Unless you have been living under the metaphorical rock for the past 20 or so years, you have heard the reports about our deteriorating environment. From global warming to the disappearing of natural resources, our world is not the same as it used to be. The EPA says that “The traditional definition of sustainability calls for policies and strategies that meet society’s present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. “ (Sustainability…). What the EPA is trying to encourage is that we not do a give and take with our environment, but work with it as to promote growth in all areas (Sustainability…). We now transition to a quiet little restaurant sits at 270 East State Street. An unassuming looking place with a modest exterior, the only thing that catches your attention is the bold sign that is visibly handmade. It reads “Della Zona”, which is “From the Region” in Italian. I don’t know how many times that I had passed by this place my freshman year here at Ohio University, but one day in the spring of that year, my curiosity got the best of me and I ventured into this rustic looking venue and was blown away by the quality of the food. But what impressed me even more was their commitment of those who ran it to work in an environmentally sustainable way and also in such a manner that benefited the community of Athens as much as it possibly could.
The idea for a community and environmentally friendly restaurant in Athens was started by Casa Nueva back in 1985 (History) and this is where the future owners of Della Zona first cut their teeth In 2002, Christine Hughes embarked on her own adventure and established The Village Bakery. She said that she had always worked in restaurants that had worked to promote the environment, but it was Casa Nueva that made her want to go out on her own and make a larger impact on the community (Christine). She based her business on the idea that “the revolutionary idea of eating locally grown foods is really not new; a century ago it was known as “dinner”.” (Locations…) In 2007, along with Co-owner Bob O’Neil, decided to expand beyond just Village Bakery and Della Zona was born.
This lovely restaurant not only features a unique selection of wood fired pizzas (locally acquired wood at that (Christine)), but they make their own pasta and gelato (Italian style ice cream) as well. The pizzas vary across the board. From anything as simple as cheese to their Giovanni, which has sautéed greens, bacon, pine nuts, and their special Bianca sauce, to my personal favorite; the margherita: basil, garlic, roma tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella (Menu). You also have the option of mixing and matching any of the multitudes of toppings that they offer at Della Zona. If you aren’t in a pizza mood, then they feature a house-made Tagliatelle (a type of fettuccini) as well as a chef’s special that you’ll actually have to go there to find out about (Menu). If you’ve saved any room for desert, then head for either their gelato or sorbet, both made in-house (Menu). But as wonderful as the food is, however, it’s not what sets Della Zona apart.
One of the things that Della Zona prides itself on is the quality of the ingredients that they use. When I use the word quality, however, it may not mean what you think. Della Zona believes is using only organically grown vegetables that are purchased from local farms or the Athens Farmer’s Market, meat from pastured or sustainably raised animals (Locations…), and coffee that is only grown through fair trade practices. What fair trade means is that the exporters of the coffee must meet stringent price regulations that give most of the credit and profit to the grower instead of short-changing them (Fair…). Aside from the fact that organically grown food tasting fresher, there is a scientific reason that Della Zona only uses ingredients grown this way. They site that, according to scientists, sustainably grown ingredients are much better for you than the ones from the big, commercially run farms. Not only do they taste better, but sustainably grown foods contain 20%-80% higher levels of antioxidants, which help build up the body’s natural defenses (Locations…). So not only do you benefit from the delicious flavor, but your immune system gets a boost as well.
The community of Athens benefits greatly from this locally run eatery. Della Zona has made a commitment to do business with only companies located of their area, hence the meaning of their name. They try to make everything that they can in-house; the dough for their crust, their marinara, their pasta is made in-house, even their mozzarella is made at the local Snowville Creamery(Locations…). All of the ingredients that they use to make their food are bought at local farms such as The Big Ruben Farm or the King’s Family Farm just to name a few of the many (Who…). This admirable support of local business strongly supports Athens’ economy. Not to mention that everything they use is incredibly fresh because it doesn’t have to travel very far from start to finish.
Buying from exclusively local businesses is not just good for the community, but it is very friendly for the environment. With the average semi truck getting around six miles per gallon (Wiki…), reducing the distance necessary for travel down to about 20 miles drastically reduces Della Zona’s impact on the environment. Buying locally also helps the environment because it can cut down on the packaging that is required to take products across larger distances. There is a slight downside to buying locally however. Ohio’s climate is not very conducive to growing at least five months out of the year, so the menu is limited at times to what’s available. So you may not be able to get your exact favorite pizza if you choose to go in the colder months, but you shouldn’t look at this as a downside, but you should look at it as a reason to try one of their many other pizzas, expand your horizons, get a little creative. It’s part of the experience.
Another thing that Della Zona does to help the environment, as well as add a little fun to the experience, is they actually encourage you to bring your own bottle of wine or six pack in with you. This little process allows them to not have to worry about getting wine from all over the country, especially when grapes aren’t in season in Ohio. True, there is the small impact of the customer having to buy their own bottle, but with multiple locations in Athens where someone could buy themselves quality wine, it more than offsets the damage that the environment would receive from the cross country travel the wine would normally travel. Not to mention that the consumer would be buying locally, which again is supporting the Athens community. Happily they still will offer you freshly washed glasses for your beverages and will willingly uncork your wine for you free of charge (but you should tip your waiter /waitress a little extra just to be nice).
Della Zona is very big into the recycling movement. They also work closely with the Community Food Initiatives and the Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association (Who…), among many others to help promote a greener community. The biggest thing that this restaurant does is that it takes every bit of leftover food from the day and uses it in their compost heap. They then use that compost on the fields that they grow their ingredients in. This is a perfect example of Della Zona’s commitment to being an environmentally sustainable business.
The owners have been working to make the restaurant itself more sustainable as well. They recently installed solar panels which can provide up to 15% of the location’s energy (Christine). Another method they used to improve Della Zona was to switch from a gas oven to a wood oven, which reduces the amount of emissions that it produces (Christine). Christine and Bob are still working on improving the energy efficiency, but they have a more important long-term goal. Christine said that they wish to educate employees and customers on the benefits of working and living in a sustainable way in the hopes that those people will also pass that information on.
This little pizzeria does wonders for the community of Athens as well as doing its best to help the environment. The sad fact of the matter is that Della Zona is that you can only enjoy their food on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. So if you’re looking for a place to take family or friends for good food and good times, come to 270 East State Street. You’ll be contributing to the Athens community and eating a delicious, environmentally sustainable meal, not to mention contributing to your own stomach (who will thank you). Buon Divertimento!
Sources
“History”, Our Story, Casa Nueva, 2011 http://www.casanueva.com/ourstory/index.html 17 Jan 2011
“Who We Work With”, Della Zona, Della Zona, 2011 http://dellazona.com/who-we-work-with.html 17 Jan 2011
“Our Locations”, Della Zona, Della Zona, 2011, http://dellazona.com/locations.html 17 Jan 2011
“Main Menu”, Della Zona, 2011 http://dellazona.com/della-zona-graphics/della-zona-menu_100606.pdf, 17 Jan 2011
“Fair Trade Coffee”, Fair Trade, Global Exchange, 2007, http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/coffee/. 19 Jan 2011
“Average MPG of a Semi Truck”, WikiAnswers, fairtran.com, 2011 http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Average_mpg_of_a_semi_truck, 17 Jan 2011
“What is Sustainability?”, Basic Info , EPA, 11/17/2010, http://epa.gov/sustainability/basicinfo.htm, 17 Jan 2011
Christina Hughes, Co-owner Village Bakery/ Della Zona/ Catalyst Café, 18 Jan 2011
Photo courtesy of http://dellazona.com
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