Jeff Broadhurst joined Eat’n Park Hospitality Group as Director of Business Development for Parkhurst Dining in 1996, following a 5 year career with Federated Investors in their Chicago and Kentucky markets. In 2002, he was promoted to President of Parkhurst Dining, and in 2006, assumed the responsibilities of President of Eat’n Park Restaurants. In 2008, Jeff became President and CEO of Eat’n Park Hospitality Group.
You are a founding member of the CEOs for Sustainability executive council. Why is sustainability important to Eat’n Park Hospitality Group and its future growth?
Sustainability has been a part of our company culture since we opened our first Eat’n Park restaurant in 1949. We believe that we have to be sustainable in order to be successful. This means that we are constantly tweaking our procedures and systems to better us financially without compromising our commitment to our guests. We recently converted to LED lighting within our central distribution center that has helped us reduce our energy costs of this facility by 30%! We also know that local food just tastes better and through our FarmSource program we continue to purchase 20% of our foods from local farmers and producers throughout our region. These are just a few of the ways we embrace sustainability.
Several restaurants owned by Eat’n Park Hospitality Group have earned designation as a Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant, including Platinum Plate-designated The Porch at Schenley and Gold Plate Six Penn Kitchen. What are some examples of how you are incorporating sustainability into some of the company’s other lines, including its university and catering services?
The Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant program has been a wonderful platform for us to showcase our commitment to sustainability within our restaurant division, but we’re also doing some pretty cool stuff within our contract foodservice division, Parkhurst Dining. Hogan Dining, at Duquesne University, is a perfect example! We were the first collegiate dining facility to earn Gold Plate recognition from you. Among the specific actions that contributed to Hogan Dining earning the designation are buying local produce, dairy, and artisanal products; not using trans fat cooking oil for cooking or baking; providing daycare meals that include vegetables and fruit; and providing employment opportunities for residents of the local community.
Eat’n Park Hospitality Group demonstrates a strong commitment to the community, which is an important aspect of sustainable business practices. What are some examples of EPHG’s community-based efforts? (e.g. FarmSource)
Giving back to our communities isn’t just something that we do, it’s who we are. We invest at least 5% of our pre-tax earnings to support nonprofit organizations. We’re passionate about leveraging our dollars and resources to Enhance our Communities- One Smile at a Time. One of the programs we are most proud of is our FarmSource program, which is our local purchasing program that allows us to offer our guests locally grown and produced foods. Through FarmSource, we work with more than 120 local farmers and producers, all within a 150-mile radius of our units. Last year alone, Eat’n Park Hospitality Group spent more than $21 million on locally-sourced food! We also recently established our #GiveSomeGreen program at Hello Bistro, which benefits our local food banks. For every #GiveSomeGreen item sold (which change with every menu), we donate one pound of produce to the food bank. #GiveSomeGreen started less than a year ago, and we’ve already donated almost 10,000 pounds of produce to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.