The Greenhouse Tavern Embraces Local Foods and Sustainable Practices
After we had our children, Catcher and Louisiana, my husband/partner Chef Jonathon Sawyer and I decided to move from New York City back to our hometown of Cleveland to open The Greenhouse Tavern. We wanted to contribute to our local community and help create a better world for our children. The Greenhouse Tavern was born. Our bold new endeavor would be the perfect way to combine our passion for local foods and the stewardship for the environment.
The mission statement of The Greenhouse Tavern, located at 2038 E. 4th St. in Cleveland, is guided by two principles: the idea that the proximity of the farm to a restaurant correlates to the quality of its food, and that green business practices are fundamental to how we will run our restaurant. The tavern will serve food inspired by classic recipes interpreted with local ingredients, in a casual atmosphere and at approachable prices.
The Greenhouse Tavern is the first Ohio restaurant to be nationally Certified Green by the Green Restaurant Association (GRA). The tavern has joined forces with the GRA to implement eco-friendly practices and products. We have also teamed up with Jonathan Sin-jin Satayathum, an interior designer and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional, to help fulfill a vision of a restaurant space that utilizes the best possible elements of green building, energy efficiency and sustainable operations.
The building and design team for the restaurant has developed relationships with many manufacturers and vendors to make the restaurant green. These include:
• The Sloan Valve Co., which has assisted with cutting-edge water conserving plumbing fixtures and electronic controls.
• General Electric and GE Luminations, which provided the latest light emitting diodes and compact flourescent lamp lighting technology and engineering expertise.
• Sherwin-Williams Paint Co., which helped with low/no-VOC and non-toxic Paints and Stains
• On the floor in the mezzanine dining areas is a sustainably produced carpet tile made possible by the InterfaceFLOR company.
• Tectum Inc. from Newark, Ohio, which made the LEED acoustic control panel on the ceiling.
Another important aspect of the operation is connecting with community efforts that make Cleveland a greener place to live and work. The team has aligned with local groups such as GreenCityBlueLake Institute, Cleveland Green Building Coalition, Entrepreneurs for Sustainability, Slow Food Convivium and Countryside Conservancy.
This community commitment includes building concepts of reuse, recycle and upcycle. The interior of the tavern is made up of many repurposed pieces from local communities, including antique doors that have been used to front the bar and also as unique custom rest room partitions. Even the InterfaceFLOR carpet tiles were hand collected from ZeroLandfill Northeast Ohio, a local non-profit that keeps architectural product samples from ending up in a dumpster.
On the all-important culinary side of the business, Chef Sawyer and his food and beverage team will reduce their food miles by focusing on the utilization of local purveyors and Ohio farmers. In the second phase of the project, the team will showcase urban gardening with a fully functioning greenhouse on the new three-season rooftop terrace. The menu will feature many dishes that use local ingredients like the Dry Aged Ohio Lamb Saddle with olive oil pomme puree, black garlic and mint; and the Lake Erie Local, a selection of smoked walleye, trout and salmon with bread and garnish.
Chef Sawyer and The Greenhouse Tavern team believe we can offer the city of Cleveland great local food and a clean, simple approach towards living well, thriving and growing more environmentally conscious in our communities.
For more information, call 216-393-4302 or visit www.thegreenhousetavern.com.