Hoping to preserve the beauty and wildlife on Tybee Island, North Beach Bar and Grill fosters a sustainable and casual environment for tourists and locals. Located between the lighthouse and the beach, the restaurant offers a fusion of fresh seafood and American classics with a Caribbean twist.
As one of the only environmentally friendly restaurants at Tybee, North Beach Bar and Grill has implemented a number of sustainable strategies to their practices. The eatery utilizes energy efficient tankless water heaters, compostable containers, paper bags, to go cups made from corn starch and, as of last year, paper straws upon request. “With a lot of businesses, the practices you see reflect the core values of the owners,” said Kathryn Williams, business partner at North Beach Bar and Grill. The restaurant additionally recycles all of their oil, paper, aluminum and glass. Reusing pine straw for flower beds avoids cypress mulch and compostable containers provide a more sustainable weed killer than pesticides.
As an environmentalist, Williams has been instrumental in the new sustainable strategies at North Beach Bar and Grill. Before her partnership with the restaurant, Williams conducted beach sweeps on Tybee for over 25 years and introduced educational recycling programs in schools she’s worked at. “I am a Christian and I feel like it’s my responsibility as a steward to do everything I can to protect the environment, so that’s a driving force for me,” Williams said. She claims that costliness for sustainable materials hinders many restaurants from switching to more environmentally friendly practices. Affordable wholesale prices for products like styrofoam make biodegradable materials much less attainable, especially for a small business.
“I was raised in a culture where you didn’t waste anything. My parents grew up in the Depression and you did not waste things then. People today are wasteful, and I acquaint the volume of litter to modern convenience,” Williams said. While few corporations have introduced sustainable practices, Williams claims that individuals initiate the most change. Visitors can help ensure Tybee’s longevity through more intentional environmental efforts. “Don’t leave behind your footprint. Everything you take to the beach, you take home with you.”
In order to preserve Tybee’s natural environment and wildlife, North Beach Bar and Grill encourages visitors to reduce their consumption of unnecessary materials. “I’m sitting here drinking a glass of water right now and I don’t have a straw in it, so why would I need a straw when I go to a sit down restaurant?” Williams said. Williams accredits most of the environmental change in the community to individuals and hopes to encourage everyone to implement recycling opportunities in a home, workplace or classroom. “We live in a very fragile ecosystem and we need to be even more conscious in how we treat the environment,” Williams said.
By Jordan Petteys
