DEN CORNER RESTAURANTS BUILD A PASSIVE SOLAR GREENHOUSE TO CONTINUE USING LOCAL INGREDIENTS YEAR-ROUND

For more than 27 years, Sushi Den has been regarded as one of the premiere sushi and Japanese restaurants in the United States. Continuing to live up to its reputation, the Den Corner restaurant group will build a 3,000 square-foot passive solar greenhouse on its farm in Brighton to ensure locally grown food year-round.

Den Corner restaurants, including Sushi Den and Izakaya Den provide exceptional, professional and friendly service in order to exceed their guests’ dining expectations, while demonstrating a great respect for the individuals within the company. Den Corner aims to be one of the top restaurant groups in the world by providing consistently fresh, innovative, healthy foods using only the finest ingredients. In order to continue delivering fresh crops throughout the year, Den Corner will add an energy-efficient greenhouse, providing a solution for long-term sustainability to its Den Farm.

In the winter months, it is common practice for restaurants to ship produce from out-of-state in order to reach customers in its prime. Due to packaging and strains of time, this process often compromises the quality and taste of the food. The new greenhouse at Den Farm eliminates the need to outsource and offers “principles of building science including heavy perimeter, wall, and roof insulation, automated insulating shutters, high solar heat gain glazing, systems for controlling solar light and heat to maximize growth, plenty of thermal mass, and carefully-controlled ventilation.”

The greenhouse will utilize only passive solar energy to supply light and heat. During the test trial of this greenhouse project, ground temperatures never dropped below 51 degrees Fahrenheit even on the coldest days. As a result of these findings, Den Corner restaurants found they will be able to produce fresh spring and summer crops throughout the winter months.

Among the variety of spring, summer and fall crops being grown are micro-greens, herbs, citrus trees and orchids. Not only will Den Corner’s menu now feature the freshest fish available, but its solution to winter farming will provide a supply of fresh produce all year long, while leaving a minimal carbon footprint.