Save yourself. Save the planet. Don't even think of unleashing yet another overly Zen or yoga-rific bit of bland on the world.
Seriously, if we see one more green design anchored by potted grass or aromatherapy candles we're going to hop into a gas guzzler and drive cross-country while tossing fast-food hamburger wrappers on the highway. But if you're really keen on launching green or want to woo investors, stop in at Brooklyn Bowl first for the right kind of inspiration. A 23,000-square-foot LEED-certified space, it's a gonzo fun blend of bar-restaurant-concert space and bowling alley.
Owned by longtime NYC nightlife entrepreneurs Pete Shapiro and Charley Ryan, the converted warehouse--now loaded with reclaimed wood and a drinks menu that celebrates truly local tap-only from-the-borough brews--delivers a solid lesson in what a green business should be. This isn't green that bowls you down and makes you feel bad about yourself. This is green done because the owners believe in it. Brooklyn Bowl is "the child of" The Wetlands, Shapiro's former concert space that, name and all, felt quite a bit crunchier than his Williamsburg-based business space.
Stop in for drinks, food, a show or--yes--some bowling, and you're guaranteed to get ideas to set your own eco-business apart. And should you bring potential investors along (and you should bring them along), they'll get LEED-certified envy over the business Brooklyn Bowl does every night. Discuss your plans while chowing on fried chicken served up by the Blue Ribbon-run kitchen (beware, it's addictive) and by the time you've finished pouring your first pitcher of Brooklyn Bowl Pale Ale, they'll want in on your newly altered eco-vision. The place is balls-to-the-wall good stuff.
Order like a regular: Go really local by ordering one of the beers brewed up by next-door-neighbor Brooklyn Brewery.
Go: 61 Wythe Ave.; (718) 963-3369; brooklynbowl.com
Read more stories about: Brooklyn, Beer, Best Business Bars, LEED certification
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This article was originally published in the July 2011 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Get Green Inspiration.
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