CHICAGO Celebrity chef Rick Bayless this week opened XOCO, his first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED-certified, green restaurant, in Chicago’s River North neighborhood.
The restaurant, which offers Mexican street food in a fast-casual setting, is housed in a 2,800-square-foot building that features low-VOC paint, recycled wood, Energy Star roofing and appliances, and fluorescent and LED lighting.
Designed by Farr Associates, a Chicago-based firm that focuses on sustainable architecture, the new restaurant is located next door to Bayless’ renowned Frontera Grill and Topolobampo Mexican restaurants.
“Designing and certifying the restaurant to green building standards honors our commitment to sustainability,” Bayless said. “I was impressed with the efficient lighting and kitchen equipment that is now available and delighted by the local and green finishes that Farr proposed.”
XOCO is expected to reduce energy usage and costs by using dimming controls and will cut water usage with low-flow plumbing fixtures. All meals will be made with electric appliances and energy-efficient induction pilotless cooktops.
The restaurant also will compost its food waste and recycle its cooking grease. In addition, Bayless has started a vegetable garden on the rooftop, where he plans to grow a number of the ingredients found in XOCO’s menu items.
“Rick’s decision to certify XOCO as a green building makes good sense given his well known passion for using local and organic food,” said Doug Farr, president of Farr Associates. “The design of XOCO is a continuation of the many green practices that Rick has always done — healthy and organic."
Bayless, a proponent of the green movement, last month joined Chicago’s new Guaranteed Green, sponsored by the Green Chicago Restaurant Co-op. Guaranteed Green allows restaurateurs that are certified by either the Green Restaurant Association or Green Seal to market their businesses with logos and publicity materials in convention and tourism publications and other media.
At the Aug. 26 launch of Guaranteed Green, Bayless said: “A meal is truly wholesome if it is prepared and served in a sustainable environment.”
Contact Elissa Elan at [email protected].