Thursday, February 5, 2009

A New Fry?

The buzz of conversation. The smell of coffee. The sound of the grind. The lifting of the spoon to taste the warm, delicious soup...Good times are happening here at The CoHo. This has always been your coffee house. We stand by you, and you stand by us. So we want to take this time to get your thoughts.

We are thinking about going green. Like really green, yet with any new trend comes the higher price tag. You may not realize, but 'tater spoons are muy expensivo (in comparison to plastics) for anyone at the moment, let alone an independent coffee house. Do you genuinely think it would bring in more business to compensate for our possible increase in spending? Would you come here more if you knew your take-out was better for the environment? Here's a lovely fact that makes my heart flutter: a biodegradable potato spoon composts in 180 days as opposed to a plastic spoon, that well, doesn't. We're also looking into corn cutlery, but our findings reveal that potato ones are more versatile. They can maintain their spoon form at up to 200 degrees F. (You could eat potato soup, hash browns, latkes, heck, a baked potato (!) all with a perhaps one of their old 'tater friends from the field. They're born together, raised together, eaten together, degrade together, enter the potato Form together...jeepers, I think my heart is melting...)

Being locally and privately owned, we do want to do our part in caring for the Earth while still being able to serve you! Being Eco-friendly is on our minds at The CoHo these days, so please share your thoughts to help us. You can either post your response or email coho@stanford.edu. Thanks for caring as we try to learn how best to care as well. Cheers!

10 comments:

Unknown said...

I'd definitely come more often if going green also means having some vegan options. I love your place, but right now it's really hard for me to eat there :-(

Justine Massey said...

I will definitely support you in switching to tater spoons. Plastic is nasty stuff that's not going away; the least we can do is use and produce less of it.

Unknown said...

I've seen people walking out with metal spoons, supposedly with the aim to avoid all plastic and to bring them back (who knows if they do). That can't be cost effective. If every item that one expects someone to use a utensil on (soup, salad, etc) had a 5 to 10 surcharge to help cover the cost of spud spoons, I think most people would find that fair. But one thing I hate is when a restaurant decides to go green and then goes back on it two months later (like U^2). If you're going to do it... make sure you're committed.

Unknown said...

Whether or not a cafe is eco-friendly factors into my decision to eat there or not. Tater utensils or reusable tableware always are a big plus for me.

Unknown said...

I totally support you in going green! I also don't have many options for eating at the coho, I'm raw vegan. Maybe you guys can work with raw Daddy's food in sunnyvale and bring some over to the coho:
http://www.rawdaddyfoods.com/menu.htm

Nick Wenner said...

Beloved CoHo,

I already consider coming to the CoHo more often now that I have received your email about going green. I and many like minded students are thinking more and more about our impacts on the environment and we support your desires to become more eco-friendly.

Know that (at least from this patron's viewpoint) going green will not hurt your enterprise fiscally, and that I am confident going green will boost your business.

As a concrete promise: I will come to the CoHo more often if you bring in tater spoons.

Sustainably yours,

Nick Wenner

P.S. I am putting on a sustainability/wildlife photography event at the CoHo on March 6. Is there a way we could work together to help the CoHo jump into this green change? Our publicity efforts could be put towards a common event, I would get a great show, you would get a business boost and positive PR, and we would both be contributing to a more sustainable world. Please let me know what you think! Email me at nwenner@stanford.edu.

Noel said...

Give a discount for those who bring their own utensils, like how The Axe & Palm does for those who bring in Stanford Dining mugs. As CoHo patrons catch on, it'll save you in the volume of purchasing disposables.

If you do go green, make sure to incorporate compost bins, and make it clear to customers how to dispose of the spud-ware properly. If not, you'll be literally throwing money away.

Meredith said...

I definitely consider what containers my "to go" food will be in and would be happier coming to the CoHo for that if you had greener options.

Also, you guys already do a great job with real plates and silverware for food - but how about making more of a push for ceramic mugs for coffee? I see SO many people sitting in the CoHo with paper coffee cups!

I agree with previous comments about more vegan options - that would be super!

Anonymous said...

Support your patrons who Bring their Own! (with a discount)
www.refusepact.org

name said...

Definitely Bring their Own! (with a discount) is the greener option. Sometimes people feel they can only go green with inovations, almost high-tech inventions like this potato spoon I never heard about. I do not agree. Many times, old-school is really the greener option*

I totally prefer metal spoons, ceramic plates and glass cups. Totally! That would make me come to your place more often - if that's possible! Plastic and carton inside or even at the outside tables is just plain waste. I'm not from the States, and here people really use plastic and carton a lot! I guess "to go" is really popular here, so i guess it has to be. And in that sense please do innovate. Otherwise, please, reusable silverware and dishes, even outside. I believe it's greener and the food tastes better also - or does the water and detergent spent in washing them costs more to the environment?! Has anyone done the math? Probably..

go coho! ;)


*an example is drying your washed clothes. No high-tech, brand new, super eco friendly drier is greener than plain and simple rope or metal wire hanging your cloth outside and drying it with the sun. That's what we do in my home country, and we do not have California's weather! Not even close!!