The famous Winston Churchill quote in this article's title also embodies the tenacious spirit of the owner and design team that created Bourbon Bowl in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina. The challenges they faced ultimately resulted in a vibrant new venue for the community.

Revitalizing a City's Center
Elm Street is the heartbeat of historic downtown Greensboro. With its hip shops, eateries, the Tanger Performing Arts Center, the International Civil Rights Museum, and the Carolina Theater, what was once a sleepy area is now a vibrant city core, having seen many changes over the years, but nothing like Bourbon Bowl.

The site was Al's Furniture and Appliances for over twenty years. The building and adjacent gas station were in disrepair and the site was identified by the city as in need of revitalization.

Local developer Paul Talley approached the owner and purchased it for $1.2 million. Talley was already a well-known developer of several very successful, trendy restaurants and bars in Greensboro. The challenges of the property were obvious; an existing junkyard and gas station would need to be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up. After the initial property purchase in 2018, Talley said he, "filled a dumpster 17 times to clean out the old store."

Once the demolition was completed, the design team was assembled, which included Hawkins Landscape Architecture, Erskine-Smith Architecture, and Harold G. Watts Engineering. Fourth Elm Construction won the construction bid.

While the architects and engineers were working on the interior of the existing building, Lori Hawkins, ASLA, began the concept of the outdoor dining area of the venue.

Design Considerations
Talley said he wanted something entirely distinct for the new venue. Seeing innovative designs in larger cities, he thought that the community would support such an endeavor in Greensboro.
Hawkins knew that she wanted more of an industrial theme due to the distressed brick and metal materials of the existing building fa????ade. The original character of the building was to be retained and embraced, so that vibe would also flow into the outdoor spaces. And the signature piece of the outdoor area was to be a fire and water feature.

The Concept
Softening the stark brick building exterior, the design of which included a raised dining patio where rolling glass 'garage style' windows would allow table service to the outside areas from inside, was a concern.

Large Corten steel planters were specified for the upper patio along with custom steel trellises. The trellises were to allow vines from the planters to grow onto the building and cover the brick walls with greenery. The vine chosen was Evergreen Clematis. It was even decided that the greenery would be trained to grow around and frame the four large outdoor TVs mounted on the building sides.

 
Period lighted signs reading 'Eat', 'Drink', and 'Roll' were also part of the building exterior's design.

The Fire and Water Feature
To bring drama to the space without going overboard, Hawkins based the fire and water feature on an industrial-design style.

The basin was to be the length of the building and constructed of brick masonry with bluestone caps. The upper wall of the feature was to be constructed of Corten steel scuppers spilling from the upper patio level, into the lower basin at varying levels.

The upper wall of the water feature was to have a fa????ade with vertical steel I-beams behind the scuppers. The I-beam fa????ade was to alternate with sealed corrugated steel panels in between.

Fire torches were to be added to emanate from the fountain basin at intervals to allow dramatic reflection of the flames in the water, as well as the corrugated steel panels behind: a very challenging design for this space.

Ultimately, it was decided that the I-beams for the scuppers and the back wall of the fire and water feature, built by Signature Aquatics out of Greensboro, would be constructed of fiberglass and finished to have the look of Corten Steel. This would allow the function and beauty of the material to be unhindered, without the maintenance issues of rust, discoloration, and decay that would occur with actual steel.

Segments of the walls behind the fire torches were specified to be sealed corrugated steel. The plaster and tile chosen for the feature were to be dark enough to accent and draw attention to the fire and water elements.

The Outdoor Space Takes Shape
Constructed by Southern Outdoor Living of Summerfield, North Carolina, the outdoor patio space, with seating for 200, was almost identical in size to the indoor space of the venue. Porcelain pavers for the upper patio were color-coordinated with those in the lower patio.
Large brick planters with bluestone caps were constructed at intervals in the middle of the lower patio to allow shade trees, in this case Bosque elms, and seasonal annuals to be planted.

Dramatic outdoor lighting (installed by Southern Lights of Summerfield) included fixtures under the caps of the planters and columns, along the basin and upper wall of the water feature, inside the water feature scuppers, and even in the flooring of the patio.

Southern Lights chose to create a "stardust" effect with core-drilled fixtures in the paver floor ???,???using recessed lights. They also installed over 300' of custom RGBW + CCT linear lighting to beautifully and smoothly illuminate the property. The nighttime ambiance created quite ???,???a dramatic effect!

Meanwhile inside the 13,000-square-foot building, Erika Diskin of Assembly Design Studio conceived vintage bowling alleys, 50s and 60s authentic bowling d???(C)cor, and the longest bar in Greensboro. The end result was not only functional but stunning.

Difficulties Overcome
The project did have its share of challenges as the final project came to fruition. As with many projects, the first constraint was the budget for the outdoor space, which would only allow a standard concrete patio with minimal plantings to add interest.
Talley appealed to the city to assist with the funding to help make the patio a distinct part of the community and the Greensboro city council approved an $80,000 Urban Development Grant, which helped turn it into "one of the best outdoor eating and drinking spaces in not just Greensboro, but the whole state," ???,???according to Talley.

Another challenge was the opening of the venue since just as the project construction was finishing, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Talley to reconsider his timeline. Once the pandemic limitations were lifted, sufficient staff to run Bourbon Bowl effectively was ???,???eventually hired and the grand opening occurred in June 2021.

The venue proved worth the wait: after the first two days, Bourbon Bowl had to close to restock food and liquor!

In 2022, Bourbon Bowl was awarded "Best Projects in Greensboro" by the Triad Business Journal and is already known as a landmark of the downtown area.

Team List
Landscape Architecture Firm- Hawkins Landscape Architecture
Developer- Paul Talley
Architect - Erskine- Smith Architects
General Contractor- Fourth Elm Construction
Landscape Contractor- Southern Exposure/Southern Lights
Interior Designer- Assembly Designs
Fountain Consultants/Installation- Signature Aquatics/Fire by Design/Crystal Fountains
RD Graham Electrical
Joey's Plumbing
Sensible HVAC
Atlantic Architectural Metals
Stabb Designs