Our Mission...

The present owners of the Bridge Street Cafe & Inn came to Hot Springs with a simple mission: to provide fine food and comfortable accomodations in a warm, welcoming atmosphere in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. To our pleasant surprise, the original owners who renovated the building had much the same dream.

A few of our many initiatives:

  • Hormone and antibiotic free meats and organic produce, from local farmers as much as possible.
  • Cloth napkins to reduce paper waste.
  • Replacing the dishwasher with a model that efficiently uses rinse water from one cycle as the wash water for the next cycle, reducing per-wash water usage by 75%.
  • Using environmentally friendly cleaning supplies and recycled paper products.
  • Composting food waste to minimize landfill usage.
  • Exclusive use of environmentally responsible paints, provided by The Healthy House in Asheville.
  • All oil used in the kitchen is recycled and used in local bio-diesel engines.

Our upcoming projects include:

  • Building a bio-roof to minimize heating and cooling costs and reduce run-off while providing fresh, home-grown herbs and produce for the restaurant and a pleasant dining space.
  • Utilizing the bio-roof as a roof-top wine and cigar bar.
  • High-efficiency low-power water heaters.
  • A solar powered "Cafe-mobile" to reduce inn guest and restaurant business automobile use.
  • Support of the "One Laptop Per Child" program to provide learning materials to third world children while providing cafe guests with an internet cafe.
  • Front-loading washers to minimize water usage by 75%.
  • Sponsoring a community-based "Clean Up Hot-Springs" day.

Interesting Visitors

We've had more than a fair share of interesting folks stop by to visit, including wondering yogis, massage therapists operating out of the fronts of their vintage VW bugs, and 80 year old through-hikers. The most recent visit was by the brothers of BrotherProof.com, kindred spirits on a mission of "Walking, Water, Writing and living off of the Rays of the Sun", who stopped in Hot Springs to refuel body and mind before setting out to complete their quest. Read about them and suport their cause if the spirit strikes.