A strange thing happened during my recent visit to Create, a locally owned, northwest Las Vegas burger and frozen custard joint: After finishing my meal, I grabbed my chocolate custard, which I was too full to finish, and looked for a trash can.
Problem is, there wasn’t one. Within a few seconds, owner Lance Graulich noticed my confusion and came over to relieve me of the container. He’s seen a look like mine many times since opening his establishment in March 2008—Create is an almost-zero-waste facility, recycling its cardboard, paper and plastics, and will soon begin diverting leftover food to a composting facility. Graulich, who picked up extensive restaurant experience as a franchisee for Wingstop, says, “What I learned is that restaurants contribute more to landfills than anything.â€
The result is that Create has the atmosphere of a fast-food restaurant, but nearly everything you use goes into the dishwasher afterward. If you really want plastic silverware, you can have it… made from corn. Read on…
Photo: Beverly Poppe.