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Green Walls Sprouting Soon at New Seaport Restaurant

By Julie Shapiro | November 30, 2010 6:42am | Updated on November 30, 2010 7:52am

By Julie Shapiro

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

SEAPORT — An explosion of greenery will soon greet patrons of a new bar and restaurant in the Seaport.

Called SamSara New York, the 65-seat venue on Water Street will feature two large walls covered in tropical plants when it opens in the depths of winter this January. The dozens of ferns and lilies sprouting from the walls will grow in a soil-free irrigation system, framing the modern dining room with swaths of green.

"They’re very high maintenance, but they’re beautiful," said Pamela Renna, co-owner of SamSara. "It will be a peaceful and very tranquil atmosphere."

She hopes to open by the last week of January.

Renna, 44, and her business partner Eve Luppino have already built two similar living walls, along with a preserved-moss ceiling, at a plant shop they own on Front Street, around the corner from SamSara.

Renna said she got the idea for SamSara shortly after moving the plant shop, Manhattan Plant Design Experts, down to the Seaport last January.

Back then, Renna put lots of work into making the shop a relaxing place for locals to hang out — they brought in an indoor park bench surrounded by foliage and a cheerful pet canary named Lucas. But Renna and Luppino wanted to take the hospitality even further by offering their customers wine and bites of food, and in the end they realized it made sense to open a full-fledged restaurant as well.

The name SamSara means "to flow on" and in the Buddhist and Hindu traditions it refers to rebirth and the ever-changing nature of life.

In connection with the restaurant’s name, Renna has already painted the phrase "Create Your World And Move Into It" in yellow on the glass door at SamSara’s future 277 Water St. home.

The menu is not yet final, but it will include eclectic seasonal entrees starting at about $10 and organic, sustainable wines starting at about $8 a glass, Renna said.

Renna hopes to host musicians, cooking classes and local events in the 1,500-square-foot space, creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable.

"The vibe is going to be simple yet elegant," she said. "There will be no pretentiousness here, whatsoever."

The plants will add an earthy feeling to the polished design of concrete, wood and stone. A 70-square-foot green wall will run almost the entire length of the restaurant, and a smaller planted wall will enliven a space next to the bar.

Renna and Luppino helped design the green walls, which they believe will be the first for a downtown restaurant, and they are seeking a patent.

The future wall plants are already growing in Florida and the restaurant’s construction is about 80 percent complete, after delays in getting permits  She hopes to open by the last week of January.

"I’m so excited — I can’t wait," said Renna, who lives in the Seaport above her plant shop. "It’s been a long time coming."