Going Green by Dumping the Dishes
Freshii is unique in that they use no dishwashers, hoods, ranges or ovens, reducing the footprint left by their restaurants. To eliminate the need for dishwashers, they have opted for 100 percent biodegradable food-safe mixing bags to create their salads and custom rice/noodle bowls, which in total—including the production and transportation of the bags to Freshii restaurants—use less than five times the electricity of even the most energy efficient dishwashers. They also save an average of $10,000 per store buildout on dishwasher installation costs, and bring in savings of water and chemical waste of $5,000/year per store.
Dan Rowe is CEO of Fransmart, an Alexandria, Va.-based restaurant franchisor whose brands include Freshii, Wolfgang Puck Express and Big Smoke Burger.