GREEN RESTAURANT STRATEGIES ANNOUNCES PIER 39’s NEPTUNE’S AND ELIXIR IN MISSION DISTRICT JOIN FIVE GREEN FORKS™ RESTAURANT SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM

SAN FRANCISCO –– May 2, 2011 –– San Francisco-based Green Restaurant Strategies (GRS) announces Pier 39’s iconic Neptune’s and renowned bar Elixir in the Mission District have joined “Five Green Forks™. Five Green Forks is a membership program from GRS, open to both new and existing restaurant/bars and vendors serving the foodservice industry, that implements enterprise-level operational change and quantifies the sustainability of their operations, as they develop and maintain green business practices that increase profitability.

Howard Cummins, founder and CEO, Green Restaurant Strategies, said Five Green Forks, which debuted in 2010, is quickly meeting with acceptance among Bay Area restaurateurs. “We offer a solid, comprehensive program providing transparency and quantifiable certification metrics for our members; and consumer-facing components to build awareness of the importance of sustainable restaurants and bars among the general public. Members increase profitability objectives by bringing operational costs into line in the areas of water, waste, energy, sourcing and employee sustainability and efficiency, with savings dropping to the bottom line.” Cummins noted an increase of just a few percentage points often makes the difference in a restaurant or bar staying in business, particularly in the Bay Area’s competitive and difficult economic environment, and makes an establishment a more profitable endeavor overall.

Anthony D. Parks, Director of Operations, Pier Restaurants, L.P., stated, "We're beginning our journey towards sustainability in all areas of Neptune’s restaurant. We've established our management and staff training and set up the sustainability team; we've already undergone the comprehensive audit and identified target areas where we can save money immediately, such as through reducing food waste. We’ve introduced our own filtered water system, eliminating bottled water, and we’re addressing more efficient lighting."

Noted Elixir proprietor H. Joseph Ehrmann, “Being green in the bar business is important because our impact on the environment comes down to a few key areas; if we can reduce our footprint in those areas as an industry, everywhere people drink, we can truly impact change as an industry globally. We use water to wash and make ice, so we can easily reduce usage by addressing efficiency. We use electricity in lighting, electronics and refrigeration, so again we need to address the efficiency and utility of everything that is plugged in. We create compostable waste that can be used on farms. We created recyclable waste in the form of bottles, cans and boxes, which can all be reduced through the implementation of tap systems (with the rest being recycled). And we clean up at the end of the day, which can all be done non-toxically.  If these areas are addressed in every bar in every city, think about the exponential power of that change. Get to it.”

Cummins noted the Five Green Forks program is a transformative restaurant sustainability process that has proven “eco” effective, efficient and economical. “In the U.S., the typical restaurant meal travels 1,500-2,500 miles to get to your table; the average U.S. restaurant consumes 2.5 times more energy per square foot of retail space than any other commercial business; 16 percent of solid waste in landfills in California can be attributed to restaurants…by bringing “eco” efficiencies to these and other areas of a restaurant’s operations, our members often realize 10-30 percent savings on utility bills and food purchasing; savings that drop to the bottom line for immediate impact. Added to this is the growing demand by the dining public for sustainability in the restaurant industry –– a 2010 trend survey by the National Restaurant Association finds 56 percent of respondents are more likely to patronize a restaurant that provides sustainable and organic food choices –– and you have a ‘win-win’ across the board.”

About Green Restaurant Strategies and Five Green Forks™
Green Restaurant Strategies, LLC, (GRS) is a leading national and international consultancy and program development organization committed to transforming the restaurant/foodservice and hospitality industries into efficient, regenerative enterprises. The company has built a transparent, understandable and supportable framework for comprehensive, fundamental shifts that make both environmental and economic sense for impacted industries. The business model includes multiple recurring revenue streams, is replicable, scalable and has exceeded expectations in rigorous proof-of-concept vetting among restaurateurs and bar operators, environmental science and thought leaders/educators, emerging as a green standard bearer.

GRS’ sphere of influence for creating sustainable change encompasses: Energy & Resource Usage, Product Sourcing, Supplier/Vendor Sourcing, Operations & Practices and Waste Management.

The initial offering from GRS includes Five Green Forks™, a nascent, yet successful, pilot program currently underway in the San Francisco Bay Area. This industry-centric, consumer-facing program specifically addresses the realities of the restaurant/foodservice and hospitality industries –– low margin returns; high cost of operations; high capital cost; high failure rate; high personnel turnover; oft-entrenched management models; etc. –– successfully integrating industry realities with program components to enable positive, sustainable, holistic operational shifts, while achieving demonstrable cost savings and enhanced bottom line performance.

Howard Cummins, founder and CEO, is a seasoned restaurant/nightclub operator with more than 35 years experience, ranging from concept origination and development to operations. He has nearly 50 restaurant launches to his credit, as well as more than a dozen turnarounds where he revitalized underperforming properties. Recognizing the need for sustainable implementation as a necessary element to bottom line performance, Mr. Cummins earned an Executive Certificate in Sustainable Enterprise from the School of Business Leadership, Sustainable Green MBA, Dominican University, in 2010. He developed the Five Green Forks™ program to address sustainability implementation to meet the very specific needs of the restaurant/foodservice industry. For more information: www.greenrestaurantstrategies.com

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