Owner, EJ Cubellis, made a

commitment to go green

when he rebuilt Mezza

Luna. He worked with his

local utilities to find

incentive programs that

would help him purchase

energy-efficient equipment.

High-Efficiency Natural GasEquipment Saves Family-OwnedCape Cod RestaurantEnergy and Money

Mezza Luna Italian Family Restaurant

High Efficienynatural gas fryersrecover quickly

Gas convectionovens save money

Dishware sparkleswith naural gasbooster waterheaters

Buzzards Bay, CapeCod, Massachusetts

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Mezza Luna Italian Family Restaurant at BuzzardsBay in Cape Cod, Massachusetts has been owned andoperated by the same family since the 1930s. When aseven-alarm fire ripped through the old buildingcausing Mezza Luna to burn to the ground in the fall of2007, chef and third-generation owner EJ Cubellisstruggled with the loss, but ultimately decided to turnthe disaster into an opportunity to go green. It took 15months to rebuild, and during that time Cubelliscommitted to installing the most energy-efficientequipment he could into the new, state-of-the-artMezza Luna kitchen.

“Sometimes when people open restaurants they arenot sure how long they are going to be around, but Iknew that I was going to be here the rest of my life,”Cubellis says. “I knew I was going to be here 40 yearsso it made sense to try to save as much on energy as

possible over the next 40 years.”

Manageable Costs Thanks to EfficientNew Natural Gas Equipment

Cubellis says he thought the utility bills forthe new 9,000-square foot restaurant wouldscare him, but he was pleasantly surprised thatthey weren’t much higher than they were forthe old 6,300-square foot building.

“When I got the first bills, I opened themup and said, ‘It’s not bad.’ I mean a little bitmore, but I have 36 burners and I used to have12,” he says. “And why aren’t the bills muchhigher? Because of energy-efficient gasequipment.”

“When people walk in here and see all ofthis new efficient gas equipment they say,‘that’s incredible,’” Cubellis says.

Mike Pace, Senior Engineer, National GridC&I Energy Efficiency Programs, workedwith Cubellis and his team to help identify themost energy-efficient equipment they couldpurchase. He says part of the reason for thisintense focus on efficiency is that forrestaurant’s, energy costs per square foot areabout 21⁄2 times higher than that of othercommercial facilities.

High-Efficiency Natural Gas FryersRecover Quickly and Save Energy

Pace says with a standard efficiency deepfryer, when frozen product like French fries orfish hits the oil, the temperature dropsdramatically. With a high-efficiency fryer, the

recovery rate is much faster and uses less gasto get back up to temperature, savingproduction time, energy and money.

The three Pitco Solstice 110,000 BTUhigh-efficiency fryers at Mezza Luna save anestimated 1,296 therms compared to standardefficiency fryers, resulting in a $1,684 annualcost savings.

That’s important to Cubellis because it’snot just family heritage that plays out on theMezza Luna menu in classic Italian disheslike spaghetti and ravioli – its Cape Codheritage is also evident. Local seafood isdelivered to the restaurant fresh daily, givingthe fryers a workout in preparing countlessplates of deep fried scallops, shrimp, clams,and fish ‘n’ chips.

Mezza Luna’s Gas Convection OvensSave More Than $1,289 Annually

The four 55,000 BTU Blodgett natural gasconvection ovens selected for the Mezza Lunakitchen are also high-efficiency pieces ofequipment.

“We chose them for Mezza Lunaspecifically because they are extremely well-built and well-insulated compared to standardefficiency models,” Pace says.

They save an estimated 992 thermscompared to standard efficiency convectionovens, resulting in a $1,289 annual savingsand they lower the cost of serving fresh baked“Nona’s homemade bread” with all the Italianspecialties served at Mezza Luna.

© Gas Foodservice Equipment Network / 2010 For more information, visit www.gfen.com

Gas Booster Water Heater CleansDishes More Effectively

Efficiency in the Mezza Luna kitchen goesbeyond cooking. A Hatco PMG-100 105,000BTU booster water heater can produce 241gallons/hour at a 40°F temperature rise. Thesanitizing180°F hot water effectively removeslipstick, orange pulp, sticky sauces and manyother types of food residue.

In addition, Mezza Luna has seven high-efficiency pre-rinse spray valve stations,which clean better and, depending on usagepatterns, can save up to $7,000 per year.Together these energy saving additionsimprove the cleaning and sanitizing of dishesand eliminate the need for harshenvironmentally-unfriendly chemicals.

Changing the World –One Piece At A Time

“EJ’s commitment to energy efficiencywas really documented in his reaching out tothe local utilities, finding out what incentiveswere available and what was the best

equipment to put in,” says Domenic Muso,Program Manager National Grid C&I EnergyEfficiency Programs.

Mezza Luna partnered with both NationalGrid and Cape Light Compact to takeadvantage of the incentive programs theyoffered. These incentives helped Cubellisdefer the cost of his green purchases, whichalso included a high-efficiency condensingboiler. This type of boiler traps the latent heatof flue gasses and puts that heat back into thesystem. It improves the efficiency of theoverall heating system.

Other improvements that keep dinerscomfortable as they enjoy traditional Italianfamily favorites like homemade lasagna orchicken picatta included rooftop airconditioners, a white roof, programmablethermostats, high-efficiency windows andinsulation improvements.

When asked what restaurateurs can do tohelp save the environment, Cubellis answers,“For my business, I chose to go green. It’stough when you’re one guy, how do youchange the world? You can’t, but I’ve changedthis little piece of the world right here.”

© Foodservice Gas Equipment Network / 2010 For more information, visit www.gfen.com

ESCEnergy Solutions Center

Energy Solutions Center, Inc.400 N. Capitol Street, NW4th FloorWashington, DC20001gysolutionscenter.org

Gas Foodservice Equipment Networkc/o Energy Solutions Center, Inc.400 N. Capitol Street, NW4th FloorWashington, DC 20001www.gfen.com

Mike Pace, SeniorEngineer, National GridC&I Energy EfficiencyPrograms, worked withCubellis and his team tohelp identify energy-efficient equipment forMezza Luna’s kitchen.

Energy Efficiency Services40 Sylvan RoadWaltham, MA 02451