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Moe’s Southwest Grill Awarded Prestigious LEED® Silver Green Building Certification – Fast casual burrito concept in Williston, VT honored for sustainable construction and design –
ATLANTA, GA (June 13, 2011) – Moe’s Southwest Grill announced today that the location in Williston, VT has been awarded LEED Silver certification making it the first restaurant in the chain and in the state of Vermont to earn this high honor.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).
“The green building movement offers an unprecedented opportunity to respond to the most-important challenges of our time, including global climate change, dependence on non-sustainable and expensive sources of energy and threats to human health,” says Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “The work of innovative building projects such as Moe’s Southwest Grill is a fundamental driving force in the green building movement.”
By using less energy and water, LEED certified buildings save money for families, businesses and taxpayers; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.
Local Franchise Partners Sueayn and Philip Wood set out to build a restaurant and achieve LEED certification two and a half years ago.
Some of the green design and construction features that positively impacted the project itself and the broader community include LED lighting, energy efficient cooking equipment, and a technologically advanced air control system that they anticipate will reduce energy consumption by 22 percent.
In compliance with LEED standards, the building materials were locally sourced and the laminates, paint and adhesives are all low-emission to help enhance the air quality of the restaurant.
In addition, this new location features low flow sink aerators, low flow toilets and waterless urinals.
Finally, a unique regional feature is the Freeaire management system for the walk-in cooler that overrides the condensers and evaporators once the outside air reaches a temperature that is equal to or cooler than the desired walk-in temperature.
“It has been an amazing experience building a green restaurant from the ground up,” says Sueayn Wood. “We’re proud to offer our guests a well-rounded eco-friendly dining experience, from the building design to our sustainable ingredients like grass-fed steak, grain-fed pork and organic tofu.”

Moe’s Southwest Grill, the fun, engaging and fast-casual restaurant, is proud to announce that Executive Chef Dan Barash will be honored by the United Fresh Produce Association in the Quick Service Restaurants category. Barash is recognized for his creative and influential use of fresh produce which is showcased in Moe’s menu and heralded for its fresh, all natural, healthy choices for everyone’s preferences — from meat lovers and vegetarians to those who prefer low-calorie or gluten-free options.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Chef Dan for winning this prestigious award,” said Paul Damico, president of Moe’s Southwest Grill. “Moe’s takes great pride in its food mission dedicated to serving the highest quality ingredients and freshest produce, and Chef Dan has been instrumental in leading this effort.”

The six winners from a variety of categories were selected from nearly 120 nominations submitted across North America. A panel of produce and foodservice industry leaders reviewed nominees’ incorporation of fresh produce into menus, use of protocols for correct storage and handling of produce, leadership in produce-related community service and special events and recognition by their company and industry peers.

Barash will receive the award at United Fresh 2011, the association’s annual convention and expo in New Orleans. He will also participate in a panel session, Lessons from the Front Line – Produce Excellence in Foodservice Award Winners, which will take place and broadcast on UnitedFresh.TV on May 3.

For more information about Barash and Moe’s food mission, visit http://www.Moes.com.

About Moe’s Southwest Grill

Moe’s Southwest Grill is a fast-casual concept featuring fresh southwest fare in a fun and engaging atmosphere with over 428 locations in 32 states, Canada and abroad. At Moe’s, each meal is prepared right before your eyes and is accompanied by free chips and salsa, including the Homewrecker burrito, the Billy Barou nachos, and the Close Talker salad. Founded in 2000, Atlanta-based Moe’s Southwest Grill was ranked #1 in category in Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 in 2010 and is a Gold Award winner of the 2008 Consumer’s Choice in Chains Awards. For more information, visit http://www.moes.com.

Atlanta-based fast casual Moe’s Southwest Grill recently unveiled a new prototype that it will roll out in new units this year.

The changes made for the new prototype, though, are subtler than those made at most brands that revamp their concept and focus mostly on sustainability, efficiency, and a cleaner store look.

Paul Damico, president of Moe’s, says the brand is not trying to dramatically change the core Moe’s branding.

“What we were trying to do with our new prototype is not change the engine, because our cook line and our sequence of service works just great for us,” Damico says. “What we were trying to do is get a little bit more of a ‘wow’ factor for when guests come into our restaurants. We wanted to brighten it up, we wanted to declutter it, and we wanted to reduce ongoing maintenance costs.”

Changes in the new prototype include energy-efficient LED and CFL lights, low-VOC-emission paints, and walls made from post-industrial recycled content. The company even included bigger holes on the garbage cans for easier trash disposal.

Some bigger changes Moe’s included in the new prototype are updated furniture, brighter colors on the walls, and an expanded salsa bar.

“That was kind of hidden within the design of the restaurant,” Damico says. “You didn’t notice it the minute you walked in the front door. So we wanted to punch up the size and the graphics around that salsa bar.”

The menuboard in the new prototype was also refreshed, and was tailored to suggestions made by customers who wanted faster speed of service and did not want to be “nickel and dimed,” Damico says.

“The menuboard in a fast-casual, or even fast food, restaurant is probably the single biggest thing that can move the needle positive or move the needle negative,” he says.

While Moe’s is known for the signature “Welcome to Moe’s” call-out from crewmembers every time a customer walks in the door, Damico says the company wanted to make the statement more prominent. The new prototype features it in giant block letters on the brightened up walls.

“When I walk into a restaurant, I look at the floor, I look at the ceiling, I look at the furniture,” he says. “When a guest walks in, really what they’re seeing are the images on the wall. Before, while the colors were slightly bright, it was all one color. What we’ve done with the new prototype now is really call out areas of the restaurant that are different and important.”

One location to feature the new prototype, an Atlanta store owned by franchisee Mark Monroe, has seen sales increases of more than 20 percent since revealing the new design elements.

Damico says all new units will include elements of the new prototype—Moe’s is planning for at least 50 new stores in 2011—and that they will also be made available to existing franchisees.

By Sam Oches

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