Thursday, April 7, 2011

Local Inspiration at Green Mondays!

The Chesapeake Sustainable Business Alliance has been hosting Green Monday networking events for a few years now. I usually try to go since there is usually great food, great conversation and lots of great people to meet.

atwater_logo_lrgThis month was no exception. Folks gathered on the 2nd floor of Atwater’s Catonsville store/restaurant. If you haven’t been, you should check it out. It’s a beautiful sunny space with a gigantic common table in the middle of the room (made from ceiling rafters of the old Dad’s Cookie plant across the street) Dinner was a delish soup/salad/dessert combo served in Atwater’s Tiffan Boxes.  (very cool!)

As people finished eating, guest speaker Ned Atwater told the group about the history/future of Atwater’s. What started out as a bread and butter business (literally) has turned into several restaurants focused on local, sustainable delicious food and exceptional service.

Listening to Ned talk about his passions, his business, his employees, his failures and his aspirations was truly inspiring.  It reassured me that a small business like LoCoFlo can be sustainable, even in a seasonal market. That we don’t have to do everything on our “to do” list today-but we should aspire to bigger, more sustainable goals. That our commitment to the local community is important-and in fact, is one of the keys to our success.

I went home Monday night feeling proud-proud of LoCoFlo, proud of Atwater’s, proud of Baltimore and excited to get back to work!

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