Kellari owner, Stavros Aktipis announced that his Greek restaurant in NYC now boasts a completely sustainable menu. Aktipis’ unwavering interest in the ecological health of the planet along with the knowledge of where our food comes from is what brought about this nearly year-long transition. Kellari is now invested in supporting independent fishermen and their families who are engaged in sustainable methods of fishing & farming.
This major menu overhaul began with Kellari’s partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, which is committed to identifying seafood caught or farmed in ocean-friendly ways.
Seafood Watch empowers consumers and businesses to make choices for maintaining healthy oceans. Using science-based methods, Seafood Watch assesses how wild-caught and farmed seafood affect the environment, and provides recommendations as to which items are the best choices, and which ones to avoid. As a Seafood Watch business partner, Kellari now serves seafood rated as a “Best Choice” or “Good Alternative.”
Owner Stavros Aktipis, in consultation with industry leading experts, researched every ingredient on Kellari’s menu. The end result is a menu that is both delicious and good for you and for the planet, containing only sustainable, organic and seasonal delicacies.
Some of the restaurant’s offerings, like their sardines, were removed from the menu altogether until sustainable alternatives can be found. Additionally, a sourcing alternative was located for Kellari’s signature octopus dish in order to ensure its sustainability. The decision to make this healthy change was a personal one to Aktipis, who now plans to implement similar changes to Kellari’s sister restaurant in Washington D.C.
Kellari has been a mainstay for the freshest fish and Greek delights for over a decade. The brand continues to grow and to evolve, leading and paving the way for more restaurants to follow suit in offering not only the highest quality ingredients, but also putting the health of the customer and of the planet above all else.
