July 28, 2011

Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar, a progressive farm-to-fork establishment in Plano, has just become the first full-service restaurant in Texas to offer commercial electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on site. It is an example of a eco-conscious and sustainability-centered establishment that seeks to reduce its carbon footprint wherever it can.

“These commercial charging stations reinforce what Whiskey Cake aims to be as a restaurant: forward-thinking, locally sustainable, eco-friendly, and customer-oriented,” said Randy DeWitt, CEO of Front Burner Restaurants, which operates Whiskey Cake. “We’re really proud to offer these stations for our customers’ use.”  Randy is also the proud owner of a 2011 Chevrolet Volt, one of two EVs now available in America along with the Nissan LEAF, and he was among the first to plug into Whiskey Cake’s charging stations.

Whiskey Cake’s pair of Blink L2 Pedestal stations were supplied and installed by The EV Project, a $230 million initiative funded by both the U.S. Department of Energy and corporate and private partnerships to jump-start America’s EV-specific infrastructure. The EV Project had already installed thousands of stations in 14 cities in five states before moving its focus to Texas this month.

Blink stations allow EV drivers to charge their vehicles using a variety of payment methods, from standard credit transactions and Blink Membership cards that offer reservation capability and rate discounts to coming key fobs and smartphone apps. Blink Membership cards will be available at Whiskey Cake, though the restaurant won’t charge for station use for a while.

For more information on Whiskey Cake  visit www.Whiskey-Cake.com
For more information on The EV Project, visit www.TheEVProject.com
For more information on  Blink chargers www.BlinkNetwork.com

From Press Release

PHOTO: Front Burner CEO Randy DeWitt plugs in his Chevrolet Volt