Community

Our hearts beat for Bloomington. 

In everything we do, we aspire to make this extraordinary town an even better place to live.

Our businesses are focused on getting better, not bigger. We love being an independent company, unique to Bloomington, and we strive to shape our services to reflect the city’s distinctive character. We want to be one of the things you love about living here and offer an experience you can’t find anywhere else.

We also aim to be a force for good in our community. Whenever possible, we lend our support to the amazing nonprofits in the area.

If Fred Rogers were a family of dining establishments, we’d like to think he’d look a bit like us. Bloomington is our own Neighborhood of Make Believe, and its non-profits, sports teams, and cultural events are as beloved as any trolley or King Friday. While corporate chains are dumping money into advertising and staring at their bottom line, we’d rather tread softly in our indoor shoes and sing, “Please, won’t you be my neighbor?”

In 2010, the answer was a most satisfying “Yes,” as Lennie’s received the Indiana Restaurant Association’s “Good Neighbor Award.” The year before was our 20th in business and we celebrated with a giant fundraiser for Hoosier Hills Food Bank, WonderLab, and Stone Belt. For three days, we gave 100% of our profits to these organizations, with the hope of raising $5,000 for each. The community responded with such enthusiasm that we far surpassed our goal and wound up with $8,700 for each organization.

Not every day can be our 20th birthday, but we’re always trying to give back through ongoing partnerships with organizations like community pantry Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, Indiana University Student Foundation (which provides scholarships for working students), and the incomparable Lotus Education and Arts Foundation. 

Just as we’re devoted to the people and passions of Bloomington, we’re also invested in preserving our community’s resources.

Sustainability

Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the present but also the coming generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the surface of the ground.

– The Unborn of the Future Nation

These words hail from Constitution of the Iroquois Nations, known as "A league of peace and power". The words above have taken on a life of their own and inspired the concept of the "7th Generation," shorthand for, "What legacy do we leave behind for those children of our great, great-grandchildren, hundreds of years from now?"

At One World, we strive to apply this mindset as we make decisions in the management of our companies, as we take steps to reduce waste and energy usage, avoid single use materials, and recycle what's left. From delivering our drinks in durable cups to introducing Bloomington's first tailpipe-emission-free electric car we're always seeking opportunities to become more environmentally responsible.

Local sourcing is a strong component of this effort. We've long purchased from small and independent producers and distributors at every opportunity. More and more, we are finding opportunities to source from local farmers. We pass on the spent grains from our brewery to local farmers that can use them as feed and fertilizer. With the recent addition of our own Loesch Farm, we've created our own outlets for food wastes as feed for our own pigs and as compost to build the soil for our gardens. At the height of season, tomatoes from our gardens and sausage from our pigs hit the kitchen at Lennie's. We've also begun to raise organic hops for the Bloomington Brewing Company. We make our own pizza dough, sauces, and prepare hundreds of pounds of fresh vegetables each day at our One World Commissary. By preparing our own vegetables, we are not contributing to the chemical load on the environment created by the so-called "Fresh Cut Produce" industry. These days, most restaurants and nearly all chain restaurants buy their produce already chopped and washed and chemically bathed in sealed bags. This class of goods is known in the food industry as "Fresh Cut". At One World, we still cut our own vegetables, fresh. This creates local jobs, as well as reducing the chemicals in the environment and of course all those trimmings make lovely salads for our pigs. Yes, we don't have much use for the "Fresh-cut" folks. If you want to learn more, click here for Jeff Mease's fresh-cut rant.

Our environmental approach has earned some recognition, including the "Green Business Award" from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, the "Environmental Award" from the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, and the "Governor's Award for Excellence in Recycling" from the State of Indiana. We're proud of how we've been local pioneers in many of our sustainable practices, but we also see our efforts as journey that is constantly evolving. For us, sustainability is an endless process of improvement.

Finally, we’re committed to a long-term vision: looking ahead to how our choices will impact future generations. We want to leave a legacy of stewardship behind by promoting sustainable practices and making environmentally sound decisions that enable our city and our planet to flourish.