a green pub in new york???
stolen from treehugger:
“How Eco-Friendly is Your Favorite Pub?
Greening the local tavern is easier than ever.
Â
by Mickey Z
Â
There are no shortage of naysayers ready to rain on anyone’s green parade. “It’s too expensive.” “There’s no market.” “It’s just a fad.” Fortunately, there are dedicated entrepreneurs like Ruairi Curtin who’d rather make green dreams come true.
Ever since Curtin moved from Ireland to my home turf of Astoria ten years ago, he’s wanted to open a bar with a local vibe. “I often found myself sitting at home in the evening looking to go locally to have a beer,” says Curtin, “but I could never find a bar that made me feel at homeâa place to hang my hat, saddle up to the bar, and meet like minded, good people.” Not one to wait idly, Curtin opened two bars in ManhattanâBua on St Mark’s Place in the East Village and Wilfie & Nell on West 4th Streetâbefore finally fulfilling his dream of creating Sweet Afton in Astoria.
Right from the start, Sweet Afton was a labor of green love. “Almost everything that was used in the construction of the space was built from salvaged and reclaimed materials,” Curtin explains. “The wood is from many different places.” He’s not kidding. Some sources of wood include:
â˘The floor boards of an old shipping barge from the West Coast, old wooden olive barrels (“You could smell the olives when the timber was cut during construction,” he says).
â˘Old shipping crates (“You can still see the shippers stamps on some pieces of wood on the face of the store and on the wood under the bar.”)
â˘Old hops poles (“Now our tables”)
“The timber used on the seating in the front area of the bar is on its third life,” Curtin says. “It was originally recycled and turned into a stair case. We turned the wooden staircase into bench seating. The light fixtures are all salvaged from old buildings and the lights attached to the walls in the main bar area are old desk lamps.”
The Sweet Afton logo reads: The Astoria Local. The menu is headed by “Drink Local” and “Eat Local.” Curtin explains that the local aspect of Sweet Afton has a dual focus. “Firstly,” he says, “we like to consider ourselves a ‘local’ bar for our customers. Their ‘go to’ or their second home in Astoria. The second meaning is obviously the local source of food and drink.”
For example, their chef consultant, PJ Calapa, is a big advocate of fresh local produce. Adding to the ethos of “keeping it local,” Curtin met Calapa at Sweet Afton’s sister bar, Bua. “As much as possible we try to support local business, and veer away from buying from the large conglomerates,” he adds. “This insures better quality for our customers. We are also very aware of the processes used in mass production and try to support ethically produced food.” As for beer, Curtin explains:
“We also support local as much as possible. As well as insuring that the brews are fresh, we believe that the quality is excellent. Everything we carry is dictated by tasteâwe will not carry a beer just because it is from a local breweryâit has to taste great first and foremost. Fire Island and Kelso breweries are two of our favorites. In November 2009, we made a trip to the Kelso Brewery (Waverly Avenue in Brooklyn). We loaded 50 people on a bus to ‘meet the maker’. We had a tour of the brewery and learned how the beers were made. Kelly Taylor the brewery founder and owner met us and gave us the tour himself. The name ‘Kelso, by the way, comes from Kel(ly) and his wife So(nia).”
A green ethic, locally sourced food and drinks, and the unmistakable feel of communityâSweet Afton has it all. I’d say it’s time to take the subway out to Astoria and see for yourself (tell ’em Mickey Z. sent you).”
Beck's Beer Blog - test 