We are the first restaurant in Oak Park to be certified as a Green Restaurant and one of only three restaurants in Chicagoland to earn 3 stars. The only others are Uncommon Ground and Frontera Grill. We are in very good company.
Since we opened our doors in 2004, Marion Street Cheese Market has been strongly focused on sustainability and local food issues. We have always been an American artisan-centric cheese shop that has had a mission of supporting small, local independent cheesemakers, family farmers and food artisans.
When deciding on what cheese to offer, we have always felt that the closer to Oak Park the better, while still looking to offer artisan cheese from domestic cheesemakers who were farmstead in operation and practiced sustainable farming and cheesemaking practices, wherever they are in the United States.
When we opened the expanded MSCM with a bistro and wine bar in July 2008, we had a primary mission of being a green and sustainably run business throughout our operation. That is not always an easy thing in the restaurant world. But we were committed to it and have relentlessly worked toward that goal ever since. From the original design of the our new location to the choice of purveyours that we use to purchase food, our focus has always been on local, sustainable and seasonal.
So it feels really great to be able to say that while we have been “green” from the very beginning, we can now actually say that we have been independently audited and accredited as officially “Green” by the Green Restaurant Association.
To learn more about the GRA and to see which other Chicago restaurants have been accredited as “Green,” please visit their website at: www.dinegreen.com
SUSTAINABILITY
- Chairs: Our chairs are crafted from manufacturer’s seatbelt remnants, saved from the landfill.
- Walls: All millwork comes from certified, sustainable cherry wood grown in Midwest forests.
- Floors: The floors are crafted from porcelain, are extremely durable, and will last well over 20 years.
- Bar Tops/Counter Tops: All made with recycled glass.
- Coolers: Our coolers are energy star rated.
- Recycling: Marion Street Cheese Market recycles glass and attempts to use compostable containers and cups.
- Platters, Trays and To Go Containers:: Made of recycled paperboard, or compostable corn.
- Compost: We use Chicago’s Resource Center, a local leader in sustainable recycling, reuse and urban agriculture programs.
- Cooking Oil: Our cooking oil is recycled and manufactured into biodiesel fuel.
- Transportation: The majority of our employees use public transportation, walk or ride bikes to work.
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