The Five Best Sustainable Restaurants and Breweries in FoCo
Fort Collins is advertised as a pretty sustainable town, focused on everything from decreasing CO2 emissions, to implementing sustainable agriculture, and everything in between. But how do residents get involved in this movement that’s mostly run by the city? Personally, I love helping support local businesses with a passion for the environment. Here are my four favorite sustainable restaurants and breweries in Fort Collins that utilize sustainable resources and techniques to make a difference in the environment.
This one is a given. I mean, a single glance at the website reveals sustainability efforts. New Belgium uses environmental metrics in order to decrease their water use, energy consumption, waste and emissions. This company constantly updates their sustainability goals, so they can always be a step ahead of the game. They even host events to further inform the public of different sustainability efforts going on in Fort Collins. Not to mention, their beer is pretty damn good.
2. The Kitchen
A little more on the expensive side, but absolutely worth it. The Kitchen, located in Old Town, focusses on locally sourcing their ingredients and use only what’s in season to avoid genetically modified produce. In addition, when this restaurant runs out of something, they are completely out. The Kitchen cuts back on food waste by doing so. But, trust me, there won’t be any food left on your plate by the time the meal is over. If I weren’t a poor college student, I would eat here every single day for their everchanging menu and unique dishes.
Imagine a place with incredible food, and bikes galore. No, I’m not talking about Vietnam. Rainbow Restaurant brings together organic and healthy foods to form delicious dishes that are sustainable and delicious. They also implement bonuses to their employees who bike to work, promoting both a healthier lifestyle, as well as an opportunity to take advantage of clean transportation for cash.
The founders of the Colorado Room bring together all things local with this cute bar. They utilize recycled materials for their décor and host events focused on environmental sustainability throughout the year. In addition, all of beers, spirits, and food are sourced locally, which gives right back to the Fort Collins community. Stop by their comedy nights for great food, brewskies and free laughs.
Odell works to reduce their mark on the environment by using and reusing their water to produce a killer beer. They use over significantly less water per gallon than that of the national average. And, Odell utilizes wind and solar power for their entire operation. As a whole, Odell sets goals for sustainability in the future, from becoming zero landfill, to reusing the remaining water per gallon for irrigation use. This company has the environment in mind — plus, their Lagger is easily my favorite beer out there, and their IPA’s are to die for.
