Washington, D.C. (June 18, 2025) – SHIA, the groundbreaking nonprofit Korean fine dining restaurant in Washington D.C.’s Union Market District, has released the first findings from its Zero Plastic Initiative—an ambitious, multi-year sustainability project which aims to reduce the restaurant industry’s dependence on plastic.

Since opening in November 2024, SHIA has operated as both a destination for culinary excellence and a real-time research and development hub focused on innovation. In partnership with OpenTable as the official research partner, SHIA is setting a new industry standard for what it means to run a restaurant with purpose—offering data-driven strategies for eliminating plastic across the restaurant lifecycle.

“Our mission isn’t to shame or lecture the industry, it’s to create a blueprint for what’s possible,” said Edward Lee, Executive Chef and Owner of SHIA. “We've identified 31 common sources of plastic in restaurant operations and have spent the past seven months rigorously testing real-world alternatives. We’re not trying to be perfect, we’re trying to be useful to all restaurants and businesses struggling with where and how to start reducing our reliance on plastics. If every restaurant found even one point of plastic to eliminate, the collective impact would be enormous. Our goal is to provide the research and the roadmap to make that possible.” 

The findings come after SHIA’s first phase of research focused on single-use and back-of-house plastics. With a compact 1,800-square-foot footprint and a service model accommodating approximately 55–60 guests per night, SHIA provides an approachable test case for restaurants of similar size and scale. Among the 31 key touchpoints identified were cling wrap, squeeze bottles, disposable gloves, laminated menus, permanent markers, and even unexpected culprits like server trays, bathroom soap dispensers, and candles. 

“As a nonprofit, we’re uniquely positioned to experiment, fail, learn, and share without the pressures of profit,” said Monica Kang, Chief Strategy and Partnerships Officer at SHIA. “This transparency is critical to helping other restaurants assess what’s achievable within their own operations and what tradeoffs are required. Our goal is to plant the seeds of change that can grow industry-wide.” 

SHIA’s first year of data has already yielded measurable impact, preventing hundreds of kilograms of plastic from entering landfills and ecosystems. A full financial report, detailing the cost implications of operating as a Zero Plastic restaurant, will be released in late 2025.

The Zero Plastic Initiative is one part of SHIA’s larger mission to rethink the future of fine dining through a sustainability lens. Additional research pillars focus on gas-free kitchens and food waste reduction. Each year, SHIA will publish its findings free of charge through a dedicated landing page on OpenTable accessible to the public, creating a public repository of learnings for the hospitality industry. 

"SHIA’s early insights offer clear, actionable steps for real-world impact,” said Amy Wei, COO of OpenTable. “We're excited to amplify this important work across our network of 60k+ restaurant partners and introduce tangible sustainability solutions that can help drive measurable progress across the hospitality industry.” 

SHIA is actively seeking partners and collaborators who share its vision for a more sustainable restaurant industry. To learn more or access the full preliminary report, visit https://www.opentable.com/restaurant-solutions/resources/shia-restaurant-sustainability-findings /