VOLUME 53

 SUSTAINABILITY CONNECTION 

 

If you don't look far enough ahead, you may not get good enough insights.

 

-Jason Yoon

  Restaurant and Coffee Shop Combine Vision

 

                                                  

The Times Free Press recently reported on a unique restaurant that is using the farm-to-table model.

 

Two new businesses that hope to marry great coffee with great food are opening in a shared space in North Chattanooga.

 

The Farmer's Daughter and Copacetic Coffee are serving breakfast and lunch in an old gas station at 1211 Hixson Pike, with The Farmer's Daughter creating the food and Copacetic Coffee whipping up all sorts of black brews.

 

The restaurant and coffee shop will hold a grand opening next Friday. But in the meantime, family and friends are welcome to drop by for a meal or a drink, said The Farmer's Daughter co-owner Mike Mayo.

"Friends and family are welcome, and if you're in the neighborhood and you walk in the door, then you must be a friend," he said.

 

Together the companies employ about 20 people and have put $150,000 into renovating the old Exxon station. The Farmer's Daughter is dishing up traditional American fare like chili, grilled ham and cheese, muffins and quiche. Prices range between $2 and $9 in the sit-down and carry-out restaurant. Copacetic Coffee's prices average around $3 a glass.

 

The two companies decided to launch together so that customers can get the best of both worlds, Mayo said.

 

"What I've seen before is that you go to a coffee house and the coffee is excellent but the food doesn't really match up to the coffee," he said. "Or you go to a restaurant and the food is excellent but the coffee doesn't match. We want to create an experience where we are creating excellence in our products no matter what that product may be."

 

Both The Farmer's Daughter and Copacetic Coffee are focused on the farm-to-table model and aim to source as much as possible -- both food and supplies -- from local farmers and local producers.

"It's our belief that sustainable small business is both what drives local economies and what creates vibrant communities," Mayo said. "It's the butcher and the baker and the candlestick maker. It's a full spectrum approach to local sourcing."

 

Eventually the site will host classes and workshops to encourage local shopping and entrepreneurship. Mayo hopes the restaurant will function as a shared community space and will eventually extend service into the evening hours.

Copacetic co-founder Andrew Bettis said the company is excited to teach Chattanoogans about coffee.

 

"There's a lot of misinformation and buzzwords out there about coffee," he said. "And we're excited to see an actual coffee culture grow in a town where people think about what they're drinking, think about where it comes from, how it was prepared. That kind of sold us more than the idea of a coffee shop alone."

 

The site can seat 60 people inside and another 60 people outside. Both companies hope to capitalize on the commuter traffic into Chattanooga on Hixson Pike while also establishing a neighborhood-heavy customer base.

 

The idea has been in the works since March 2012 and took longer than expected to pull together, Mayo said. The gas station needed a lot of work after sitting vacant and deteriorating.

Mayo built much of the furniture by hand, included the bar and tables, which slowed the process down as well, he said. But now, the two companies are ready to get off the ground. They're starting simple.

 

"When you use really great ingredients, it doesn't have to be flashy," Mayo said.

 

Sustainable Treehouse
          
This story is part of a series of sustainability stories about the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia.  This property was purchased and developed by the Boy Scouts of America last year.  This past summer, the reserve hosted it's first nationwide boy scout jamboree.

 

One of the most unique structures at the Summit Bechtel Reserve is the Sustainability Treehouse, a LEED-certified green building that is completely self-sustaining. The treehouse produces its own energy, collects its own water and even processes its own waste.

 

Near the top of the treehouse, high above the tops of the trees in the surrounding forest, solar PV panels collect sunlight to be converted into electricity. A vertical wind turbine, specially designed to work at lower elevations with slower wind speeds and be safe for birds living in the area, turns air movement into electricity.

 

The treehouse also serves as a laboratory for Scouts and visitors who want to learn how to apply the principles of sustainability to their own lives.

 

"We wanted amenities, but wanted to provide them in a way that we're never using any more resources than we need," Furst says. "It is a facility like no other, and we are beginning a whole new era of sustainability. The way we've done this, everyone can get comfortable with going green. It's about being a good steward of the resources that we have."

 

 

"Southern Junker" in West Tennessee

 

"Truly, one man's trash is another man's treasure," said Millington resident Ruth Barnes, who enjoys digging in dumpsters.

The Commercial Appeal recently reported on a local resident who believes that every item has a use.

 

Five years ago, Ruth Barnes decided it was time to turn her life around. She felt she needed to make some changes. At 52 years old, married, with two children, she still felt there was something else that she wanted to do.

 

"I always felt there was something in me that might be creative; however I never pursued it. But I decided that it was time to take some time for myself and pursue the things I loved, so I took some time to regroup," explains Barnes.

 

Barnes began discovering things about herself that she hadn't realized before. One of the things that she discovered was that she seemed to look at things differently than other people.

 

"I knew I had always been a very outgoing, social person a 'people person.' But I also discovered that upon looking at an object, that I could often see something beyond its intended use. This intrigued me, and so I started collecting items of interest, and making things out of them that gave them new life."

Barnes also rented a booth in an antiques store and started going to auctions, estate sales, not to mention digging in barns and dumpsters. She found that she loved this pursuit.

 

"I grew up with antiques and collectibles. I've always loved them. My family never got rid of anything, we just passed it around. I met a few people that seemed to think a lot like me, and they like this repurposing outlet, too. One day, I thought, 'You know, there are bound to be more of us out there'," says Barnes.

 

But the question was how to find those folks? Barnes enlisted the aid of social media. While scrolling around on Facebook she saw "Create Group" and clicked on that tab. When asked to name her group, she thought up "Southern Junkers." The name seemed to say it all. It captured the spirit of what she was enjoying - collecting found objects of no particular pedigree, combined with that most Southern of pasttimes - socializing.

 

In short order, Barnes had accumulated 80 like-minded friends in her newly created Facebook group. The next step, she thought, was to try to get these creative allies to meet one another and gather in one place.

 

"In the fall of 2012, I started searching for a place where we could set up and sell our creations, and that is when the first Southern Junkers Market was created. My dear friends, Ron and Patti Callan, are the owners of Top Dog Trade Center on Hwy.64 in Eads. I spoke to Ron about having an outdoor Southern Junkers Market there, and he thought it was a wonderful idea. Since that time we have grown by leaps and bounds with over 10,000 members in our group, from all over the globe."

 

"This group is a family to me. I have met some fantastic people who are now my good friends. I feel that we all do the world a great justice with our attempts to save trash from the land fill and creating something useful with it either for ourselves or for someone else to enjoy. Truly, one man's trash is another man's treasure. Our Southern Junkers' motto is 'Everything has a Purpose and most have a Repurpose".

 

Although Barnes' Southern Junkers group is now listed as "closed" on Facebook, due to the large number of members, if you would like to join their mission of recycling and repurposing, contact Ruth Barnes-Memphis on Facebook and she will add you to their creative crowd. The next Southern Junkers Market will be held April 2014, at Top Dog Trade Center in Eads.

                 

      

                   

 Nashville Recycles Day

 Saturday, Nov. 9; 9 a.m. - noon

 

Consolidated Services Facility (CSF)

 815 Hangar Lane

 Nashville, TN  

 

Click on the logo to find a complete list of accepted items

 

Did You Know?
The harder you concentrate on falling asleep, the less likely you are to fall asleep.
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This newsletter was published by the TDEC Office of Sustainable Practices. If you have any suggestions for content please submit your information to this address.
 
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TDEC Office of Sustainable Practices