CHAPEL HILL N.C. Subway franchisee Ahmad "Mike" Abdallat recently opened his first green restaurant with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification, and he says he couldn’t be happier. The two-unit franchisee worked with Green Tech Consulting Inc. on the logistics of opening the green building, which he says is a hit with both employees and customers. He recently talked to Nation’s Restaurant News about the process and how the building's eco-friendly features are already saving him money.
Tell me about this new LEED-certified Subway unit and why it is important.
It looks very normal, actually, like a regular store. It’s just that everything is updated and it’s very healthy for the environment. It’s energy-efficient so you don’t need a lot of lighting in the store -- it’s got sensors so when you walk into the bathrooms the lighting shuts on and off. It’s got low-flush toilets and, also, the equipment doesn’t [require] the same amount of power as the other traditional stores.
I’m very happy and excited. The store is designed to help create an overall smaller environmental footprint. It’ll consume less electricity and water, offer more natural light, heating and cooling to our customers. In addition to all that, we’ve included another eco-friendly element: extensive use of recycled materials.
How did you get interested in going green?
To be honest with you, Subway already had very a healthy menu and food, and when they decided to grow to North Carolina, they talked to me about the [eco-store] idea. I really liked it; it’s all about saving money and the future of the environment. I paid an extra $20,000 to build this store, but in the long run I will save a lot of money. Since I opened, I’ve already saved 60 percent on my utility bills, and that’s a very large amount of money. I have two other Subways and I pay almost $700 a month just for electric. This store is about $340 a month for electricity and water. That’s the highest I’ve paid, but the heat here has been very strong lately. It was a good business decision I wanted to do sooner rather than later.
We’re also in a special neighborhood. Chapel Hill is a great community. I wanted this store to complement the village and community around me. We’re two miles from the [University of North Carolina]. This store fits the community’s awareness of the environment, especially the students, and I want to share this with them.
This has been a long and expensive project, hasn’t it?
This one cost between $250,000 and $260,000, and even though I was open, I was working to get this certification since last September. We got our certificate on Monday [June 29}, but the Green Building Council has to do a lot of work to make sure
What has the reaction been like so far from customers and employees?
My employees are having a great time working in the store. They just love it. The store, the lighting, the happiness, everybody is just happy and has a good attitude. The employees are happy with the customers. They want me to let them work all the time; everybody wants to work from open to close. They are really happy with the atmosphere. I will never do another store that is not green.
What kind of feedback are you receiving? Are people, particularly customers, excited? Do you think it will help sales?
Since like last week, with all the extra attention from the press, I’ve seen a lot of new customers who want to partake of healthy food and a healthy environment. The people here are very sophisticated and into [preserving] the environment.
For me, I’m very proud and happy to lead the way. We are the first LEED-certified Subway restaurant in North Carolina and the second in the whole United States.
Contact Elissa Elan at [email protected].
