Pita Pit franchisees Adam Palmer and Adam Green are reaching out for a big return.
The 27-year-old co-owners of two Philadelphia-area Pita Pit franchises discovered that big return lies hidden in things such as corn-based cutlery and recycled-paper napkins.
Last July, the two men converted one of their establishments into Philadelphia's first certified-green restaurant and have since enjoyed the multilayered, long-term benefits that sustainability offers: cheaper costs (or the promise of them), good public relations and the overall warm fuzzies that come with acting for the good of the planet.
"I saw how much waste we were going through and how much waste the (fast casual) industry itself created," Palmer said. "It's been easy for us to make these changes — it becomes very intuitive."
Going green is not a transition that must be made overnight, Palmer said. His first move was engaging in a "commitment contract" with the Green Restaurant Association. That commitment to becoming green entails all the usual steps, such as recycling, using recycled and biodegradable materials and conserving energy through lighting, ventilation, air conditioning and heating, to name a few.
"It has been a step-by-step process. It's not like you have to rip everything out," Palmer said. "My goal is to show how easy it is."
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Palmer has worked with Jack Riggs, Pita Pit USA Inc. CEO, to make the brand a green pioneer. Palmer and Green converted their other franchise location in State College, Pa., into a certified-green restaurant several months after completing the transition in Philadelphia.
Currently, the two units are the only locations with that distinction in the Pita Pit USA system, one that in little more than three years has grown from 70 locations to 170 in 38 states.
"As a franchise concept, we're trying to be as conscientious and responsible as we can be, but I'm trying to stay away from requiring it of franchisees," Riggs said.
The sustainability model fits with Pita Pit's core concept of offering an alternative to fast food restaurants — "a place with great-tasting food that's healthy, fresh and still served fast," Riggs said. Pita Pit's Lebanese-style pitas contain lean, precooked meats that are grilled to order for customers and topped with fresh salsas or veggies.
"We use high-quality products, and we use custom, Canadian-made pitas, which are unique," Riggs said. "In terms of overall sustainability, we don't use Styrofoam, the pitas are wrapped in wax paper and we're not a sit-down restaurant, so we don't use a lot of resources like water, dishes and soap."
Numerous industry appraisals point to the mounting benefits of going green. The Nationa Restaurant Association's 2009 Restaurant Industry Forecast included a statistic from its
2008 "What's Hot" survey: 41 percent of chefs say environmentally friendly equipment and practices will be the hottest back-of-house movement in 2009.
"Across the industry it's definitely a trend," Annika Stensson, an NRA spokesperson, said. "Not only is it the right thing to do for the future of our planet, but it can also result in cost savings, which is especially important during these economically challenging times."
Reinforcing the NRA's point, Pita Pit's Palmer continuously lauds the overall savings going green has provided. Take the corn-based, biodegradable cutlery and recycled-paper napkins, he said. Initially, they are more expensive than traditional, earth-unfriendly versions, but some tweaks end up providing the savings.
"We used to put (the former brands) out for customers and people would just grab them, even if they didn't need or use them," Palmer said. "Now we have them behind the counter, and we're going through a lot less, which means we're spending a lot less even though they cost more, which means we're more profitable and we're helping the planet at the end of the day."
In the coming year, Palmer plans to expand his green efforts to installing equipment such as waterless, flushless toilets and air hand dryers.
"You make the steps you can, and over the long run you have the desired effect," he said.
