People in Michigan do not have to wait until summer to enjoy green spaces that bring nature to them. When they stop into Brome Burgers & Shakes, 22062 Michigan Avenue in Dearborn, they receive a “green” welcome even on cold, cloudy days. The restaurant is home to an array of growing plants as well as Brome’s ethically sourced, creatively prepared, simply delicious, and reasonably priced food. The restaurant’s living architecture features two LiveWall^® green walls that enable diners to enjoy eating “outside” even before warm weather invites them out onto the restaurant’s outdoor patio.
“Green walls, also called living walls, are structural systems that cover walls with growing plants. Attached to an existing wall or freestanding, erected indoors or outdoors, green walls transform unadorned walls into vertical gardens,” said Dave MacKenzie, president, LiveWall, LLC. “They make interior spaces more appealing and relaxing and improve indoor air quality.”
“We are all about sustainability, green living, wholesome food, and self-awareness about the environmental impact of our choices,” said Sam Abbas, founder, Brome Burgers & Shakes. “The green walls took a surface that would have otherwise just been painted or wallpapered and brought it to life.”
Completed in June 2015, the Brome Burgers & Shakes green wall installation totals 309 square feet, divided in two sections each 16 feet long by 9 feet 10 inches high. In total, the green walls have 168 LiveWall modular planters, which contain inserts planted with a mix of six different tropical plants that thrive indoors.
Bell’s Landscape Services, Inc. (Wixom, Mich.), which has provided commercial and residential landscape construction and maintenance for more than 38 years, recommended, sold, installed, and maintains the LiveWall system. “We won a Gold Award for Creative Landscape – Green Initiatives from the Michigan Green Industry Association for this project,” said Mike Bell, chief executive officer.  
Brome Burgers & Shakes is in a corner building that was constructed as a retail store in the mid-1900s. An adaptive re-use design developed by the Hallarsan Group (Detroit, Mich.) renovated the long vacant 3,700-square-foot space and created a modern, open, light-filled restaurant. The sustainable design preserved the cedar trusses of the original 15-foot-high ceilings. During construction, the original concrete floors were revealed and refurbished. In addition to the featured green walls, the indoor plantscaping includes a front-window planter. Its greenery is reflected in the glass top of the adjoining counter, which seats eight.
“Every decision we made about the space reflects our responsibility to the environment,” said Abbas. “We hope to inspire our customers, suppliers, competitors, and contractors to appreciate the values that inspire us and express them in the ways they live, do business, cultivate food, and enjoy it.
“Everyone’s response to our green walls has been so positive. We plan to integrate green wall systems into all our future locations.”
Brome Burgers & Shakes
Opened in 2015, Brome Burgers & Shakes offers 100-percent organic, grass-fed beef burgers. With all 10 burgers on the menu (seven beef plus fish, chicken and veggie options) all priced around $10, Brome is the place to get an ethically sourced, creatively prepared, and simply delicious meal for a reasonable price. Beef, produce, and even grains are locally sourced when possible. Amish farmers raise the beef and chicken with care and without antibiotics or other additives. Brome shakes are dense, rich and creamy — spun using Brome’s house-made vanilla bean custard and topped with freshly whipped cream. Set in downtown Dearborn, Mich. on bustling Michigan Avenue among shops, bars and eateries, Brome brings a much-needed option to metro Detroit: American cuisine sourced right and done right. Find out more about Brome Burgers & Shakes online, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
LiveWall^®
Designed with a healthy regard for plants, LiveWall^® is the patented living wall system that achieves simplicity and sustainability in harmony with nature. LiveWall is the result of four years of R&D by the professionals who created LiveRoof^®, the superior green roof system. LiveWall green wall solutions are engineered with horticultural and structural features specific for indoor and outdoor environments. LiveWall supports plants as nature intended — roots growing down, stems and leaves growing up. With unsurpassed versatility to grow a diversity of plant types, LiveWall transforms ordinary walls into inspiring, thriving vertical landscapes that are simple to install and easy to maintain. Follow LiveWall on LinkedIn, like LiveWall on Facebook, and for more information call 877-554-4065.
Bell’s Landscape Services
Bell’s Landscape Services is a premier installer of living walls servicing southeast Michigan.  Living walls have numerous benefits, including bringing nature into any space, adding oxygen, and cleaning interior air spaces.  Overall, they are both architecturally pleasing and health enhancing.  Since Bell’s, a full-service landscaping company, has always focused on protecting the environment, sales and installation of living walls are perfectly aligned with its promise to provide eco-friendly, sustainable offerings that contribute to the wellbeing of people, and the planet.  Bell’s Landscape Services received the 2016 Gold Award from the Michigan Green Industry Association for Brome Burgers & Shakes’ living wall.  For more information on living wall design conceptions, installation and year-round maintenance services for commercial and residential customers contact: 248-486-0960, or go to bellslandscape.com.