Bittercreek Alehouse: Low-Power Happy Hour And A Worm Bin

nytimes.com:

A campaign to unplug things from neon beer signs to extra refrigerators helped the pub cut its electricity bill by about 35 percent in 2008, according to Mr. Krick, who estimated that some 200 devices had been disconnected.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[KIVPossum]

Interesting. My places incorporate some of the same ideas. It's easy to be environment conscious and make a profit.

I don't turn the lights off, but do keep them low with candles on the tables. Do burn a couple of neon signs and a lot of neon lights because I am a neon light junkie – neon gives light at a low cost. Of course we compost everything (even bag up a bit and let preferred customers take some home) and recycle what we can (not a lot of recycling possibilities here). Much of my beer and wine is purchased at the production facility and brought back in my reusable containers. Same with many other products from butter and eggs to potatoes and oils. So our package waste is minimal. Once the average daily temp falls low enough beer is stored in a room cooled by outside air (if you want it colder, take it outside). I'd like to cut the temp down in winter, but found that people stay longer and spend more if the room temp is higher. Summer AC is out of the question, we have ceiling fans and patios.

We also list point of production on most items. Not so much from an environmental standpoint as economic…want to encourage support of the local economy and local items have a higher margin for me. But we do issue ‘passports’; buy a beer from ten countries and get one free.