South St. Burger Co.

South St. Burger CO. opens new location at Bayview Village in Toronto, designed with LEED certified qualifications

TORONTO, ONTARIO (NOVEMBER 18, 2011) – Continuing on its path and commitment to being an environmentally friendly (and delicious) hotspot for burger lovers, South St. Burger CO. opens its first LEED® standard designed store in Bayview Village Shopping Centre in Toronto.

Already known for its juicy, flame-grilled burgers, South St. Burger CO. will continue to satisfy the hunger of shoppers in the North York region, with Bayview Village marking the restaurant’s first foray into shopping centre real estate in Ontario. In addition to being South St.’s first location designed to LEED® specifications, it will also be the first LEED Certified unit in Bayview Village.

LEED® Certification is a program run by the Canada Green Building Council, and distinguishes buildings that have demonstrated a commitment to sustainability – something South St. Burger CO. is already familiar with. Powered by Bullfrog Power, and fitted with energy and water efficient equipment, the new South St. Burger Co. location meets the highest performance standards both in sustainability initiatives and taste.

“For us, at South St. Burger Co., being environmentally progressive and serving real, quality food go hand in hand,” says Jay Gould, president and founder, New York Fries and South St. Burger CO. “Our new Bayview Village location is just the next step for us as it meets LEED® certification standards, as well as the high standards we set for ourselves.”

What customers can expect:

• 70 per cent less water than baseline standards in the Energy Policy Act
• 93 per cent of equipment is ENERGY STAR rated
• 32 per cent of all construction materials were manufactured regionally
• 38 per cent recycled content in all construction materials
• 85 per cent Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood

In addition to its green initiatives, this location will also be the first South St. Burger Co. unit licensed to serve beer and wine, starting in December. Seating 55 guests, the new location will continue to offer burger lovers the top-quality meals they’ve come to expect from South St. Burger CO.

“The discerning Bayview Village shoppers are a great fit for our concept”, continues Gould. “We are focused on providing a premium burger experience – from our conscientiously farmed beef, raised without added hormones, antibiotics or additives, to our selection of gourmet toppings, to our fresh cut fries – we are excited to serve this community that shares our values.”

“We are tickled Bayview Village pink to welcome South St. Burger Co. to the shopping centre,” says Donna Percival, General Manager, Bayview Village. “Judging by the outpouring of support we’ve received from SSBC’s many fans anxiously awaiting the opening; we obviously aren’t the only ones salivating over this delicious news. World-class shopping meets world-class burgers at long last!”

Inside our Bayview Village location

Bayview Village exterior

TORONTO, ON – March 9, 2011- South St. Burger Co.’s Don Mills location will receive the 2011 Special Recognition Award for Innovation in Energy by the A.R.E. Sustainability Awards. The award will be presented at the A.R.E. Design Awards ceremony at Globalshop 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 28th.

The South St. Burger Co. Shops at Don Mills location was designed by Jump Branding & Design Inc. The principle sustainable goals for the creation of the Don Mills location included: reducing energy consumption, reducing waste water, reducing CO2 emissions and using green practices in material selections.

“It is a great honour to be recognized by the Association for Retail Environments,” says Jay Gould, founder of South St. Burger Co. “Receiving the Innovation in Energy Design Award highlights South St. Burger Co.’s motto to ‘Be the Right Choice’ for our consumers when they are looking for a model dining experience. This motto translates to our goal of being responsible to our community and the environment we operate in.”

South St. Burger Co. has pioneered the notion of premium fast food using real, fresh ingredients. Its beef is purchased from local farms that practice conscientious and natural farming, raised without the use of hormones or antibiotics, and is turned into fresh, 100 per cent beef patties. South St. Burger Co.’s commitment to operating conscientiously is not exclusive to its ingredient selection. Restaurants have reduced their heating requirements by more than 300 cubic meters of gas per month through grill hoods with high technology heat exchange ventilation systems. The restaurants also use air cooled as opposed to water cooled ice machines, high efficiency fryers, LED bulbs for 80 per cent of their lighting requirements, and two locations have solar-powered water heater and solar photovoltaic panels, with plans to add more.

Five years down the road, Gould says he expects to be operating some 50 South St. Burger Co. locations, each of them a notch greener than the previous one. Other green initiatives include purchasing clean, renewable electricity, installing sensor light switches and low-flow toilets in washrooms and using reclaimed wood, non-toxic cleaning products and post-consumable recycled paper products where applicable.

“It’s been an evolutionary process and Jump has been there every step of the way,” continues Gould. “So far what we’ve done, apart from being responsible citizens, has not been as painful as it might seem. Our energy investments are paying for themselves.”

Eric Boulden, Jason Hemsworth, Jerry Alfieri and Melissa Zurfluh from the team at Jump Branding & Design Inc. will be receiving the award for the Don Mills location on March 28^th in Las Vegas. For more information about the awards visit www.retailenvironments.org.

About South St. Burger Co.

South St. Burger Co. has 12 locations in the Golden Horseshoe area, one in Calgary and 4 locations in development. Location addresses and directions can be found online at www.southstburger.com. All South St. Burger Co. burgers are 100% pure, fresh, beef patties that come from cattle that was naturally raised without the use of hormones or antibiotics. Plus, the sides are anything but a second thought. Serving New York Fries french fries, New York Fries signature poutine and South St. Burger Co.’s hand-made onion rings, you’d better brace yourself to rethink your burger experience.