A²ZERO Celebrates First Commercial Rebate to Electrify Local Restaurant’s Appliances
The City of Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations has issued its first commercial rebate to Old West Side restaurant, Juicy Kitchen. Earlier this year, a fire damaged Juicy Kitchen’s building and shut down the business for months. When they re-opened, they did so with new electric cooking equipment that replaced fossil gas systems, thanks to funding from the new pilot A2ZERO Commercial Rebate program.
Commercial buildings account for about one-sixth of Ann Arbor’s greenhouse gas emissions, with restaurant kitchens being one of the highest energy-users-per-square-foot in the city. In fact, restaurants generally use about three times more energy than the average Ann Arbor home. This means that achieving Ann Arbor's A2ZERO goal of a just and equitable transition to community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030 requires swapping gas appliances for electric ones powered by clean renewable energy, along with making investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy systems.
"As a small business that does a large amount of cooking in a small space, we were so excited to learn about the A2ZERO rebate program and how it could help electrify our kitchen,” said Kelby Ziola, who owns and operates Juicy Kitchen with her partner Aaron Ziola. “Health is at the forefront of what and how we cook at Juicy Kitchen, and to be able to make our space cleaner and greener for our staff and community has felt really meaningful.” Aaron added, “We were excited to be part of a program that has such a great mission and who's values align so closely with our own.”
Switching kitchen appliances from gas to electric is important not only for the community’s carbon neutrality goals, but for restaurant workers’ health. Gas cooking appliances pollute restaurant kitchens with dangerous fumes and fine particulate matter that can contribute to asthma, cancer, and heart problems, posing a health threat even when not in use because of the pilot lights that burn gas continuously. Making the switch to electric is good for the planet and good for our health.
Set to formally launch later this year, the A2ZERO Commercial Rebate program utilizes resources from the Community Climate Action Millage to help local businesses improve health, safety, comfort, operational efficiencies, and their environmental footprint. Business owners who would like to stay up to date on the program launch are encouraged to register interest here or reach out to Dr. Samuel Kachuck, Commercial Sustainability Analyst at the City of Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations. To learn more about Commercial Decarbonization and A2ZERO, as well as ways to get involved, please visit a2gov.org/sustainability.
###
Media Contact: Dr. Samuel Kachuck, Commercial Sustainability Analyst, City of Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations, skachuck@a2gov.org