Chef Maria Hines opened Tilth in three weeks; with the help of four people, she hand-sanded the chairs, put bamboo plywood on all the tables, made the curtains, and more. It all ties in with her sustainability-focused outlook: “From a sustainability standpoint, you save a lot of energy and reduce your carbon footprint by doing it yourself.”
Tilth opened in September 2006 and became the second restaurant in the country to be certified by Oregon Tilth, a non-profit organic certification group. Beyond organics, Hines incorporates sustainable practices in every aspect of her restaurant, from the bathroom (recycled toilet paper) and the building (sourcing responsible building materials) to the wine list (a handful of organic and biodynamic producers) and, of course, the kitchen, which recycles and composts.
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