Green Restaurants, Stores Attract Healthy Following

Ten years ago, eating natural foods meant forcing down bland vegetables. These days, natural eating has spurred an entire genre of organic, all natural and delicious options, so it’s not surprising green restaurants are sprouting up nationwide, including in Northwest Arkansas.

“Despite the recession, our sales continue to grow,” said Roger Hill, marketing services manager of Ozark Natural Foods. Ozark Natural Foods is a natural food retailer and the supplier of several green restaurants in the area.

Smiling Jack’s Fresh Foods owner Jack Stewart said green restaurants are attracting customers from every demographic. “You have older people ordered by their doctor to eat healthier, and you have younger people who are more educated and understand that is the best way to eat,” Stewart said.

Most restaurants with a mission to be environmentally friendly offer a diverse selection of organic and locally grown food. Oftentimes, green restaurants strive to provide free-range, cage-free and grass-fed meat products to customers. When buying rare organic food items is expensive or even impossible, many restaurant owners agree that buying food items grown and crafted closer to home is their next priority.

Fayetteville’s Brick House Kitchen executive chef David Lewis said, “We shop with local farmers first. Our order of priority is local, sustainable, then organic.” He points out that a non-organic product that is produced using a more sustainable method is greener than an organic product that is not.

In addition to serving more sustainable food options, green restaurants often use environmentally friendly cooking and cleaning supplies. Almost all green restaurants have a recycling and composting program. Many restaurants try to have environmentally friendly lighting and convert used cooking grease to biodiesel. Greenhouse Grill uses all filtered water, has its own herb and vegetable garden and is planning to build a greenhouse behind its newest location in Fayetteville.

Greenhouse Grill was one of the first green restaurants to open in Northwest Arkansas. Co-owner Jerrmy Gawthrop opened the restaurant in May 2006. “We attract college kids to elderly. We have a great diverse clientele. We try to accommodate everybody,” Gawthrop said.

Greenhouse Grill’s menu is at least 40 percent organic year-round. During the peak months, the restaurant uses up to 70 percent organic products. “Anything available that’s local, we use it. If it’s not on the menu, we create a special,” Gawthrop said.

Customers agree that natural food is healthier and oftentimes tastes better than its alternative, but green restaurants have been criticized for hiked prices. The USDA recently issued a report explaining that natural, organic food is transported by handlers, firms that act as the middle-man between the farm and the retailer or restaurant. As the natural food market grows, the USDA predicts that the growers will be able to deliver the products themselves, reducing the price of natural food.

Still, natural food restaurants are trying to keep prices low. Greenhouse Grill uses normal, rather than organic, sweet potatoes for french fries to keep costs down. As Gawthrop points out, “you have to pick and choose your battles.”