Spotlight on Local Businesses: Barr Mansion

20th May, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments

This month’s spotlight is on Barr Mansion, an event venue that not only is the nation’s ONLY certified organic event’s facility, but also does so much to ensure that all aspects of the business are as environmentally friendly as possible.  Here are just a few facts about the facility from their website:

  • Gardens are Certified Organic and Certified Wildlife Habitat
  • The Green Restaurant Association’s Highest Scoring Restaurant
  • A Zero Waste facility diverting 97% of waste stream (for example, all food waste goes to compost and back to the gardens)
  • Linens made of organic cotton, hemp, linen or recycled fabric
  • Austin GreenChoice Renewable Energy Partner

I spoke with Valerie and Birdie at Barr Mansion. Valerie told me about how not only does Barr Mansion try to be environmentally aware of the impact of the food served at the venue by using only organic food, but the management also puts an emphasis on buying local, and trying to purchase products that use the least amount of packaging possible.  Valerie told me an interesting example regarding the spices the venue purchases – the venue switched from using spices that came in mylar packaging and instead now use spices that  come in little containers that can be reused, purchased from a company that uses green energy in their production – a small change that serves as an example of the thought put into everything the facility does.

Birdie spoke to me about some of the cleaning products the venue uses:

“We do use “Earth Friendly” soy-based hand and dish soap (which we purchase from EcoWise). We would rather pay a little more where we can and support another local business, because so much of what we need to source comes from other parts of the country. This is still a new market, so, just finding product that meets our specs can be a full-time job. A fun one, though. We have been known to make our own furniture polish – from olive oil and lemon juice. I have both a “green purchasing” and a “sustainability research” binder that I add to, as I research and then find products and ideas we may want to use in the future. So, yes, I have all the recipes you would need to make homemade products. It’s simple. White vinegar, baking soda, and lemon are the power three, it seems! We also use vinegar/water solution for glass cleaning. It’s not only safer than chemicals, obviously, but it does such a better job at keeping things bright and clear! As far as more “industrial” cleaning methods (disinfecting) goes – we do use diluted bleach for surfaces, etc. There are not a lot of options there, and we need to conform to health board safety standards, so we do use the bleach water solution in moderation & test it’s ppm level (parts per million). We also use a line of products called “The Natural” (i.e. “N-14″ – a degreaser) that we purchase from another local business – Pure Water Stop on 290/71. In this case, it’s not only more localized (less footprint on shipping), but the most economically priced – and it works! Win-win.”

I found it completely fascinating to hear from Valerie and Birdie about all of the ways the venue tries to be environmentally friendly – there are definitely many extra steps they take that I had never thought of.

In addition, I spoke with Abby from Barr Mansion about how the cost of using Barr Mansion for your wedding compares to other comparable Austin venues, and here is what she said:

“Couples need to remember that we are a full-service facility with special, unique touches—wedding consulting services, tables, beautiful teak wooden chairs, organic linens, a large fresh floral arrangement of 200 roses, wedding cakes, wait staff, bartenders, back up ceremony locations for rain plans and in house tent-rentals, a 40-foot tall glass ballroom, a Victorian Mansion, gardens, arches, statues, picket fence, glassware, in house floral design…. and on and on and on…. these are included in our pricing.  We include a LOT, so it appears to couples just beginning the wedding planning process that we are expensive—however, we are up front from the beginning about our prices. our facility requires very little in extra decorations, and we include a lot more in our pricing than most venues.  There are definitely less expensive ways to get married—paper plates, pulling it all together yourself, less visual stimulating locations, etc.  But for an “A Plus” wedding, and an eco-lux wedding—we are the best deal in town.

On TOP of all that, we do include organic catering (including the wedding cakes), which translates into better quality and really only increases our pricing by 1%.  Plus we are a sustainable business with a look that no one else comes close to—the gardens and the facilities on the property cannot be matched.  It would cost quite a bit of money in added decor, flowers and lighting to achieve the look of an “A plus” wedding at another venue—our clients get this look a regular basis, it is included in our pricing.”

So definitely very cool that you can have an event at the Barr Mansion and know you are making a good choice for the local environment without breaking the bank!

To see some pictures of weddings that have taken place at Barr Mansion, check out these links:

Posted on: May 20, 2010

Filed under: Austin businesses

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