This week Posana Café in downtown Asheville furthered their commitment to the community by becoming the only 2 Star Certified Green Restaurant® in North Carolina. “We believe that we had to go beyond just ‘saying’ that we were committed to the environment, and really put ourselves to the test,” says Posana co-owner Martha Pollay.  “We worked intently to meet the GRA’s special requirements,” adds her husband Peter. “We’re proud of what we accomplished and we will continue to look for new ways to evolve. We want the quality of our role as conscientious members of the Asheville community to match the quality of our food.”

"Posana Café has made great strides toward becoming more environmentally sustainable, and we commend them for their commitment to these initiatives," says Michael Oshman, Executive Director of the Green Restaurant Association. “We look forward to helping them make more changes in years to come.” 

Peter and Martha Pollay took over the space at One Biltmore Avenue on March 21, 2009 and started eco friendly renovations immediately.  Every decision they made was processed through the filter “how can we do this in an eco friendly way”.  While it wasn’t always within their means, most of the decisions they made reflect their commitment to the community or environment. They hired Sixteen on Center, a family owned and operated furniture and custom cabinetry company located in Weaverville, NC who is dedicated to the use of local, sustainably harvested hardwoods, locally produced non-formaldehyde plywoods, and natural low VOC finishes to ensure a healthy dining & working environment.  


When a green product wasn’t possible, they researched how green the companies were they were purchasing products and materials from and made decision based on that information.  They also made an effort to purchase Cradle-to-Cradle products if they could.  Cradle-to-Cradle refers to the idea that at the end of a products life, any product can be turned into something else to close the cycle so ultimately there is no waste.  Oftentimes the original manufacturer will take responsibility for collecting the product for reuse.  This happens to be the case with the carpeting they choose.  On a quest to create an environment that was healthy and community oriented they used as much local labor and sustainable material as they could.   Some examples of this are below:

• The Walnut used for the cupboards, shelves and cabinetry was grown in sustainably managed forests; milled locally (Marion, NC) and uses a non-formaldehyde, soy-based glue.  The walnut panels are LEED compliant.

• The back bar counter at the servers station is made of Paperstone- paper and cashew resin.

• The back bar under the shelves and bathroom counters are Torzo:  FSC (forest stewardship council) certified composite wood fiber.  Essentially compressed sawdust.

• The blue counter dividing the bar and restaurant is made of ice stone- 100% recycled glass and cement and contains no petrochemicals.

• The kitchen doors are a sustainable resin called 3form: bamboo and recycled plastic.

• The material covering the booth seats and the menus is a PVC free vinyl.

• The carpet is Shaw’s Eco Solution Q premium branded nylon.  It is cradle to cradle certified and can be recycled into more Eco Solution Q, again and again. It contains a minimum of 25% recycled content, utilizing an average of 23 million pounds of recycled content annually.  The dining area utilizes carpet squares so if an area needs to be replaced they can just replace that square and it can be recycled.

• Crossville manufactured the bathroom tile, a Tennessee based company employing ecologically conscious business practices. 

• The renovations were finished and the restaurant opened May 21st.  Their menu continues to carry on their commitment to the community and the environment by supporting local farmers, businesses and purveyors of organic and sustainably grown products.  Here are some additional examples of current Eco Friendly business practices:

• Posana Café uses the Natura water system to replace imported bottled sparkling & still water.  Its triple filter system is capable of filtering out impurities, & chemicals while leaving the minerals.  The machine produces room temp, chilled and sparkling water.  This reduces our carbon footprint by elimanting the need for production, shipping and disposal of bottles.

• All to go containers, straws, and to go cups can either be recycled or composted and most are made from recycled content.

• Energy and water consumption is conserved by using low energy espresso and coffee machines that actually turn themselves off when not in use

• Sensored bathroom lights and water faucets are also used to control resources.

• Dimmers and halogen lights are used throughout the restaurant to control electrical waste.

• Compost 100% of food waste

• Recycle used oil which is collected by Blue Ridge Biofuels

• Recycle glass, plastic, cardboard and paper products with the help of local waste reduction specialist, Danny’s Dumpster in Leicester, NC.