are private, the beachside retreat is based on community with shared outdoor spaces and vegetarian/vegan meals. “A lot of the influence for the physical shop came from seeing the world, the people’s markets in Mexico or India, a lot of color, a lot of stacks of things. We don’t sell food here, but to see those big open sacks of beans and rice and just going through being able to smell everything and see everything in this kind of abundance and mix of colors and sounds and everything. And usually most people are happy and talking to each other. It’s just awesome. And I wanted to bring that here. The sound as well has got to be a good positive vibe. The intention there is to just create almost a patchwork quilt of sound — it’s Puerto Rico and Africa and Europe and Argentina and California and everything. I want it to be colorful and I want to hear a lot of different languages and different rhythms and styles. Everything’s got to be uplifting to make people feel that good rhythm, a good time. I learned more about the environment too during my travels and what plants need, how everything works together. When I lived in the tropics, I learned how easy it is to grow things. At first it was just wonderment, really. You slice the top off of a pineapple and just put it in the dirt and walk away for like a week or two and then come back and all of a sudden there’s a pineapple growing. So I stopped and was like, Wow, the earth is blowing my mind. And when I moved back to the States, I just kind of brought a lot of that with me” Traveling opened Dave’s eyes to a more harmonious way of living with nature, our neighbors and as a collective community, which directly translates into the undoubtably beautiful aesthetic of the shop and its oasis-esque spirit in the city. But he also witnessed firsthand how plastic, trash, water and air pollution is destroying the planet on a global scale. And it’s these fundamental realities that create the core of Off The Bottle — from the majority of shop’s anatomy constructed with repurposed and found materials, to the carefully curated non-toxic, 100 percent vegan and reusable products they offer. But the shop’s soul lies in their mission to educate guests and also provide some sort of ease in No. 126
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