The Best Bar to. . . Get Green Inspiration: Brooklyn Bowl This LEED-certified converted warehouse in Brooklyn, N.Y., just might inspire your own eco-business idea.
By Jenna Schnuer •
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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.
