An article ran in today's issue of the Detroit Free Press, recognizing a new eatery in Waterford, MI called Pekoe & Joe (don't you love the name? tea and coffee!), an environmentally friendly drive-through restaurant.
It turns out that Pekoe & Joe is one of only three certified green restaurants in the state of Michigan. One of the other three happens to be right up the street from my house in Berkley, MI -- Amici's Pizza and Living Room.
What I like most about these two eateries is their unassuming locations. Going green is rather trendy these days, and I can think of plenty of towns in metro Detroit that are far hipper than rather blue-collar Waterford or Berkley.
Not that there's anything wrong with these towns! They are both charming in their own right. It's just that an organic, LEED-certified restaurant sort of seems out of place when it's surrounded by a drive-through A&W and other lard-dependent family restaurants, a doll and toy soldier hospital, a stamp shop, and increasingly obsolete print and copy shops.
I'm not sure what makes Waterford and Berkley desirable locations for green eateries. Maybe it's lower tax rates? Maybe we're on the verge of gentrification, and this is just the beginning? In any case, I'm not going to complain!
You can read more about Pekoe & Joe here, on the Free Press' Web site.
