Going Green Without Sacrificing Taste, Fresh Restaurant Is Somerset County's First Green Certified Restaurant

How did a former Dairy Queen turn into one of only seven Green Restaurant Association certified environmentally sound restaurants in the state of New Jersey? Just ask husband and wife team Erik Wolfe and Avianna Ponzi, who opened Fresh restaurant on Allen Road about a year and a half ago.

"We wanted to open something that really focused on local, seasonal ingredients, which to us was a natural fit to the area," says Wolfe. "No one else was doing it, and it's where our interests lie. It gives us a lot of flexibility to try different things with the restaurant in terms of the food."

Wolfe and Ponzi used to work in the restaurant business in New York City before returning to Basking Ridge, where Wolfe's parents are residents. They took on the role of turning a fast food space into what their vision of an environmentally responsible eatery.

"There were a lot of interesting things that were ok with the space, but it was hideous," said Wolfe. The couple set out to turn the restaurant from one of dancing hot dogs into "Fresh," the only green certified restaurant in Somerset County.

The floors were replaced with sustainably harvested bamboo, and the restaurateurs brought in post-industrial quartz countertops, more efficient lights with timers or sensors and low-flow aerators to regulate water usage. Everything from the take-out boxes (post-industrial cardboard) to the soda fountain cups (compostable, corn-based plastic) and dish washing soap (eco-friendly) was chosen carefully to have the best environmental impact.

The owners said that they believed the sustainable restaurant design was a natural extension of their focus on sustainable ingredients. "We wanted to make sure that... not only was the food as local as possible and organic and all natural, but then it would be weird to serve that in a Styrofoam cup or to come in and sit at plastic tables," Wolfe said.

They also wanted to emphasize that going green does not mean sacrificing taste.

 "It's the kind of thing that some people can be turned off by… people think of some sort of fleece-wearing, flax-eating person… we eat hamburgers, we have chicken wings, we make stuff that is tasty and hopefully tastes good," Wolfe said. The restaurant's menu is constantly changing based on what foods can be obtained locally throughout the different seasons, but Fresh always serves a variety of sandwiches, salads, sides and sweets. Each day the restaurant offers a different blue plate special, as well.

"I think sometimes people, they think [sustainable food] is going to cost more or somehow be less flavorful," Wolfe said. "They think that somehow they are going to have to sacrifice, but what we've really tried to do is enable people to make the right choice without having to sacrifice flavor."

Fresh restaurant is located at 562 Allen Road, just past The Hills in the Highland Village Shopping Center. It is open Monday - Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.