Grace restaurant to stop serving bottled water

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The environmental cost of bottled water is becoming an increasingly hot-button issue as the race for the White House pivots around renewable energy versus off-shore drilling.

However, political lines aren’t the only ones being drawn in the heated debate. Restaurants are taking a stand by phasing bottled water out in favor of its simple cousin: filtered tap water.

On Thursday, Neal and Amy Fraser of Grace restaurant will hold a small fete at 10:30 a.m. to talk about why they will no longer sell bottled water. This announcement is pointedly being rolled out the day before the Sundance documentary ‘Flow,’ which is about the ‘world water crisis’ and its connection to bottled water, is released. Steven Starr, the film’s producer also will be present to talk about the film.

In an e-mailed statement, Neal Fraser said, ‘In the restaurant business we are constantly looking at the supply chain .. .pumping greenhouse gases into the environment to truck water around when we can get it from the tap, shouldn’t be part of that supply chain.’

Guests can expect hors d’oevres, and a ‘Tap water challenge’ which will pit tap water against bottled water in a taste test. Maybe that’s something we should all try at home. For more on the bottled-water battle go to ThinkOutsideTheBottle.org.

-- Jessica Gelt