Pizza Fusion, the organic pizza chain that has quickly gained a reputation for some of the greenest restaurants in the US, has now opened its first Chicago area restaurant, in the city of Naperville.
The chain, whose motto is “Saving the Earth, one pizza at a time”, originally started in Florida in 2006, and has since been spreading across the US. The Naperville store will have its grand opening in April, but it opened for business this week and we went to check it out.
Like other Pizza Fusion locations, the Naperville restaurant has a whole host of eco-friendly features, such as bamboo flooring, insulation made from blue jeans, LED lighting, eco-friendly paints and Dyson airblade hand-dryers and solar tubes in the bathrooms.
Additionally, all of the furniture in the restaurant is made from reclaimed wood from local areas, and the restaurant is also taking part in Naperville’s renewable energy scheme with Community Wind Energy. When the pizza delivery service starts in April, the drivers will also use Toyota Prius hybrids to make the deliveries.
The Naperville franchisee, Tom Katsenos, is aiming to achieve LEED Gold certification for the restaurant, and has also added a few local products that aren’t available in other Pizza Fusion locations, such as Two Brothers beer, which is brewed in a micro-brewery in the nearby town of Warrenville. Continue reading.