Restaurants open up all the time across the Metroplex, but a fast food restaurant in Fort Worth is going green.
The Chick-fil-A behind Montgomery Plaza in Fort Worth is testing sustainability and seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.
"We're trying to learn that things that work that we can put in other stores, the things that are sustainable," said Bruce Slone, owner-operator of the restaurant, which opens Thursday.
Features include low-flow faucets in the kitchen and bathrooms, sky lights with light sensors that turn the overhead lights up or down and a 35,000-gallon cistern that collects storm water for conversion into landscaping irrigation water.
"We believe we should do things like that, so we're trying to learn new ways to help our community," Slone said.
Fort Worth has been pushing for such environmentally friendly buildings over the last few years. However, the city only has 14 LEED-certified buildings. The new Chick-fil-A could become No. 15.
LEED is a program run by the U.S. Green Building Council.
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The city created the Sustainability Task Force a few years ago. It released recommendations last fall to encourage more private sustainable buildings and projects, as well as city efforts.
Whether the new green features will move on to other Chick-fil-A restaurants depends on the success of them in Fort Worth.
"We're looking forward to learning all the things we can use to help the community," Slone said.
While the green measures cost 15 percent extra to build, they could save the restaurant as much as 40 percent on water costs and 14 percent on electricity costs.
