More News

After opening Spoon's Coffee Café and Coffee Roastery in Baltimore with husband Bernard Kayes in 2000, Deborah Cogan sought to reduce the amount of energy it used and the trash it generated.

"I got tired of doing things the same old way," Cogan said. "It was very wasteful."

She searched online and found some help in the Green Restaurant Association. The Boston organization, which formed in 1990, offers a certification program with advice on how to conserve energy, recycle and adopt other practices, such as stopping the use of polystyrene foam and other environmentally unfriendly products.

In 2006, Spoon's became the first restaurant in Maryland to obtain that certification, employing more efficient refrigeration; recycling cardboard, glass, plastic, menu paper and metal; and using organic food and non-toxic cleaning products. One of the first changes was to replace the black tar roof with aluminum-coated rubber, which reflects most of the sun's rays, cutting the restaurant's air conditioning bills.

While the National Naval Medical Center's dining facility in Bethesda is the only other Maryland eatery to gain that designation, 2007 was a breakout year nationally, said Michael Oshman, executive director of the Boston group. The number of green-certified restaurants tripled nationally last year and now stands at almost 300, he said.

That growth is because of restaurants seeing significant savings in their energy and water bills, as well as stepped-up marketing efforts and support from employees and customers, Oshman said.

"Restaurants in our program have shown that it actually helps save money," he said. "Employees feel good about where they work. They are working in a cleaner environment."

As energy costs continue to escalate and the economy slumps, other restaurant associations report more interest from their members in learning how to reduce their electricity and water bills as they help the planet in the process. And the topic is prominent at mainstream conferences, such as the Mid-Atlantic Food, Beverage and Lodging Expo in Baltimore last month, which featured three seminars on conservation and sustainability.

Restaurants use five times more energy per square foot than the average retail business, including hotels, and much of the $10 billion annual energy bill for the commercial food service industry can be reduced through employing more efficient equipment and practices, according to the Food Service Technology Center. The San Ramon, Calif., center is run by Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

Besides reducing energy bills, there are other cost advantages for restaurants that go green. A federal tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot is available to owners or designers of commercial buildings that save at least 50 percent of the heating and cooling energy of a building meeting the federal standard. Partial tax deductions of up to 60 cents per square foot are available for specific measures on the building, lighting or heating and cooling systems.

Some one-third of restaurant owners are allocating a larger percentage of their budget toward green initiatives this year, while more than half of restaurants updated heating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems in the past two years, a recent National Restaurant Association survey says. In May, the national group formed an initiative called "Conserve: Solutions for Sustainability," which the Restaurant Association of Maryland recently joined.

"The key focus has been going green is not necessarily cost-prohibitive," said Lauren Shipley, director of marketing and events for the Maryland group. "At the current time, we are surveying our members about their green practices."

The national program's Web site recently added information on waste reduction, recycling and composting. Officials plan to look into packaging, cleaning and food in the coming months, focusing on low-cost efforts to go green, said Annika Stensson, a spokeswoman for the national organization.

"That is especially important in this current economy," Stensson said.

Keeping up with the Greens

Surviving in a highly competitive industry is another factor behind the growing green trend. Some 62 percent of consumers in a recent survey by the national restaurant group said they would be likely to choose an establishment based on its eco-friendliness.

"Customers want green, but they don't just want the color and the label," Oshman said. "The only way the customer knows that a restaurant is really green is for that restaurant to be certified by a third party."

One way restaurants break into the trend is through purchasing wind energy credits. Among restaurants signed up for the wind energy program with Clean Currents LLC of Rockville, an alternative energy broker and aggregator, are Ricciuti's in Olney, Normandie Farm Restaurant in Potomac, Kefa Café in Silver Spring and Gifford's Ice Cream and Candy, a Silver Spring chain of ice cream shops.

Customers have noticed the green efforts of Ricciuti's, said Hal Lackey, one of two general managers of the Italian restaurant. Besides purchasing wind energy, the eatery also uses certified environmentally friendly chemicals and biodegradable carry-out containers. Ricciuti's also serves antibiotic- and hormone-free beef and chicken, natural seafood and other food from local farmers and companies.

"We've had nothing but favorable comments from customers," Lackey said. "It is more expensive. But customers have been very supportive."

While it can be more costly to go green in some ways, costs tend to even out when energy and other savings are factored in, Maryland restaurateurs said. Todd Bricken, owner of the Brick Ridge Restaurant in Mount Airy, said he pays about $60 for 500 biodegradable carryout containers — about triple the price of Styrofoam.

