There’s a Solar-Powered Outdoor Bar Opening Along the Beltline in West End

A new solar-powered outdoor bar opens May 20 along the Westside Beltline trail at the Lee and White complex, just in time for the annual Lantern Parade set to stroll by that evening.

A joint effort from Lee and White neighbors Monday Night Brewing and ASW Distillery, Solar Bar is housed in a converted shipping container between Wild Heaven Beer and Best End Brewing Company adjacent the Westside Beltline trail. The new bar is outfitted with ten solar panels that can capture up to 4,000 watts per hour from the sun. Excess energy captured during the day is then stored in a lithium phosphate battery back-up system to continue powering Solar Bar into the evening. Everything, right down to the low-energy refrigeration and appliances, as well as LED lighting, is all powered by the sun.

Open Friday through Sunday, Solar Bar features eight beers on draft from Monday Night, including Taco Tuesday, Dr. Robot, and Blind Pirate, as well as six canned beers from the brewery. ASW Distillery offers a variety of cocktails and frozen drinks at Solar Bar, like its Old Fashioned, gin and tonic, pina colada, and bourbon and Coke.

Solar Bar also comes equipped with its own recycling mechanism called the crusher. The system allows people to recycle any empty cans by simply dropping them into a small compartment at the bar and pushing a button. Cans launch up a tube into a glass chamber where they remain until collected by nonprofit Recycle for Good, with funds benefiting Habitat for Humanity in Atlanta. In addition to the crusher, Solar Bar harnesses the sun’s energy to power six free phone-charging stations, complete with cords.

The outdoor bar at Lee and White isn’t the only new addition headed to the West End complex in 2023. A 19-stall food hall is expected to open later this summer near Best End Brewing and include restaurant stalls likes Dough Boy Pizza, Good Azz Burgers, Vietvana Pho Noodle House, the Original Hot Dog Factory, and Gekko Sushi. Lake and Oak Neighborhood Barbecue restaurant should also open in the coming months at Lee and White.

Rickman Architecture and Design

Rickman Architecture and Design