Chick-fil-A says its newest restaurant in Texas is a laboratory for environmental innovations that could pop up in other locations.
The 4,617 square-foot restaurant in Fort Worth would be the first Chick-fil-A restaurant designed to the standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
Executives at the College Park fast food chain say they want the restaurant to be a testing ground for various sustainability efforts. The company plans to open more than 75 restaurants this year, but says it won't know which sustainability measures will appear in new restaurants until it observes the pilot project in Texas.
The Fort Worth restaurant has low-flow fixtures in restrooms and the kitchen. A cistern the size of a swimming pool will collect rainwater to irrigate plants and landscaping, a step Chick-fil-A says will cut water usage by 40 percent. Skylights and energy-efficient appliances are expected to slice energy usage by 14 percent.
About 20 percent of the restaurant’s building material budget was spent on products with recycled content, and more than half of construction waste was diverted from the landfill. The restaurant is projected to have 30 percent more fresh air than typical buildings.
The restaurant is about 15 percent more expensive to build than a standard unit, said David Farmer, vice president of innovation and service. The added expense should pay off in higher efficiency, he said.
"There's no question, this will change how we build stores going forward," Farmer said.
The company plans to send crews out to hundreds of restaurants to replace lighting and water fixtures with higher-efficiency models. That step could yield thousands of dollars in savings each year for operators, Farmer said. Chick-fil-A also is considering replacing its bleached-white napkins with brown versions that would require less processing and energy to make.
