Certified ‘green’ gastropub to come to Chapel Hill

A new “green” restaurant will join about 60 other local small businesses that have committed to maintaining environmentally sustainable practices.

The gastropub, a pub that specializes in serving high-quality beer and food, is set to open in a year and a half by the Chapel Hill Restaurant Group. It will be certified as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and will be the sixth restaurant under the restaurant group’s ownership.

The group opened the first LEED-certified restaurant in the state, Mez, three years ago in Durham. It had to follow specific instructions both during construction and while operating the restaurant today.

“It’s significantly more effort to build and maintain a sustainable restaurant, but we feel the long-term payoff is worth it,” said Greg Overbeck, co-owner of the restaurant group.

“We decided years ago it’s better to spend a little more money and time up front but get a more environmentally friendly product and reap benefits for years after.”

There are about 60 Green Plus-certified businesses in the area, said Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Aaron Nelson.

Green Plus was started in 2007 by UNC and Duke environmental policy and business experts. The program, which helps small business become sustainable, has expanded to 14 other states.

“You try to buy products within a 500-mile radius to stay local, use recycled materials, just reduce your carbon footprint,” Overbeck said.

Since the group began recycling unused food in every restaurant, Overbeck said they have also reduced solid waste by 60 percent. Sustainable practices like these allowed the group to also be certified as a Green Plus business.

And the practices are paying off, he said. Overbeck said when compared to 518 West, another restaurant operated by the group that is not LEED-certified, Mez uses 40 percent less energy and 60 percent less water.

Nelson, who just presented in the Middle East about sustainable businesses, said the local chamber is internationally recognized for success in these practices.

“I think our community cares, which is why our businesses care,” Nelson said. “People have realized that sustainability is not about posterity, it’s about abundance. We’re leading the nation.”

Overbeck said there is huge potential for sustainable businesses in the area to grow even more.

“Chapel Hill-Carrboro is among the most educated communities in the U.S.,” he said. “If you’re smart and read newspapers and learn about the problem, you have no choice but to commit to help.”

Green Plus Executive Director Chris Carmody said the first step to getting certified is a survey about environmental, community, and business practices, which UNC and Duke graduate students score. The program then develops a plan for the business to become sustainable.

If the business implements the plan, it becomes certified. Carmody said this could take a committed owner only a few months.

Carmody said he wants to increase awareness that Green Plus can help local small businesses improve. To do this, he said the survey and plan, which normally costs $350, will be offered free to any member of a Green Plus partner chamber in the area through June.

“I think sometimes sustainability is a bit of a mystery to people,” he said. “We’re giving them a no-risk chance to see what it’s about.”

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