Savoring Sustainability

One of my local haunts is the Alpharetta location of 5 Seasons Brewing (5 Seasons North). 5 Seasons celebrates the connection between each other, their food, and the Earth. They are passionate about serving local produce, all-natural meats, and artisanal cheese. They bake each of their breads and make everything else in-house. As part of a sustainable, natural cycle, they add the brewer's spent grain to the home-baked bread and give the rest to a local organic farm, where it is composted to grow their vegetables.



This past Friday I dined at restaurant in historic Roswell called Relish. Relish is a neighborhood restaurant that serves new southern cuisine in a casual dining atmosphere. One of the dishes that I sampled was the Krispy Kreme bread pudding with espresso kreme. Relish uses day-old doughnuts from a Krispy Kreme right down the road to make this treat...saving them from the landfill.



I noticed another little sign of sustainable business when using the restroom. Above the toilet hung curtains....



Below these curtains was a sign...





The curtains are an advertisement (kinda cheesy...but effective) for another local company (Dekadent Dekor) that shares the building with Relish. I wasn't able to go check out Dekadent Dekor because it had already closed for the day (maybe next time).



How You Make Your Business Sustainable

*Stay Small...Stay Local

*Know your customers

*Find a niche

*Help other local businesses around you

*Deliver unparalleled customer service...you will never be able to beat the big guys on price or selection (and make money)

*Create a sustainability mission and stick to it

*Use renewable resources