Chef's Talk: Hopleaf
At first glance, the Hopleaf may not appear to be a leader in eco-business practices. Located in the heart of Andersonville, Hopleaf has been a local hangout for years. It has all the makings of a typical Chicago tavern and restaurant: Gorgeous mahogany bar, loyal neighborhood clientele, dim lighting and friendly atmosphere. Hopleaf has a more extensive bottle-menu than most, featuring an impressive number of beer imports. The specialty of the house is all Belgian - mussels served with frites and aioli. In fact, the Hopleaf sells more fresh mussels than just about any other Chicago restaurant.
Hopleaf's owner, Mike Roper is a life-long environmentalist. Mike has steadily moved toward implementing many of the restaurant industry's best-practices, simply because he really cares about this stuff. There is no obvious marketing of the fact that he regularly features seasonal local produce and organic meats on the menu. "I'm not sure that even 20% of our customers know or care that we are doing all this, but it helps to make a difference and the payback is strong – less waste and a better environmental footprint," Roper says.
In addition to food sourcing, Hopleaf rigorously recycles glass, cooking oil and other materials. Non-toxic cleaning materials are used. Next steps may be to increase energy and water use efficiency, and recycle additional materials such as plastic and cardboard. ELPC is currently working with Roper to incorporate additional environmental practices.
Check out Hopleaf at 5148 N. Clark St. Chicago, 773-334-9851. At www.hopleaf.com, directions (via public transportation) are posted.