Pizza Fusion Bringing Organic, Eco-Friendly Restaurant Service to Franklin

By: Pizza Fusion | 1 Shares 200 Reads

America's most environmentally-friendly restaurant bringing tasty, organic menu to Nashville area

September 10, 2008 // Franchising.com // Nashville, Tenn., - Pizza Fusion (www.pizzafusion.com), the most environmentally friendly restaurant in America, will be opening in Franklin at 103 Shingle Way, Ste 114, Franklin TN 37204. Entrepreneurial duo Hugh and Lisa Nemets are the franchisees behind Pizza Fusion's new Franklin location.

"Lisa and I were toying with the idea of opening our own pizzeria complete with a menu up to our standards and were considering organic ingredients for their superior quality and taste," Hugh explains. "While researching recipes online for organic pizza, we stumbled across Pizza Fusion's website. The idea of an eco-friendly, organic pizza parlor seemed too good to be true, however the test was in the taste of their pies. After flying down to Florida to try it for ourselves, we were blown away by the freshness and quality of not only their pizza, but their entire menu. We immediately felt that this was a restaurant Nashville's health and quality conscious residents needed, and we wanted to be a part of it."

Pizza Fusion, whose motto is 'Saving the Earth, One Pizza at a Time,' practices an eco-friendly approach to their entire existence, including their restaurants' buildout, service and overall operations. Through building all their restaurants to LEED certification standards, delivering their food in company owned hybrid vehicles, and offsetting 100% of their power consumption with the purchase of renewable energy certificates (among many other things), Pizza Fusion is setting the standard for sustainable restaurant practices as the most eco-friendly restaurant in America. Currently, the company has over 75 restaurants opening in 15 states across the U.S.

"We're very excited and proud to branch out to the Nashville area," Vaughan Lazar, CEO and co-founder of Pizza Fusion, continues. "I know our sustainable approach to restaurant service will be warmly accepted by the state's environmentally conscious residents. We're proud to make our move to the Midwest with Hugh and Lisa. We're confident they will represent us well and uphold Pizza Fusion's founding values while providing Nashville residents with a delicious means of supporting the environment."

In the United States, restaurants are the top electricity consumer among retail businesses, accounting for 33% of the total consumption. Each restaurant produces an average of 50,000 pounds of waste per year. Pizza Fusion's LEED certified restaurants reduce water waste by 40 percent and electricity consumption by 20 percent annually. The chain'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. Pizza Fusion restaurants' other eco-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 – all the way down to the 100 percent post consumer toilet paper in their bathrooms.

Hugh and Lisa, happily married for 20 years, have lived in the Nashville area for the last two years. Hugh, who most recently worked in the automotive industry, brings a wealth of previous restaurant experience to Pizza Fusion. Lisa possesses an extensive experience in retail business while most recently putting her heart into her most enjoyable job as a stay-at-home mother to their two daughters.

About Pizza Fusion

Founded in the best interest of the individual and the environment, Pizza Fusion combines a fresh, organic menu with an industry-leading environmental approach to restaurant service in chic dining destinations built to LEED certification standards. Pizza Fusion specializes in a full-service approach to gourmet pizza, ciabatta sandwiches, salads, desserts, and organic beers and wines, all in their purest form - untainted by artificial additives, such as pesticides, preservatives, antibiotics and hormones. With numerous franchises opening across the U.S., Pizza Fusion is well on its way to 'saving the earth, one pizza at a time.' For additional information, visit: www.pizzafusion.com.

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