Go Eco-Friendly in Your Restaurant
People have been looking to go green for many years – and this includes both restaurant owners as well as consumers. When you are looking at opening your restaurant or remodeling it, there are definitely some ways to incorporate eco-friendly options. This ranges from the furniture and decor all the way down to the menus and to-go containers.
Furniture & Décor
Wood is often the best option when looking for eco-friendly furniture for your restaurant. It can be made from reclaimed wood, providing a higher quality material that is also more affordable. Various decor can be made from the same reclaimed wood – your hostess stand, shelving, and anything else.
The wood can then be stained or painted in order to match the overall theme within your restaurant. You may want to whitewash it for an old-fashioned look or paint it a bright color for something more modern.
Cleaning Products
The cleaning products you choose inside your restaurant are important. Not all cleaning products are made the same, and many have chemicals that you can’t even pronounce. There are now lines of cleaning products that are labeled as eco-friendly. By purchasing and then using eco-friendly cleaners in your restaurant, you’ll gain the peace of mind that comes with knowing your freshly cleaned surfaces are safe.
Menus
You may have gotten used to printing out new menus all the time. You may have a daily or weekly special, and this involves printing out hundreds of menus at a time. This is slowly depleting trees and costing you a fortune in paper and ink.
Other alternatives can involve getting a large chalkboard to place by the front entrance or on the back wall of the restaurant. You may also want to create a digital option where the menu is fed on two tablets at each table or on TV screens throughout the restaurant. This makes it easy for you to keep the menus updated, and you don’t have to worry about using paper and ink.
To-Go Containers
Even to-go containers can be made eco-friendly. You don’t want to use Styrofoam because it takes a long time to break down within the landfills. There are many new products available, made from recycled cardboard, plastic, and more. Guests will appreciate that you have chosen a more eco-friendly material, and their food can still stay hot so that they can enjoy whatever they order from your restaurant.
There are plenty of other things that you can do to be eco-friendly as well. You may want to talk with your food supplier to find out what products they offer that are packaged in green materials and what kinds of cleaners they have. You may also want to talk to the company that disposes of your fryer oil because it may be recyclable – which can be turned into biodiesel in many instances.