Punters soak up the green in eco pub

IRELAND’S first eco-friendly pub has opened its doors with an interior entirely designed and fitted out from a recycling drive.

Virtually everything inside Shebeen Chic on Dublin’s George’s Street has been taken from old buildings or auctions — from the 1940’s corrugated-iron bar frontage to the counter made from reclaimed wooden scaffold planks.

But the green, cost-cutting ethos does not end there, with fine wines being offered at knock-down prices and revellers also given the chance to barter for their seat at the end of the night.

Owner Stephen McCusker, who has worked in pubs and restaurants for the past 15 years, has struck a deal with leading wine merchants to buy up “bin-end” wine which is normally returned to producers because of damage to bottles.

“We’ve gone down the line of reduce, re-use, recycle. We have made the place from what people have thrown away.

“The ethic is we are going back to the time when we didn’t have as much money as we have now. We make do with what we have and we are a bit smarter with our money.”

It is estimated Mr McCusker has spent a fraction of what a modern pub fit-out would have cost with most of the furniture picked up at auction for as little as 50 cents.

“We felt it was time to get away from the over-produced, clean line feel of modern bars and restaurants,” he said.

Billed as a gastro-pub, Shebeen Chic is offering traditional Irish fare cooked by Paris-trained chef Seamus O’Connell, who studied under Michelin Star chef Kevin Thornton.

The bin-end wine can be bought from merchants for a fifth, or less, of the original price and the savings will be passed on to the clientele, with Mr McCusker promising to sell at a discount.

“The wine itself is absolutely perfect. It’s the bottles that are damaged so we’ll take them off the wholesalers at a knock-down price and pass the discount on to the customer. You could be drinking a €150 bottle of wine for next to nothing,” he said.

The eco-friendly feel continues with Mr McCusker planning to import the swap shop fad, which hit New York in the past few years.

Customers will be able to bring in a bag of clothes on advertised days and barter with others in the pub.

Punters will also be able to swap seats, chairs, tables and other goods in the bar with furniture from their homes, if the notion takes them.

“The rules are, there are no rules,” Mr McCusker said.