by Erica Grossman

Step into Boulder’s The Cup Espresso Cafe, and you’re sure to immediately catch the buzz that can only come from a Pearl Street coffee shop — the smell of roasted beans, bright paintings and the chatter of friends all elevate the place as a locals’ gathering spot.

But above all of that, on the roof of their building, is a quiet little respite that further cultivates the community bustling below. Inspired by other local businesses, The Cup (1521 Pearl St., 303-449-5173) has created a small garden on the roof of their building and are using the produce from it to provide fresh, locally grown ingredients for their foods. It’s a trend that is taking hold in many cities and can provide more than just fresh ingredients for restaurants — it can also serve as a good way to reduce city heat and smog.

For The Cup, creating a rooftop garden just made sense to them.

“Tons of sunlight and the ability to get water to the plants made this a no-brainer,” notes Wendy Ball, who owns the The Cup together with her husband, Chris Ball.

To begin, Wendy and Chris took a couple of five-gallon buckets, added dirt and headed off to the Boulder County Farmers’ Market to buy plants. They soon added a drip system and timer so that the plants get their daily water needs automatically. Now that the produce has started to grow, the results are being served up in their cuisine in the form of herbs and squash for the quiche, zucchini for the zucchini bread and basil, thyme, chives for a variety of spreads and scones.

Though this summer will be a test season for The Cup in terms of whether or not they choose to expand their garden, Ball says that it’s already a worthwhile effort.

“It’s pleasurable for sure,” she says. “We also like to have quirky things to talk about here at The Cup. We’re here so much, we want to keep it fun. It’s also economical, as well, but on a small scale.”

Now, she says, the coffee shop no longer has to go to the Farmers’ Market to buy some its ingredients. But it was at the Farmers’ Market that they found their inspiration — local Front Range cuisine pioneers Black Cat.

Black Cat, headed by chef /owner/farmer Eric Skokan, is inspiring local restaurateurs to do their part by setting an example. Black Cat (1964 13th St., 303-444-9110) owns its own 10-acre farm in Niwot where servers double as farmers and where produce is transferred from the earth to your plate to make sure that, as general manager Jordan Smith describes, “folks are eating things that are still warm from the sunshine and with full flavor.” Black Cat sells its produce at the Farmers’ Market, as well, so you can get a sample of the daily-changing menu held at the restaurant.

Though pleasurable and sometimes an economic benefit, this kind of gardening is also good for the environment.

Andy Creath, owner of Boulder-based Green Roofs of Colorado, says that he is seeing more and more interest in rooftop gardening among restaurants and notes the benefits of such a system.

“A single restaurant couldn’t grow all of their own food on their rooftop unless it was massive,” says Creath, “but they can supplement what they’re bringing in from outside their locality by being able to grow some small-scale crops on the roof.”

By doing so they help increase an urban area’s biodiversity, while reducing the need to use energy on air conditioning. Green gardening, and green roofing in particular, works as a way to keep buildings cool.

“It works like a swamp cooler works,” says Creath. “There is water or moisture in the system, and when it evaporates, it leaves a cooler roof later. Naturally, a hot black roof in the summertime is going to be 160 degrees. When you add a green roof, it becomes ambient temperature.”

It’s the reason many major cities are using green roofs and gardens as a means of combating smog and summer heat, rather than radiating that heat skyward or absorbing it. But for smaller cities like Boulder, growing these types of gardens is a creative way for restaurant owners to serve up food grown by their own hands, rather than taken from the back of a truck.

For more information about the benefits of green roofs, go to Green Roofs of Colorado at www.greenroofsco.com.

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