Green Initiatives

DC Metro

A GEM of an Idea for the National Mall

If you’re on the National Mall for a special event, or just enjoying the ambiance of being in one of our nation’s most treasured spots,  you must might just see Guest Services’ newest addition to the Special Events “team”:  The Green Café eco cart. 

Fondly known as the GEM cart (short for Global Electric Motorcars, a division of Chrysler Corporation), the Green Café is, basically, an electric golf cart that has been enhanced and expanded to incorporate a compact mobile kitchen.  The cart is literally plugged in to a generator overnight while it is “at home” at Columbia Island Marina to provide the energy to get it to and from the Mall; the cooking equipment runs on propane. 

The kitchen contains a flat grill, so food can be cooked from scratch; however, it is more efficient to do the initial cooking of product at Columbia Island and provide the finishing touches at the point of sale.  The cart is ideal for holding a variety of items, so menus can be tailored to any sort of special event.  For instance, the Cinco de Mayo event on the Mall was the perfect occasion for soft tacos, which were extremely popular!

The cart gets from place to place just as any car would:  on area roads.  As strange as it might look, it holds its own quite well on the road (as long as the driver stays under 35 MPH), and can easily get anywhere it needs to go on a charge.  There is typically one driver/operator, who also serves as kitchen attendant/cashier/server.