Pizza Fusion Addresses Organic Demand with LEED Expansion into South and Northeast Markets
Organic, eco-friendly restaurant franchise continues growth with new LEED certified locations opening throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Florida in coming months
November 21, 2007 // Franchising.com // Fort Lauderdale, Fla., – Over the next six months, Pizza Fusion, the leader in environmentally sustainable restaurant practices, will be opening several new locations throughout the south and northeast United States, including Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Atlanta, Georgia, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey; introducing all four states to their first ever LEED certified restaurant establishments. Through several area development and individual franchise deals, entrepreneurs are finding value into bringing Pizza Fusion's sustainable approach to organic food service to their communities.
"We're from California but wanted to bring the Pizza Fusion concept to the Atlanta market because it's more green and organic than any major city in Southern California," Jeff Melnick, Pizza Fusion area developer for Atlanta, explains. "With 7 Whole Foods, 5 Trader Joe's and 3 Fresh Markets for a total of 15 organic food markets and 53 LEED Certified buildings it was a no brainer. It's going to be a great Hybrid ride providing gourmet organic food to the residents of Atlanta. We're already getting phone calls and emails from people wanting to know where and when we will open."
Pizza Fusion, whose motto is 'Saving the Earth, One Pizza at a Time,' serves a gourmet, organic menu of pizza, focaccia sandwiches, wraps, desserts, beer and wine in fast casual LEED certified environments. They also offer health conscious alternatives for people with selective diets and food allergies, including gluten-free, vegan and lactose free options. Taking the lead in the environmentally sustainable restaurant sector, Pizza Fusion practices a detailed eco-friendly approach to their entire existence, including their restaurants' buildout, service and overall operations, all the way down to the 100% post consumer toilet paper they use in their bathrooms. Currently, the company has over 50 LEED certified restaurants opening in seven states across the U.S., including California, Nevada, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia and Florida.
Wende Goncz, the area developer behind Pizza Fusion's Pittsburgh expansion, states, "Pizza Fusion is an excellent fit with Pennsylvania's eco-conscious, organic hungry demographics. We're very excited to introduce a socially responsible organization like Pizza Fusion to Pittsburgh, as well as open the state's first LEED certified restaurant. We believe Pizza Fusion will not only enhance the city's restaurant portfolio, but bring a positive example to the community as America's greenest restaurant."
Pizza Fusion's LEED certified restaurants feature a number of unique, eco-efficient products, techniques and designs, including eliminating the use of water heaters and air heating units by recycling heat from their ovens to warm their water and the restaurants themselves. Other eco-friendly store elements include countertops made from 100% recycled detergent bottles, bamboo flooring, 30% recaptured industrial concrete, ceiling panels made from 74% recycled aluminum cans and 24% post industrial metals, USG Gypsum Board made from pre-used drywall, insulation made from recycled blue jeans, ceiling baffles made from recycled composite board, low voltage and low heat lighting, seat cushions made with soybean oil, furniture made from reclaimed wood and much more.
Pizza Fusion's first LEED certified stores to open will be in Palm Beach Gardens and Weston, Florida in mid-December. Their LEED certified restaurants in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Georgia will be open and operational by the end of the first quarter of 2008.
About Pizza Fusion
Founded in February of 2006, Pizza Fusion leads a new niche market by combining an eclectic organic menu with a detail-oriented environmental business approach in chic LEED certified fast casual environments. Pizza Fusion serves gourmet pizzas, focaccia sandwiches, salads, desserts, beers, wines and more in their purest form - untainted by artificial additives, such as sweeteners, pesticides, preservatives, antibiotics and hormones.
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