Founding Farmers general manager Christian Holmes is an affable host and a man clearly delighted (if exhausted) by his job — serving people delicious food with a friendly side of sustainable farming propaganda.

“This job is a great fit,” said Holmes. “It’s something I believe in and everyone loves the mission (of sustainability). We’ve only got one environment and we have to protect it.”

Aside from a menu of “true food and drink” —food produced with no chemical fertilizers, hormones, and “limited” antibiotics — Founding Farmers is about as “green” as green gets. It is the first upscale-casual, full-service restaurant in the U.S. to have achieved LEED ( Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification.

How does it manage its tiny carbon footprint?  For starters, nearly the entire restaurant is built out of recycled materials — imagine a graveyard for old  barns meets hip modern architecture. The 8,500-square-foot restaurant is built from old barn roofing, pieces of a barn building from Maryland, barn floor boards, and various bits of old farm houses. Founding Farmers also uses Energy Star appliances, LED light fixtures, LEED HVAC systems for reduced energy usage and they purchase carbon offsets for the rest. Read the full Story