Restaurateurs urged to go green and lean

By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Friday, January 11, 2008

Mayor John Hickenlooper went before the group of people he used to be a part of - restaurant owners - and asked them to get green before the Democratic National Convention.

"I'm not too humble to reach out and beg your support," he said Thursday, "(and) to promise you it will be worth your while, that the payback will be dramatically beyond whatever investment you make and, if we work on this together, we'll end up putting on something people will talk about for decades and decades."

The plea was made before about 150 people in the restaurant industry who gathered for a workshop on ways to make their businesses more environmentally friendly by the time the convention rolls around Aug. 25-28.

Many came to the workshop with ideas already in play - from Ted's Montana Grill offering free downtown parking to employees at its corporate office if their vehicle gets more than 35 miles per gallon to Odell Brewing Co. using wind to power its Fort Collins plant.

Some suggestions came courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency, including replacing spray valves that blast three gallons of water per minute to low-flow valves that use 1.6 gallons per minute. That change alone could save a restaurant $1,400 per year.

"Going green is good for your bottom line," said Chip Blair, owner of Beau Jo's Pizza.

It's all a part of the emphasis on making the convention the greenest in history.

While everyone dined on a green, leafy, organic lunch, Hickenlooper drilled home the environmental angle. He said the city was already going full-tilt - putting xeriscaping outside the Colorado Convention Center and around the Auraria Parkway and having low-flow toilets installed at the Convention Center.

He also said the city wants the estimated 35,000 delegates and media who will descend upon Denver to walk or ride bicycles as much as possible. Hickenlooper said thousands of bicycles will be made available during convention week.

Hickenlooper went beyond the environment in calling on restaurant owners to offer healthier menu items and suggesting those items could be branded with a DNC Lean and Green logo.

"We're going to certainly lean on you all to have healthy and green options on your menu to try and promote this," he said. "I know a lot of you do that already, but we'll promote it even harder."

And lest anyone think this is a partisan issue, Pete Meersman, president of the Colorado Restaurant Association who helped with Thursday's event, said officials with the Republican National Convention called to ask about putting on a similar training event in St. Paul, Minn., site of the GOP convention.

Hickenlooper said the decision to make Denver greener will have long-lasting economic impacts. He said in addition to saving costs on water and energy consumption, the vision of Denver being environmentally friendly will mean more conventions coming to the city long after the DNC has left town.

But he also said it will take time to get everyone on board.

"I think greening the DNC and greening Denver will require more collaboration and more dedication than anything I've been involved with since I've been mayor," he said.

monterod@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5236

Already green

What some businesses are doing to be green:

ODELL BREWING COMPANY

* Runs bottling plant during off-peak hours

* Runs delivery trucks on biodiesel fuel

BEAU JO'S PIZZA

* Uses solar power at restaurants in Idaho Springs and Boulder

* Uses biodegradable to-go containers

TED'S MONTANA GRILL

* For employees working downtown at corporate headquarters, company pays public transportation costs.

* If employee vehicle gets more than 35 mpg, company pays for parking.

EPA suggestions

* Install boiler-less steamer because no water, sewer or vent hookups are needed.

* Install waterless urinals.

* Serve drinking water in bars and restaurants only on request.

* Regularly check for leaks.