Sherbooke’s first zero waste restaurant

Anew bistro will soon open in downtown Sherbrooke, but it is not a restaurant like any other. The three young entrepreneurs opening La Buvette du Centro are committed to making their new vegetarian dive 100 per cent waste free.

Back in 2016, Charles Picard-duquette and Noémie Lavoix began a pret-à-manger vegetarian service. They rented out the kitchen at La Capsule, on Wellington. As clients began to accumulate, Picard-duquette realized that the small space they were using would not be enough.

“It was bad for business,” said Picardduquette. “We’d have to open whenever La Capsule was closed, so either super early in the morning or at night. Plus, the space was really small. It just wasn’t practical, thinking in the long-term. We realized that opening our own restaurant would be better for the clients and would cost just about the same.”

A year later, Julien Fortier-chicoine joined the team and the idea of the bistro La Buvette du Centro was born. Like Ciboulette, La Buvette is going to cater vegetarian meals. Picard-duquette has been a vegetarian for years, for environmental reasons, he said.

“I did research and when I saw the statistics, I thought they were abhorrent. The amount of C02 required to run the meat industry is just not sustainable, and I thought to myself, the planet can’t go on like this, so neither can I.”

The group decided that their restaurant should reflect their values, and Picard-duquette explained that being as environmentally friendly as possible was a cause close to their hearts.

“Restaurants create three times more waste than your kitchen at home, and most places don’t bother sorting their recycling, compost and garbage. They just throw everything out with the plastic. That made no sense to us,” said the young restauranteur.

La Buvette is planning to be 100 per cent waste free, but that remains a substantial challenge according to Picard-duquette, because the city of Sherbrooke does not provide compost collecting for businesses; only households. To bypass the problem, Picard-duquette, Lavoix and Fortier-chicoine have contacted Entosystem, a Sherbrooke-based company that reuses waste to create fertilizer and other products, like flour, using larvae.

“They’ve agreed to take all of our compost,” said Picard-duquette. “The bugs need about 100 kilos of food a day so it’s a win-win situation.”

The new bistro will also take other measures to be as “green” as possible. Picard-duquette stated that, as much as possible, their food will be made from locally sourced ingredients.

“We try to find alternative products that leave a smaller ecological footprint. For example, we will be selling local wine that is made in bulk, in barrels instead of bottles. We often think that just recycling the empty bottles is enough to have a clean conscience, but in fact, buying in bulk like that is going to reduce waste by 93%.”

“It won’t be easy,” he admitted. “It’s going to be a long process and be a lot of work, but these are great starts.”

The group turned towards La Ruche, a crowdfunding non-profit, for help with their eco-friendly plans.

“It was a superb campaign,” said Véronique Vigneault, the director of La Ruche Estrie.

“It really mobilized the community. They busted their objective, collecting 185% of their desired amount; that’s over $9 000 compared to the $5 000 they were asking for. Obviously, it’s very exciting, and it’s promising to see how the community is willing to get involved and help locals.”

According to Picard-duquette, the ease with which they raised the sufficient funds came as a surprise.

“Véronique, at first, was warning us that it would be a lot of hard work, that we would constantly be on the phone,” he said. “But the money started coming in right away. Within two days we had 30% of our objective fulfilled. We gave ourselves 30 days to reach 100%; we hit it in two weeks.”

“The restaurant is great because it combines healthy food with delicious food, something that we tend to kind of separate in our everyday lives,” Vigneault laughed. “On top of it, it’s good for the environment. I’m not surprised that the community was so enthusiastic.”

La Buvette du Centro will be located at 117 on North Wellington Street, which, coincidentally, happens to be the very first office of The Sherbrooke Record, back in 1908.

“It was love at first sight,” declared Picard-duquette. “The restaurant is on the second floor, but we have a gorgeous view and a huge terrace of 300 square feet, which is unheard of in downtown areas. We’re super excited.”

The bistro is planning to open July 15. It will offer vegetarian meals, microbrewed beer, and locally sourced alcohol, produce and coffee.