But he has found savings in cutting his monthly trash bill to $180 from $230 through recycling and composting. Bricken hopes to have a windmill to generate some electricity soon. The upfront costs are as much as $22,000, but he said he could reduce electricity costs by about 15 percent.

At Spoons, Cogan figured she breaks even. But the green efforts give her a "clearer conscience" and are supported by staff and customers, she said.

After learning that it would cost more than $6,000 annually to recycle through its waste management provider, Matthew McLaughlin, general manager of Rockfish Raw Bar and Grill in Annapolis, started his own Rockfish Recycles program. Employees collect about 4 tons of recyclables from other area businesses each month and take them to a recycling center in Millersville.

McLaughlin, who participated in a Webcast presentation Wednesday that was part of the new sustainability program run by the National Restaurant Association, said the program has provided a revenue boost, as people come inside to dine after dropping off recyclables. "We have seen a direct impact in sales," he said.

The restaurant does more than recycle, participating in a wind energy program, food composting and organic gardening. Rockfish is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Partner, one of the few Maryland restaurants to gain that certification.

Organic to go

Another trend is restaurants offering more organic and healthful take-out food, such as Chicken Out Rotisserie of Gaithersburg, which sells "free-farmed" organic chicken, and Vegetable Garden in Rockville.

Greek native Maria Kardamaki Robertson formed Demeter's Pantry in 2004 to distribute natural and organic food and other products from Greece. The small Silver Spring business, which has a warehouse in Baltimore, merged with New Jersey supplier Taste of Crete LLC last year.

Demeter's recently launched The Greek Table, a line of locally made fresh Greek meals sold exclusively at 36 Whole Foods stores in the mid-Atlantic region. "We've been very happy with sales," Robertson said. "Many people think Greek food is mostly fried, but we are trying to educate people about the diversity of Greek cuisine."

With his mother as partner, Andre Cavallaro, the former executive chef of Addie's in Rockville, recently opened Sub-Urban Trading Co., a Kensington grocery and carry-out establishment. Besides selling organic vegetables, herbs and meat, the business features ready-made lunches and dinners.

Cavallaro embraces other green trends such as recycling and biodegradable plastics. "We thought the concept fit the neighborhood," Cavallaro said. "There's really nowhere around here you can go for organic, local, fresh food."

Staff Writer Jen Beasley contributed to this report.

The Restaurant Association of Maryland recently joined the National Restaurant Association's Conserve: Solutions for Sustainability initiative to work toward more eco-friendly establishments that can save owners money and help the environment. The National Restaurant Association offers the following tips:

Turn off interior and exterior lights and cooking hoods when not in use. Install motion detectors in storerooms, offices and restrooms. Set lights on timers.

Repair leaky faucets and toilets. Stop air leaks by caulking and insulating around leaky windows and doors and installing energy curtains in freezer rooms.

Replace incandescent lights with longer-lasting compact fluorescent light bulbs or LED lights. Replace conventional exit signs with LED lighting.

Reduce waste. Reuse furniture and flooring. Recycle paper, plastics, glass and aluminum.

When not in use, unplug computers, electronics, coffee machines and other appliances.

Serve customers water upon request only. Run dishwashers and washing machines only when full. Install low-flow toilets, waterless urinals and tankless water heaters.

Train employees on energy-saving procedures and the importance of energy and water conservation. Explain your efforts to customers.

Because clean equipment runs more efficiently, regularly dust and clean appliances. Perform routine preventive maintenance on heating and air conditioning units, plumbing, appliances and major equipment.

Use paint with low or no volatile organic compounds, recycled flooring and managed forest wood. Install a reflective roof, sun lights and energy-efficient windows.

Purchase appliances, electronics and other equipment that carry the federal government's Energy Star label.

Webinars

The National Restaurant Association is hosting free Internet seminars on the benefits of becoming more environmentally friendly through its Conserve: Solutions for Sustainability initiative launched in May.

Two remaining webinars are scheduled this year:

ï"Focus on Lighting — from CFLs to LEDs and Beyond," 2 p.m. Nov. 13. Richard Young of the Food Service Technology Center in San Ramon, Calif., will discuss the benefits of selecting the right energy-efficient lighting for restaurants. Scott Shippey, director of design for Chipotle Mexican Grill, which has several sites in Maryland, will discuss his restaurant's lighting system.

ï"Making 2009 a Greener Year for Your Restaurant.," 2 p.m. Dec. 2. Deborah Cogan, co-owner of Spoon's Coffee Café and Coffee Roastery in Baltimore, will be among the restaurateurs discussing how they have incorporated environmentally friendly products and services.

ïInformation: www.conserve.restaurant.org.

ïThe Green Restaurant Association's Web site is www.dinegreen.com.