Asheville has yet another feather to put in her cap, and Posana is helping to lead the way!

Posana is making headlines once again for sustainability and green business practices. Chef Peter’s work with the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association (AIR) Green Team has paid off in a major way for Asheville’s restaurant community, leading to Asheville being named the first official “Greenest Dining Destination” in the United States, with 18 restaurants becoming Certified Green Restaurants by the Green Restaurant Association, a national organization that provides the only certification for environmentally responsible restaurants.

Left to right: Tim Ballard from the Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute, Randy Talley, owner of Green Sage and Green Sage South, and Chef Peter Pollay, owner of Posana Cafe at the 2012 Taste of Asheville event, shortly after Chef Peter announced Asheville as the first official Green Dining Destination in the nation.

Chef Peter announced the happy news this November to AIR members and their VIP guests prior to AIR’s Taste of Asheville event. Chef Peter has also been named the next Vice President of AIR.

Executive Chef Peter Pollay, with the help of Randy Talley, owner of Green Sage and Green Sage South, and Tim Ballard from the Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute, played key roles in helping push Asheville’s dining scene onto the national radar with a community effort to make more and more of Asheville’s restaurants greener. They, along with the Green Team—AIR’s committee dedicated to supporting green initiatives for AIR restaurants—worked to secure funding that helped 18 independent Asheville restaurants attain a green certification over the course of 2012.

For any diner interested in eating green, there is a cool new app for Apple and Android dedicated to Asheville’s green restaurants which is available for download at DineGreenAsheville.com. The current list of Certified Green Restaurants includes Bouchon, Cedric’s Tavern on the Biltmore Estate, The Corner Kitchen, French Broad Chocolate Lounge, The Green Sage, Homegrown, Laughing Seed Cafe, Luella’s Bar-B-Que, Neo Cantina, Plant Restaurant, Posana Cafe, Strada Italiano, Tupelo Honey Cafe, and Tupelo Honey Cafe South.

Read more about these recent accolades for Asheville’s restaurant scene, and support your local green independent restaurant!