Located in the heart of Winston-Salem, Camino Bakery is homegrown bakery & coffeehouse focused on creating community by offering a place where friends can gather to share delicious food and drink. Despite the thin profit margins in the food industry and the day-to-day challenes of running a small business, Camino always tries to "do what we can for the planet & the people on it," says co-owner Cary Clifford.
One of Camino's big sustainability goals was replacing their gas-powered delivery van with an electric one, but the company's limited budget seemed to put this goal just out of reach. Until 2025, when, supporting Camino's Green Business Network goals, PEA helped the bakery defray the upfront costs of the purchase through a combination of federal EV tax credits and a grant from Duke Energy, allowing Camino to purchase their first electric delivery van. "Although expensive on the front end," explains Camino co-owner Cary Clifford in a July 2025 interview with PEA, "[the van] is paying for itself in the long run. We’ve already saved over $1,000 on gas this year. Of course the more important thing is that the $1,000 saved represents hundreds of gallons of gas that we didn’t have to burn."
When your business joins PEA's GreenBusiness Network, you gain a trusted partner commited to helping you achieve the boldest climate actions possible. "It's absolutely true that being part of the Green Business Network made [our EV] goal so much easier to achieve," says Clifford, "It’s wonderful to have people that I know and trust...who I can reach out to for advice and assistance with these kinds of projects. As a small business owner, I’m always juggling 50 different things, so it’s such a great help when I don’t have to do all that legwork myself."
Are you part of a local business or nonprofit working to create a more just, resilient, and sustainable Piedmont Triad? PEA is currently recruiting new members to join businesses like Camino Bakery in our 2026 Green Business Network cohort. Contact PEA’s Green Economy Program Coordinator Richard Sebastian at richard@peanc.org to learn more about the program and pricing.