Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, the Chicago-based multiconcept operator with 120 units in nine states, announced Wednesday it will do away with plastic straws at all of its operations by this fall.
The restaurant company, which runs a wide variety of concepts, from fast casuals to bars and steakhouses, joins a growing list of operators who are ditching straws to be more environmentally friendly.
The chain plans to use biodegradable alternatives, including paper and hay. But all units will emphasize that the preference is toward no straws at all, the company said in a statement.
Just a few days ago, McDonald’s announced it would test alternatives to plastic straws in the U.S. and in other global markets as it transitions to paper straws in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In New York City and elsewhere, hundreds of independent restaurant operators have signed pledges to provide alternatives to plastic straws. Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group recently announced it would be ditching straws, as did The Greene Turtle, a 46-unit sports bar chain.
Growing consumer awareness around the environmental dangers of plastic straws, spurred by photos and videos shared online, appears to be at the root of the recent push to do away with the once-common service items.
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