Though government regulations and the environment are two subjects that might come up during dinnertime conversation these days, they`re not things that one might associate with the restaurant where the conversation is taking place.
But the Illinois Restaurant Association plans to change that, according to Dorothy ”Dee” DeCarlo, who was recently named chairman of the Chicago-based association. The trade association has 2,500 members and has been in operation for 76 years.
One of DeCarlo`s goals is for the association to keep abreast of government regulations that may have an impact on association members. The group has hired a person to monitor of such actions.
”We want to be on top of what`s going on, both in the state legislature and with the city and local legislatures,” said DeCarlo, a Chicago native who created the Mama Mia! Pasta restaurant chain in 1981. ”This is something we`ve done in the past, but not quite as well as we should. And it`s really become a priority, because more and more . . . certain issues have been raised.”
The second of DeCarlo`s goals involves the environment. She said the restaurant association took a poll of members on whether there was an interest in being more environmentally attuned. ”There was a resounding yes,” said DeCarlo.
”In the restaurant business . . . we create a lot of wastes,” DeCarlo said. ”And we just don`t know what to do with them.”
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The association is establishing a permanent committee on the environment, and DeCarlo said that within a few years it will create a ”green-line”
telephone service so that members can find out about such matters as recycling and processing waste effectively.
”What we feel is that if we get involved with these things in the next few months and into the years, we`ll really make a difference,” DeCarlo said.