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Building a New Earth


What does it mean to be part of a community? In a post-Citizens United, post-Occupy world, how does the healing between citizens and businesses begin? If we are living in an age where corporations are considered people, and money is considered speech, shouldn’t commercial organizations consider their surroundings, their practices and their impact on their fellow man when discussing the bottom line? If corporations are, in fact, people, shouldn’t they be expected to act like it?

These are just a few of the many questions on the minds of Matt Woolley, Adrian Zelski, Drew Meyer and Steve Mares, the co-owners of New Earth Music Hall. With several months of hard work behind them and several more ahead, they are starting to provide some of the answers.

Beaming with pride as he roams around the refurbished space, Woolley becomes positively effusive about all the improvements that have been made thus far.

“All the wood is 110 years old,†he explains, “[and was] reclaimed from a farmhouse we got out in Bogart. We’ve divided the space into two rooms, so sometimes, now we’ll be able to do a front-room show and then do a late-night back-room show. We’ve redone and extended the stage, and we’ve boosted the soundsystem in the front room—probably added about another 10,000 watts of power—so it thumps like crazy. It’s kinda ridiculous. We’re gonna be redoing the floors, and installing several more skylights to bring in a lot more natural light.â€

When all is said and done, New Earth is going to be a very different animal from the electronic/jam-focused club that opened three years ago. “We have a 100 percent new menu,†bar manager Shannon Sullins says. “It’s all organic drinks. We’re gonna be the only bar in town with organic wells. The idea is to have a reasonably priced organic menu. All of our sodas, juices and even our energy drinks will eventually be all organic. We’re not there yet, but we’ve got a company that is organic that’s coming to reinstall all our guns. All our beers are either sustainable companies such as Sierra Nevada, local, such as Terrapin, or 100 percent organic. Anything you can order we can make… but better for you. On slower nights, we [will] use glasses, and on bigger nights we’ll have compostable cups. Basically, we’re aiming to become a zero-waste facility, and that includes everything down to our straws and napkins. One of the goals of all this is to become B Corporation certified.â€

“A B Corporation,” Woolley explains, “Is a new kind of company where the ‘B’ stands for ‘benefit,’ and by benefit, they mean… ‘How does your business benefit the world?’ On a local level, [a] community level, [an] environmental level, on an ethical level, in terms of your employees. It’s fascinating. There’s an impact assessment that we’re undergoing right now in order to get certified. It makes companies be more accountable for everything that they’re doing.â€

“The source of all our materials has to maintain some sort of guidelines in terms of environmental or health benefits, as well,†Sullins chimes in. “And that includes the companies that we’ve ordered these products from. We’re also researching them to make sure that they do the proper things before we purchase from them. [T]he ultimate objective is to become B Corporation certified by October. New Earth will be the first company in Athens to do it, and the first music venue ever.â€

“We’re kind of in the process of rebranding ourselves,†Woolley adds. “We’re trying to reach an older, more sophisticated crowd, in addition to the demographic that we’ve catered to over [the last] three years. We’re gonna be a multi-use event space. We’re gonna be hosting yoga classes. We’re gonna start opening for happy hour every day, and as part of our B Corporation certification, we’ll be educating the community on ways to become sustainable. We’re not just a dance club. We’ve branched out: we’re hosting Americana events, indie-rock, jazz, basically covering all the bases. We just want it to be known that we’re… sort of growing up a little bit.â€

Indeed, with their grand reopening scheduled for Aug. 17, and their three-year anniversary celebration slated for the following weekend, there’s been much more than “a little bit†of growth at this beloved venue. In fact, with new franchises planned in the Bay Area, B Corporation certification nearly complete and many more improvements to the Athens location yet to come, New Earth is showing the rest of the country just how human a corporation can—and should—be.


For more information about B Corporations, check out bcorporation.net. Check back in October for Flagpole‘s follow-up to “Building a New Earth.”

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