The Green Dining Alliance is thrilled to announce South Grand as our newest Green Dining District!
Green Dining Districts are areas where at least 25% of the independent restaurants are GDA certified. South Grand is the first Green Dining District within the City of St. Louis and the third Green Dining District to join, after Maplewood and The Loop.
Restaurants use more resources and create more waste than many other industries. Restaurants typically use 5 times more energy than other similarly sized commercial buildings, and most restaurants in our region do not recycle. Green Dining Alliance certified restaurants recycle, never use styrofoam, and reduce their environmental impact through sourcing more local foods, reducing their energy use, limiting their water consumption, and more. These commitments to sustainability are essential to creating a more sustainable St. Louis.
Restaurants along the culturally diverse stretch of South Grand help contribute to the sustainability of one of St. Louis’s most bustling, vibrant, walkable streets. South Grand’s Green Dining District diverts 14.719 tons of material per month away from the landfill through recycling and composting efforts. All GDA certified restaurants work to reduce their carbon footprint by phasing in LEDs and other energy-saving equipment, helping St. Louis work towards reducing our emissions by 28% by 2025. South Grand’s Green Dining District offers a stunning array of plant-based foods, encouraging diners to choose delicious plant-based alternatives to resource-intensive meat products.
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- Guerilla Street Food
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- Pizza Head
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- Gelateria del Leone
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- Cafe Natasha
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- Rooster
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- Mangia
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- Lulu’s Local Eatery
This accomplishment has been in the works for over five years. Rachel Witt, South Grand’s Community Improvement District Executive Director and tireless community champion, spearheaded the effort, spending countless hours courting potential restaurants to show them the benefit of going green. Rachel worked closely with the Program Manager of the Green Dining Alliance, attending strategy meetings and planning a unique approach with each individual restaurant – this could not have happened without her help and support.
Friend of the GDA and tireless community champion Rachel Witt.
South Grand’s commitment to sustainability goes beyond restaurant greening, especially when it comes to protecting our watershed. The district has permeable pavement, 14 rain gardens, 32 rainscaping locations, and educational signage about watersheds throughout the strip. Their event space, Ritz Park, was the recipient of Project Clear funds from MSD; the park is landscaped with native plants and will eventually even have a green wall! Other sustainability efforts include LED lighting along Ritz Park, in their free South Grand parking lot, and along the top of the buildings throughout the six block business district, supporting native plants and pollinators with native elms, and reducing waste by providing recycling bins and cigarette recycling containers along the street. These sustainable projects require maintenance to stay successful; the South Grand Community Improvement District vacuums and powerwashes the pervious pacement twice a year to remove the grime, and hires companies with experience in designing and installing native plants to keep them healthy and beautiful.
Visit South Grand’s GDA certified restaurants to avoid styrofoam and support businesses who recycle, including Guerrilla Street Food, Rooster, Mangia Italiano, Gelateria del Leone, Cafe Natasha’s, Pizza Head, and Lulu’s Local Eatery.
