Shari’s Restaurant and Pies turned to energy-saving measures to cut costs during the economic downturn.
Shari’s Restaurant and Pies turned to energy-saving measures to cut costs during the economic downturn.
Shari’s early step to reduce energy costs was to contract with Utility Management Company to estimate electricity and gas usage per square foot and per customer. Utility Management Company found a wide variance among Shari’s 104 restaurants in the six Pacific Northwest states. Rob Spence, manager of the Roseburg Shari’s at 3030 Aviation Way, said these energy audits led to several changes here and in other Shari’s restaurants.
Typically, Shari’s restaurants are built with two side-by-side kitchens. Local managers now decide whether and when to shut down heating appliances in one kitchen during non-peak times in a 24-7 schedule. This practice reduced the company’s energy expenses, even when reckoning with costs of reheating cooking appliances. Because a gas burner’s blue flame is more efficient than a yellow flame, kitchen staff monitor gas-powered broilers.
Read more ways the restaurant chain saves energy in The News-Review.
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