start showing up.
What else? Just about all their to go materials are either biodegradable or compostable. And in the case of their foil wrap, recycled. They’ve really done their homework, and have found the best, most durable supplies out there. In the second part of this article, we’ll tell you what they recommend.
Their recent remodel includes Greenguard certified wood, which means that it has no formaldehyde in it. The stains and lacquer are all naturally based. They’ve replaced all their cleaning products with GreenSeal certified products . And in a measure that may have bypassed others, they have their appliances regularly maintained, as things like the refrigerator leaking freon make it work harder, consuming more energy.
But what about the food? This is where Ike’s shines. They put a heavy emphasis on using local resources, organic if possible. As this is a place that gets snow, they shift where some of their produce comes from during the off season here, but only to nearby Susanville for Five Dot Ranch for meat, and produce from Sacramento, an hour southwest, via a company called Produce Express.
Ike had an interesting perspective on the recent focus on organic meat and produce. Though he very much supports it, he supports local sourcing even more, and rather then get ingredients from thousands of miles away merely because they’re organic, he just won’t carry certain ingredients if they’re out of season in the area.
They also take this local commitment further, to include who does their linen service, who they hire for contracting, and who does their maintenance.
Ok, so they’re a green restaurant, but when it comes down to it, it’s about a tasty meal, served well, with good company. Whatever you do, you must have their corn bread. You can die happy after. And if you look up on the wall in the front left corner, you’ll be glad to see just where everything came from. A most satisfying touch to your meal.
Stay tuned for the part 2 - Greening how you do take out: What Works
Establishments like Ike’s Quarter Cafe are really helping to pave the way for the GREEN MOVEMENT. Another restaurant which has franchised their way cross country from South Florida to San Diego is Pizza Fusion, an organic, eco-centric pizza restaurant. With 60 locations set to open in 8 states, they have set themselves apart as the leader of Green restaurants. Set to introduce the first LEED certified restaurants to several states, they are setting their own standards by which all restaurants, including Ike’s can follow to reduce their carbon footprint. Everything from the organic menu which caters to gluten and lactose free as well as vegan diets, to their delivery methods, via hybrid cars are socially conscious practices which other restaurants can stand to emulate.
See it, believe it…www.PizzaFusion.com
I love the idea of being able to see where your food came from - I hope that’s a growing trend in restaurants.
I checked out the Green Restaurant Associsation’s website and was surprised to see hardly any west coast restaurants on their list - none in the Bay Area? How can that be?? Or even restaurants in NY or DC that I associate as being green.
On the other hand, kudos for the GRA for doing outreach to restaurants in places where green business may not be at the forefront of people’s minds.
Hey Pizza Fusion, good to see you again (they posted on my Triple Pundit article as well) Sharon it might be that the bigger cities have their own green restaurant programs? Yes, it sounds like the GRA is doing a lot to be a resource for making a big impact in this realm.
I aplaud the focus on local produce and other foods, over a 100% commitment to organic. Organic foods shipped/trucked in from other countries aren’t appealing to me. And, I had to laugh when I was at a high-end restaurant in the Bay-side city of San Francisco earlier this week and was offered two “fresh” fish options–one from the Atlantic Ocean and one from Australia.
It is great to see that credit is given to one of the restaurants which I consider to be the best in Nevada City. I live in El Dorado Hills and I travel 65 miles just to have the food at Ike’s restaurant. The burgers, soups and salads, as well as the rest of the menu are superb.
[...] to part 2 of our restaurant greening guide. If you recall from last week, I wrote about Ike’s Quarter Cafe, a restaurant that has found a great balance of quality [...]
i have a project to make up a restaurant that is all green and to make a menu that is all green. I really need your help o’ wise Ike you have helped me and my partner my name is clary and his name is andrew so give us some tips.
Hey there Clary & Andrew, congratulations on your new venture! You’re in a great position, starting out green rather then altering an existing restaurant. Ike is generally a whirlwind of activity at his own restaurant, so I’d suggest checking in with the Green Restaurant Association, which has compiled an enormous amount of helpful resources, tips, and information. Judging by Ike’s experience, it sounds like they are very interested in taking an active role in supporting the greening of restaurants.
Good luck, and drop a line back here with how it’s going!
Another way restaurants can be “green” is to donate their surplus food to a food rescue like Forgotten Harvest (in Michigan). Food rescues pick up the food and deliver it to soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, etc. usually the same day it is picked up where it is served almost immediately since most of the food is perishable. And ever since the Good Samaritan Law has been passed, restaurants don’t have to worry about liability issues.
Great idea, Tina. Is that law a Michigan law, or US?