Cafe Yumm!(R) Opens First Restaurant To Meet Leed Gold Standard For Retail

By: Cafe Yumm! | 29 Shares 259 Reads

May 23, 2011 // Franchising.com // Café Yumm! announces the Grand Opening of its new restaurant in downtown Portland, Oregon at 301 SW Morrison St. Grand Opening festivities begin at 11:00am on Wednesday, May 25 with a ribbon cutting at the store sponsored by the Portland Business Alliance. Members of the Portland Business Alliance and Cori Jacobs, Downtown Retail Advocate, will join Café Yumm! founders Mark and Mary Ann Beauchamp in welcoming Café Yumm! to the downtown retail core.

Importantly, once certified Café Yumm! will be the first LEED Gold Rated fast casual restaurant in the State of Oregon.

The downtown Café Yumm! was remodeled in an existing 2750 square foot space across from Nordstrom Rack. The restaurant was built according to Gold Standards for retail space established by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). According to Restaurant Business Magazine, only 62 out of more than 6,000 LEED-certified buildings throughout the U.S. belong to restaurants. Restaurant Business pg. 36, November 2010. Café Yumm! is the first restaurant in Oregon to be built following Gold Standard. The application for certification is in the process of being reviewed by the Council.

"LEED certification is significant," explains co-founder Mark Beauchamp, "because it reestablishes Café Yumm!'s commitment to sustainability in all that we do."

Café Yumm! continues to shrink its carbon footprint whether through locally sourced food, use of green energy sources, or now by building a restaurant to LEED Gold Standards. The downtown restaurant visibly demonstrates that Café Yumm! remains steadfastly committed to sustainable, more environmentally friendly business practices.

"These practices, for instance, include using paints with zero volatile organic chemicals, plumbing fixtures with lower water flow, sensors to regulate heating and cooling systems, and pressed plant-based building materials and recycled wood throughout the restaurant," says Mr. Beauchamp.

In fact, earlier this year Café Yumm! was awarded the Bold Steps Award Toward Sustainability by the Mayor of Eugene, Oregon. Café Yumm! has also been awarded an Emerald Award for Environmental Values by the Chamber of Commerce and a RE:think Award by the environmental group BRING Recycling.

"Not only does Café Yumm! serve beautiful, delicious, nourishing food, but we serve it in a more sustainable manner," exclaims Mr. Beauchamp.

Beginning at 4pm on Wednesday, the restaurant will provide a small Original Yumm! Bowl FREE of charge to the first 200 people who request one. The Original Yumm! Bowl is one of the most popular offerings on the menu and consists of organic Oregon grown black Turtle Beans and organic brown rice layered with Yumm! Sauce™, black olives, organic salsa, sour cream, Tillamook® cheddar cheese, cilantro, tomatoes, and avocados. All natural chicken breast is available upon request as an add-on.

Café Yumm! fans on Facebook will want to monitor status to learn about special giveaways and offerings between now and the Grand Opening. Visit www.facebook.com/cafeyumm to become a fan.

Founders Mark and Mary Ann Beauchamp will be available in the restaurant after the ribbon cutting until 2 pm to meet with fans and guests alike. The Beauchamps will have gift cards to the Duck Store, the Beaver Store, and Café Yumm! to distribute to guests who say the correct phrase during the promotion period. Become a fan of Café Yumm! on Facebook to learn more.

Locations Cafe Yumm! has eleven locations throughout Oregon. Locations can be found at www.cafeyumm.com.

About Café Yumm!

Beau Delicious! International, LLC operates and franchises Café Yumm! restaurants, and manufactures and distributes retail products like delicious Yumm! Sauce, dressings, cookies and more. Café Yumm! serves Soul satisfying, Deeply nourishing® signature Yumm! Bowls, bento, salads, and soups complemented by delicious specialty sauces. Since the first location opened in 1997, Café Yumm! has offered high-quality organic ingredients, freshly prepared in a distinctive, comfortable atmosphere. Café Yumm! now has eleven restaurants throughout Oregon Café Yumm! has been listed on Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies lists since 2008 in the Portland Business Journal and in the Inc. 500/5000. SOURCE: Beau Delicious! International, LLC, franchisor of Café Yumm!, 456 Charnelton, Eugene, OR 97401. www.cafeyumm.com

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