Business stories

Written by Linda Riebel of Sustainable Lafayette, based on an interview with Manager, Shelley diGiovanna (shelleydigiovanna@yahoo.com). Acalanes Apartments comprises 5 buildings at the top of Risa Road, not far from the reservoir. The owners’ green consciousness was already high when they erected the first building 40 years ago – around a living tree! I went [...]

Submitted by Marie Montoya (MMontoya@hgnlaw.com)  CHALLENGE Hunsucker Goodstein & Nelson PC (“HGN”) is a national law firm headquartered in Lafayette with a successful practice in environmental law and securities arbitration law.  As an environmental law firm assisting clients in cleaning up environmental contamination, it makes sense for us to look at our own environmental impact.  [...]

Submitted by Erika Pringsheim-Moore (Erika@metrolafayette.com) and revised by Sustainable Lafayette. Challenge For years Erika Pringsheim-Moore, co-owner of Metro Lafayette, has been trying to serve healthy food to her two sons, now aged 10 and 12. That effort led her to pursue ever more local and organic ingredients for her family and then by extension for [...]

Written by Sandra Harris – founder of ECOlunchboxes (Sandra@ecolunchboxes.com) Challenge Everyone at the pre-school did it. And we kept running out. I remember the sinking feeling when the box would go empty. No more plastic baggies? Heavens, how would I pack my pre-schooler’s lunch? The cut apple slices, the fishy crackers, the half of a [...]

Written by Sustainable Lafayette based on an interview with Tony Gulisano, the owner of Chow Restaurant, and details added by their Executive Chef (Adam Marchetti) and Facility Manager (Gunter Guletz). By all accounts Chow Restaurant has been a smashing success in Lafayette.  Somehow, it seems to be full of people from the crack of dawn [...]

Written by Sustainable Lafayette based on visiting the store and interviewing Connie Collier (conniecollier@gmail.com), daughter of owner Ed Stokes. Challenge Diablo Foods has been serving Lamorinda residents for over 40 years, priding themselves in listening and responding to their customer’s wishes and making it a community grocery store where the customers feel a sense of [...]

Submitted By: Tiffani Neal (info@82ndandzeal.com) Challenge 82nd and Zeal is a locally run online retailer of inspirational, fair-trade and environmentally friendly clothing, which is produced from fabrics such as organic cotton. Benefits of eco friendly clothing are quite the same as organic foods. Clothing made from organic fabrics are free of toxins and pesticides which [...]

Written by Sustainable Lafayette based on an interview with Polly Bernson (drpplot@pacbell.net), the owner of Diablo Rapid Print. Challenge Diablo Rapid Print has been in business in Lafayette for over 50 years! The current owner Polly Bernson has owned the business since 1993 and is a long-standing member of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and [...]

Written by Sustainable Lafayette, based on an interview with Chris Lane (cslane@ccstationers.com), the owner of Contra Costa Stationers. Challenge Contra Costa Stationers is a small office supply and stationery store located near Trader Joes. The owner, Chris Lane, has been a member of the Chamber of Commerce since 1975 and is currently an advisor to [...]

Submitted By: Tony Eichers (teichers@lafayetteparkhotel.com) – Vice President & General Manager of Lafayette Park Hotel & Spa The Lafayette Park Hotel & Spa has great respect for our natural resources and we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment through resource conservation and best practices. Our Environmental Care Program focuses on eight key [...]

Written by Sustainable Lafayette based on an interview with Louise McMenamin (Louisejohns@mac.com) who is one of the owners. The ABsolute Center is a popular yoga and Pilates studio in Lafayette, across the street from Trader Joes. The Center was started by three women who had worked together at Oakwood Athletic Club—Katie Santos, Louise McMenamin, and [...]

The Lafayette Book Store Takes a Stand on Disposable Bags Written by Sustainable Lafayette based on an interview with Dave Simpson (mail@lafayettebookstore.com) – owner of Lafayette Book Store Solution Details It’s a habit Dave Simpson picked up working at chain bookstores. Ring up the sale, put the books in a bag. When he bought the [...]

Going Green at the Lafayette Health Club Article written by Sustainable Lafayette based on an interview with Debbie Swigert, the owner of the Lafayette Health Club Challenge Debbie Swigert started the Lafayette Health Club all the way back in 1981 with a small studio space. Since then the LHC has grown into a much larger [...]