Sustainability

The frog is wrong

So we’ve got this amphibian friend. You’ve probably seen him on TV: He’s green, his girlfriend is a pig, and he plays a banjo.

Kinda weird, yeah. But he’s good people.

Anyway, whenever we’d hang out with him in college, he would always whine about how it’s not easy being green. And we believed him.

But while we were renovating the place, we learned that it’s actually not that difficult.We’re doing several things to reduce our carbon footprint here at Pickler’s Famous, things that you can do in your own home as well.

Energy efficiency

For starters, we’re making sure we get the most out of the energy we consume. Our heating and cooling system uses high-efficiency heat pump units. We’ve also split the building into six climate-control zones. If any portions of the building aren’t in use, we don’t heat or cool them.

Needless to say, we don’t need to heat or cool The Great Outdoors either, so we installed a brand new foam-insulated roof surface. Additional insulation was put in when necessary as we repaired cracks in our historic building.

For interior light, we’re using low-energy LED and compact fluorescent light sources in our non-dimmable light fixtures. The building’s large storefront windows and second-floor transom windows allow us to take advantage of natural light during the day. They keep things warm in the winter as well.

We’ve also made our kitchen energy-efficient. Because all of our food is made fresh in small batches, we don’t need a walk-in fridge or freezer. (Smaller commercial models will work just fine, thanks.)

And a state-of-the-art hybrid in-line water heater heats only the water we need. It uses less energy, as do our convection ovens, which cook the food faster.

Low “food mileage” = good

What kind of mileage does your food have? Did it come all the way from California, or from a farm just outside of town?

Pickler’s Famous offers foods from local producers whenever possible. Low “food mileage” means less gas consumed. More importantly, it means supporting the hard-working farmers who are so important to our region’s economy.

Wherever that is impossible or impractical, we do our best to source our food as close to home as possible. For example, the vanilla in our syrups and ice creams comes from Lockhead Vanilla in Fenton, Missouri. Our popcorn currently comes from Fancy Farms in Bernie, Missouri. And we’re always on the lookout for more.

Waste not …

It’s just common sense, especially in this day and age: Limit the litter, because landfills have enough garbage already.

Pickler’s Famous cuts down on the waste by using washable glasses for dine-in service. We also won’t print a receipt unless you ask for one. We’re always looking for ways to cut down, so please offer your suggestions.

Our organic waste is picked up regularly by the Rot Riders, a local group that turns it into compost. We send away tons of cardboard, plastic and paper for recycling. Once there’s a glass recycler back in town, we’ll recycle that too.

When we make our own in-house ice cream, we pack it in reusable plastic tubs. That majorly cuts down on waste because that stuff disappears quickly.

Technology helps too. We maintain a hella-large opt-in customer email list for electronic-only mailings, and we try to spread the word via social media instead of littering the town with paper flyers. We’re also experimenting with ways to use the technology you already have in your pocket – your cell phone – in place of paper tickets, gift certificates and coupons.

Kicking Television

You’ve probably noticed that Pickler’s Famous doesn’t have TVs up all over the place, tuned to news, weather and sports. That’s by design. High-def screens are nice and all, but they use up a lot of electricity. And they just can’t compare with the full Pickler’s Famous Experience: Conversation, relaxation, music, and The Tastiest Num-Nums on Planet Earth.

It’s like Ferris Bueller said: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

A wise man, he.