Innovation

I had the privilege of interviewing Nicholas Raftis, the current owner of Inn Season Café. Mr. Raftis stated, "People from different places like Detroit, Ann Arbor and even Toledo come to experience the amazing food here." He has had the opportunity to see Inn Season Café grow from a simple vegan/vegetarian restaurant into the sustainable restaurant it is today.

The innovation with Inn Season Café is the restaurant itself. Inn Season Café prides itself on delivering healthy food to all of its customers and doing it in a way that does less harm to the community. By making food that is strictly vegan/vegetarian, they are providing healthier options for people in the community, which helps with people’s overall wellness. They also help the environment in addition to the community by using recyclable carryout boxes and using all leftover vegetable trimmings in compost fields.

There is a lot of research that shows red meat consumption has some negative health consequences. In small amounts, meat consumption can be good as it provides essential nutrients and fats that our bodies need. Like with everything, however, meat consumption can lead to cardiovascular problems. Other meats like chicken and fish are generally healthier for you but we are still consuming meat at an unsustainable rate. Inn Season Café gives the local community some alternatives to meat and dairy dishes. Mr. Raftis hopes that by enjoying the food here, people will be more open to trying new things at home as well.

Inspiration

The restaurant was started in 1981 and has since remained a prominent business in the Royal Oak community. It all began when the owner noticed there was a lack of vegetarian cuisine in the local community. Inn Season Café was started on the commitment to serve the community fresh, wholesome food and has continued to do so today.

Mr. Raftis wants the community to know the food they are eating. He stated, "Everything is now produced in a factory with scientists and chemicals. We want to give the customers a chance to feel good about the food they eat and have the energy to do more." The restaurant prides itself on building strong relationships with the local farmers market two blocks away and others located in Detroit.

Overall impact

Inn Season Café has only one restaurant located in Royal Oak, Michigan. So, by creating this business and innovation, the impact is only on the immediate local community. However, the local impact is a great move towards overall wellness for people in Michigan and the surrounding area. This has the opportunity to change people’s eating habits to be more health conscious. Additionally, they are assisting local businesses by only purchasing their food from local farmers in the area. This encourages positive economic growth for the local community instead of bigger corporations.

Business benefit

Inn Season Café was created because the founder saw a need in the community that was not being met. So they’re benefiting by just advertising as a vegan/vegetarian restaurant. In addition, there are other benefits to running a business this way. Over the past few years, there has been a noticeable shift in the number of health conscious people in America. More and more people are actively eating healthier foods and are looking for ways to better themselves and the community. Mr. Raftis stated, "Our biggest benefit is knowing what food is going into our bodies. Something that other restaurants can't say." They are also creating more sustainable value by continuing to find ways to better the community (through composting and recycling).

Social and environmental benefit

As stated earlier, Inn Season Café’s main objective is to better the lives of those in the community by serving food that is vegetarian and organic. Inn Season Café has, more recently, also stepped up their game to also be more environmentally friendly as well. They are helping to reduce plastic waste by using recyclable materials in their carryout containers. Additionally, they are helping the local farmers by purchasing their produce as opposed to commercial stores nationwide. They are contributing to almost zero carbon emissions by choosing to not use any meat in their food. And finally, almost all of the food they bring in is either used in the food or put into composting piles.

Inn Season Café is working hard towards the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal 12 of responsible consumption and production. They express their commitment to this goal in two ways. First, they work towards responsible consumption by recycling all materials that are brought into the restaurant and composting any vegetable trimmings and leftovers from customers. Second, they promote responsible production by only purchasing their produce from locally grown farms. This ensures that money and energy is not spent in the transportation of the goods.

Even though this is only a locally owned and operated restaurant, Inn Season Café is having an effect on the local community. Royal Oak is in the center of a variety of suburbs in Michigan. With close access to major roads, people from all over the metro Detroit area come to Royal Oak for their evenings out. Inn Season Café offers an alternative to the typical restaurants in the area. Their hope is that others see that it is possible to run a successful vegan/vegetarian restaurant like this and that the word spreads to other parts of the world.

Interview

Nicholas Raftis, Owner