By KAY NGUYEN

Staff Reporter

Imagine an eco-friendly and fully sustainable restaurant housed in a building built in the 1890s. Inspired by the mantra of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” Mind Body & Spirits’ menu of organic foods and pioneering design makes the restaurant an exotic alternative to the downtown Rochester fine-dining game.

“We want to prove the point that we can have slow food,” said restaurant manager BJ Craney. “It can all be done right here in Michigan.”

The two-story restaurant features sit-down dining on the first floor along with a relaxed lounge setting above. The menu includes dinner and lunch entrees, as well as tapas, artisan desserts and an extensive wine, beer and specialty beverage list.

“It’s dining with a purpose,” said Mind Body & Spirits employee and Oakland  University senior communications major Aimee Jones. “People thought of [the customer] in the design and food of the restaurant.”

Menus are seasonal, as chefs handpick ingredients and communicate with local farms about their needs. An added touch is also given during service, though it often goes unnoticed.

“We’re actually all trained in energy work,” said Mind Body & Spirits employee and OU junior human resource development major Lauren Long. “We focus on energy transfer when we’re preparing tables or pouring water and fill the air with good energy for the next customer.”

Options are available for vegetarians, vegans and those with gluten or dairy allergies, and meat eaters. Drawing from restaurateur Mike Plesz’s experience at the Rochester Mills Beer Company, the drink menu includes beers brewed exclusively with organic materials.

“Working here makes you pay attention to what you’re eating,” said Mind Body & Spirits employee Maria Leonardi. “Mind, Body, & Spirits was the perfect place for me because the energy is so positive.”

The restaurant’s slogan “inspired dining” is demonstrated through the use of  innovative green technologies and a natural modern ambiance. The aim of the restaurant is to give customers an enjoyable and well-thought-out dining experience while employing green practices.

Unlike a traditional eatery, the restaurant serves fine organic cuisine while striving to make a negligible imprint on the Earth. With the goal of becoming America’s first fully-sustainable restaurant, Plesz has sunk over $3 million into the project.

“There are no footsteps to follow,” Craney said. “It’s basically one big science project: We find any problems, assess it, and then fix it.”

Green features of the restaurant include geo-thermal heating and cooling systems, solar

energy and energy recovery ventilators. The restaurant was constructed with a combination of recycled materials like reconstituted brick and eco-conscious bamboo and cork.

Environmental awareness is practiced throughout the restaurant. An extensive recycling program and use of eco-friendly cleaners are just two of the green programs.

“I think of my family, especially the younger generations, when I work here,” said Mind Body & Spirits employee and OU senior public administration major Sara Arbenowske. “We need to care. They will be on the Earth longer than us and they deserve a healthy one.”

Water is important to the restaurant. Drinking water is purified using reverse osmosis and bathroom water cycles from the sink to the toilet through a greywater — non industrial wastewater — system in order to conserve.

Most waste materials are composted and sent back to farms to be used as fertilizer. Old cooking oil is made into biodiesel that fuels the restaurant’s catering van. Broken beer and liquor bottles from Rochester Mills are embedded in the floor to give color.

The staff is well-informed about environmental sustainability and organic products. Many practice eco-friendly behaviors outside of the restaurant.

“We all take a part in recycling and composting and are all very willing to learn new things,” Arbenowske said. “We are committed to the cause and have lived the lifestyle for some time.”

Placards with factoids placed on tables inform customers exactly how the establishment is run and give tips on how to live a sustainable lifestyle. Everything on the menu is organic, apart from a few Michigan wines which are brought in from local farms whenever possible.

An in-house organic greenhouse supplies the restaurants with most of the herbs used in the kitchen. A rainwater catching system is used to water the plants. Trombe walls — sun-facing walls built from material that can act as thermal mass — and solar hot water tubes are used to warm the greenhouse in the winter.

“The restaurant is [based on] a new, innovative idea that helps others and yourself,” Jones said. “It’s not just about going green or being sustainable; people want to make a difference. Bringing back principles from the ’60s and ’70s: It’s like a new era for hope, freedom, and change.”