Ezra Caraeff was at an impasse. As the owner of three popular Portland bars–the Old Gold, Paydirt, and Tough Luck–he came to the realization that his businesses were creating a lot of unnecessary waste. His main culprit? Single-use plastic straws.
When he crunched the numbers this past January, Caraeff estimated that he, his staff, and his patrons had gone through and discarded more than 298,000 straws in 2017 alone. And with plans shaping up to open a fourth bar later this year, he knew he had to do something. He just didn’t know what.
And then Phil Schlieder walked in and bellied up to the bar.
Schlieder is a filmmaker and the creative director for Delphi Cinema, a video production agency that specializes in documenting the great outdoors. But he’s also the sponsorship coordinator for the Portland branch of the California-based Surfrider Foundation, which is leading the charge for cleaner oceans and uncluttered beaches.
One of the ways Surfrider tries to achieve this goal is by partnering with local restaurateurs and bar owners under its Ocean Friendly Restaurant program. And, as you may have noticed online, the OFR program is currently pushing its “Ditch the Straw” campaign under the premise that straws won’t end up in the ocean or wash ashore on beaches if you don’t use them to begin with.
So far, Schlieder has been able to get a few local restaurants on board with getting rid of straws altogether, including St. Jack, Bamboo Sushi, Pok Pok, and Verde Cocina. And when he strolled into Tough Luck, Schlieder was aiming to convert Caraeff, too. Turns out Caraeff was already converted.