Signature rice bowl at Charlie Hong Kong. Photo credit: Charlie Hong Kong
Always a pioneer when it comes to creating eco-conscious business practices, Santa Cruz restaurant Charlie Hong Konghas launched a program to reward to-go customers who bring their own bags. Carolyn Rudolph, who co-owns CHK with her husband, created “Develop the Bag-It Habit.” How it works: if you bring your own bag to pick up a to-go order, you will get one stamp on a card. You need to collect 10 stamps, and then on the 11th visit you receive a free Signature Bowl or Rice Bowl (your choice; excludes salmon or prawn topping). CHK is giving away the reward cards from now until the end of 2012, and a person has until the end of May 2013 to complete the card (or multiple cards — there are no limits on number of cards a person can redeem, as long as it’s by May 31, 2013).
Develop the Bag-It Habit began on Saturday, September 15, 2012, also known as Save Our Shores’ Coastal Cleanup Day. Rudolph thought this was the perfect day to begin the program. In fact, she donated the entire day’s profits from CHK to Save Our Shores. She is very passionate about protecting the environment, and hopes that rewarding people for bringing their own bags will reinforce the practice.
CHK discontinued using plastic bags 1 1/2 years ago. A sign in the parking lot reminds people to bring their own bags for to-go orders, but Rudolph says many customers still show up empty-handed. Since CHK no longer offers plastic bags, customers end up either going without any bag, or using recycled boxes that the restaurant sometimes has on hand. “I noticed that people have become accustomed to bringing their own bags to the grocery store, yet this has not become a habit at restaurants,” said Rudolph. Over the last 1 ½ years, CHK has actually prevented over 60,000 plastic bags from entering our environment. Discovering this statistic made a big impact on Rudolph. “It got my mind going. If just our one restaurant can have this kind of impact, what if other restaurants discontinued handing out plastic and paper bags as well?” Great idea; I share Rudolph’s hope that this program can spur other local restaurants to hop on the bandwagon.
Charlie Hong Kong, 1141 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz (831) 426-5664
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