Eat’n Park is breaking ground on what will be the first LEED restaurant in the city of Pittsburgh. The new location, in the Waterworks shopping plaza in Fox Chapel, will be the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver–designed Eat’n Park restaurant and is part of the company’s ongoing effort to implement sustainable practices.

The new Eat’n Park location, expected to open in May 2010, will be more energy efficient and will feature Energy Star–rated equipment, as well as environmentally friendly and recycled construction materials. The restaurant will take advantage of natural light and will utilize light sensors to automatically dim the electric lights when it’s bright.

The Fox Chapel location will include the company’s newest feature: a drive-up pickup window to make takeout easy and convenient. Inside, it will also feature an education wall that will explain the steps taken to make the restaurant more sustainable.

According to Kevin O’Connell, senior vice president of marketing, Eat’n Park has been taking systematic steps to have a more positive impact on the environment through its EcoStepsSM program, including purchasing locally grown produce with its FarmSource program, purchasing rBST-free dairy, reducing waste by eliminating paper towels and placemats, recycling used fryer oil into bio-fuel, and utilizing more energy-efficient light bulbs, among other initiatives.