The effort doesn’t end there. Blue Water’s wine list is 25 percent organic, made with pesticide-free grapes. On that list are Marc Kreydenweiss Grand Cru Riesling from Alsace and Honig Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley, according to sommelier Alec Bruggenthies.

“We are making an effort to get away from as many chemicals and toxins as possible,’’ Przybylinksi said. “It’s really important to us. On Mother’s Day, for example, we gave away flower seeds instead of flowers so we could give back to the earth. The moms and the kids loved it.’’

Water Conservation

“Dish machines waste an ungodly amount of water,’’ Przybylinski said. “So, one of the first things our consultant did was to change the filters, heaters and pumps. Just by doing that, we’ve seen a tremendous savings.’’

Also, the eatery made a dramatic change in the way plates are cleaned. Instead of using forks and knives to scrape plates, workers swipe them across rubber mallets, which are fixed above stainless steel trash cans.
“It’s more sanitary because workers don’t use another fork or knife to scrape the plate of sauces, etcetera, before placing it in the dish pit,’’ he said. “Now, we don’t need as much water to clean the dishes. It’s a great energy saver.’’

Ice

Instead of running hot water over ice to melt it at the end of the day, which wastes water, Przybylinski has trained his staff to load ice bins with less and less ice as the evening wears on, so there won’t be as much to discard at closing time. For sanitary and safety reasons, restaurants are not allowed to reuse ice from day-to-day. “We’re so used to hauling in huge buckets,’’ he said, “that we don’t think about just how much we’re wasting. We’ve noticed a big difference by using less at the end of the day. We don’t need it.’’

Air Conditioning

“In the past, we used to run the air conditioner overnight because we didn’t think about it,’’ Przybylinski said. Now, the restaurant has a timed system, dramatically reducing the number of times the thermostat gets adjusted. Filters are also checked to ensure the system runs at optimal condition.

“Our lighting and furnishings are design driven at this point,’’ he said. “It’s something we’re working on. But we did refinish our tables, which were refinished in Canada with a toxic chemical. Overall, we’re making major strides in our green efforts and we’re enjoying it.’’

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media

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