OASIS members gather at Schlafly Bottleworks
On December 4th, UMSL‘s OASIS Academy brought together seniors to tour Maplewood’s Green Dining District. Led by Olivia Engel, GDA Program Coordinator, over 20 individuals heard from GDA restaurant owners how a Green Dining District creates destinations for delicious food as well as environmentally-responsible venues for their dining experiences.
Tom Flood (Operations Manager, Schlafly Beer), Jim Jordan (UMSL), and Engel started the tour at the Bottleworks, discussing how sustainability takes form in the restaurant industry. Flood described the ways in which Schlafly has integrated sustainability into their operations before the tour made its way down Manchester to view the rest of the Maplewood strip’s green dining destination.
GDA Restaurants in the Spotlight:
PSST! – Spots signified with ** are great places for special, local, and delicious gifts and stocking stuffers! Get over to Maplewood today – or after the holidays, for those not-quite-punctual gifts!
Schalfly Bottleworks
Foundation Grounds Cafe and Coffeehouse**
The Post Sports Bar & Grill
Guests also spoke with Jessica Jawor, manager at “pending GDA member” Great Harvest Bread Co., who spoke to the challenges that small business owners face when tackling sustainability goals without community support.
Green Practices = More Green
The group came prepared to snack and shop for the holidays along the way. As the tour selected teas at Traveling Tea, ordered treats at Pie Oh My!, and shopped at Kakao, the GDA’s goals of bringing more attention to environmentally conscious restaurants was realized.
Engel was happy to see business coming to the doors of their member restaurants.
“This is exactly what we want to accomplish with the Green Dining District distinction,” Engel said afterward. “These business owners are moving forward with the times and doing things right. They are exactly the kind of establishments that deserve our support.”
