For almost exactly nine years, Beerline Cafe has sat tucked away in a secluded nook on Commerce Street, steadily building an identity as a classic joint for vegetarians, vegans and really anyone who enjoys delicious food. Owner and founder Michael Allen is praised for the restaurant’s plethora of options — from breakfast to burgers — all of which are vegetarian and can be made with vegan substitutes.
Something not on the menu that should be celebrated equally is Allen’s efforts to establish and sustain a business that’s as friendly to the Earth as it is to its customers.
To put it another way, the only poaching he condones involves eggs.
From Milwaukee to Zambia and back
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with degrees in psychology and philosophy, Allen joined the Peace Corps and from 2002 to 2004 lived in a remote village in Zambia, where he advocated poaching reduction while demonstrating sustainable agricultural techniques for the local farmers. Upon his return, he got a job at Public Allies — a nonprofit social justice organization under AmeriCorps.
By 2010, feelings of burnout began creeping up. Rather than pushing them aside, Allen embraced the pull to “be his own boss” and started looking for locations to open a business of his own.
The vegetarian side of things was nothing new to Allen and remained present in his work life. He got a job as a dishwasher at another classic Milwaukee institution, Cafe Manna, and eventually secured a position on the management team. It took until 2015 for the Beerline Cafe buildout to get started, with environmentally conscious decisions being made from the beginning.
Guided by the Green Restaurant Association, Allen took steps to lessen the impact of his business. Things like low-flow sinks, 100% LED lighting and the use of Energy Star products were all in place when the restaurant opened in September. In time, he earned four stars from the association —- one of only 38 restaurants nationwide to receive the high mark.
Making a measurable impact
While an eatery claiming a “four-star rating” is familiar and maybe even arbitrary to diners, the measures Allen has taken to achieve it are a true blueprint (or greenprint) for other businesses to follow. “I feel strongly about the environment and, as a business owner, not to take from the community and the Earth, but to give back,” he said.
That commitment to minimize the restaurant’s carbon footprint, and cut down production and consumer waste goes well beyond words. As of this writing, the cafe has diverted 83,912 pounds of waste from landfills. That’s equal to roughly 20 Jeep Wranglers, six African Bush Elephants, 888 toilets or 80,000 orders of Swedish meatballs.
Allen doesn’t conceal the challenges and expenses involved with running his business this way. When curating a business with a green conscience, sometimes the most difficult part is sustaining sustainability. Items such as biodegradable packaging and utensils, for example, cost more than their plastic or styrofoam counterparts.
But Allen’s morals and values as a business owner make lower waste a priority, even if it means incurring higher costs. “The key is to have staff that are on board with what you are doing,” he said. “If they didn’t care about composting or saving water, it would be more difficult. But we’ve always had staff on the same wavelength.”
What can you do?
While Allen didn’t set out on this path expecting others to follow his lead, he’s always happy to share a few simple measures restaurateurs and consumers can take to minimize their carbon footprint.
For restaurant owners, he noted that composting is a simple and cost-effective way to manage food waste, as well as support a local business like Compost Crusader. Allen also lauded the Green Restaurant Association as a fantastic resource, with consultants who can help every step of the way to evaluate what can be done to save resources. Finally, he plugged Plastic-Free MKE, a local nonprofit associated with Milwaukee River Keepers that invites businesses to become members by pledging to edge out single-use plastics and polystyrene.
For diners, Allen suggested eating in person at your local restaurants more often to reduce takeout packaging and the growing mountain of plastic containers glaring at you from the garbage can. You could also become a single-use plastic warrior by keeping a couple of reusable containers in your car to take leftovers home. Finally, it never hurts to use your hard-earned green energy to frequent local businesses that minimize their environmental impact by striving for sustainability and sourcing locally.
In the end, we all have to eat. But that doesn’t mean we need to consume.
Part-time writer and environmental studies student Dara Carneol dabbles in everything from radio to filmmaking to crocheting with plastic bags to wondering how she killed the tomato plants in her garden. She is a full time enjoyer of puns, hypothetical questions and narrating the life of her dog, Chase.